I would really appreciate it if any of you guys could help me make sense of my BH results please? I have very little knowledge about anything thyroid related!
Quick bio about me. Myself and my partner have been trying for a baby. After many failed attempts, resulting in miscarriage we sought assisted treatment in the form of IVF. We went private and have had numerous tests done and as a result I have recently been diagnosed with APS (Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome) an autoimmune disease.
The lovely Dr's at my clinic informed me that people with this disorder may also suffer from underlying diseases, most frequently systemic lupus or thyroid problems and after going through my medical history and long list of symptoms with me, they suggested I get my thyroid tested as this could also be causing me problems whilst trying to get pregnant as well as in day to day life.
I have been feeling just dreadful for a long time now, chronic lethargy and fatigue which is seeing me spending over half my day in bed asleep or not being able to function. Brain fog, bouts of depression and anxiety, weight gain (4 stone), dry skin, nail problems, low libido (not helpful when trying to get pregnant haha), inability to cope, heat intolerance, heartburn, heaving periods and many many more! I am not living life at all at them moment - just existing and getting through each day as well as I can. Most of that being spent asleep which is never great! I am sick of feeling so very exhausted all the time.
I visited my normal GP who was very dismissive of my symptoms and suggested I was stressed or getting old (I am 42). She was very reluctant to perform anything other than TSH level so I found Blue Medical through this group and went private again.
So there you go.. Sorry for the ramblings. It may have nothing to do with my results whatsoever and my thyroid could be normal, but I would really appreciate any thoughts on my results so that I can go to my GP armed with information and hopefully get my life back on track.
I have attached my results in the form of a screen shot and also put the Dr's notes. I generally don;t understand any of this!
As I said, any thoughts and help would be greatly appreciated.
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miacat29
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I will let others interpret your blood results fully; I know a bit but don't feel able to give you a complete interpretation. Please don't try to get pregnant until you have sorted out this thyroid health problem. If you're spending half your day in bed, you are not well. I kept losing pregnancies, had no idea I had an underlying health problem (low thyroid), and managed to give birth at 5th attempt to a healthy baby. However, my problems only started there. I went massively downhill, was unable to function, and looking back was not fit to look after a baby. I started to want to stay in bed for half the day, dragged myself through life. Unless you get your health problem sorted, you will only get worse as pregnancy, birth, and looking after a little one through the day and night will make matters worse. Take care x
Thank you for replying in such a lovely, open way marigold22.
It is much appreciated. I am sorry to hear you had a terrible time trying to get pregnant. It is such an emotional rollercoaster that I can totally relate to! We have lost 3 pregnancies so far. According to the Dr's at the IVF clinic the reason we have miscarried is because of APS (putting me at a greater risk of miscarriage and still birth due to problems with my blood). I had no idea I had this until they told me. As I said previously, my GP is very dismissive and keeps telling me all my symptoms are stress related or it is all in my head (she jokingly called me a hypochondriac last week)! I left the surgery in tears, and it got me wandering if that was the case and it's all in my head. But i know in my heart of hearts that something isn't right. I least I now know am I am totally mad with the latest diagnosis of APS! But who knows if it also has anything to do with thyroid issues as well!
We desperately want to a family. I will soon be 43 but I couldn't agree more with what you say. I have questioned my ability to be able to go through pregnancy look after children of late. Like you I feel like I am dragging myself through life, I am not living just in a constant state of exhaustion and confusion.
I know I need to get to the bottom of things before we can move forward. I am so sick and tired of being like this and want my life back!
I hope you are now functioning in a much better and healthier way and living life to the full. Please take care too and thanks agin for your response xx
Your b12 levels need to be higher, I had 5 miscarriages before my b12 deficiency was picked up, I later discovered that low b12 can cause miscarriage and b12 deficiency can cause infertility. I was truly devastated to discover I was tested for pretty much everything except low b12..... The sadness is still with me..... Good luck
Your CRP shows you have 'inflammation' - which would go along with the active autoimmune disorder I think.
Your Free T3 levels could be higher (you'd perhaps feel more well if they were). It looks like your T4 is converting to reverse T3 - which isn't active. Perhaps have an adrenal function test (saliva) and find out what your iron levels are. Your B12 is low - the UK range is awful and many people feel unwell if they are under 500 and certainly if under 300.
Hope that helps a bit. I'm not a doctor (but I do have a pathology degree).
Thank you ahousefull. You have a better understanding than me so anything I can glean form this report is much appreciated. Funny you should mention adrenals. A friend of mine suggested looking into adrenal fatigue. I will look into having a saliva test completed.
So when you say "Your Free T3 levels could be higher (you'd perhaps feel more well if they were). It looks like your T4 is converting to reverse T3 - which isn't active" is this suggesting thyroid or adrenal issues?
Sorry for all the questions, as I say, I have no understanding of thyroid issues/reports whatsoever and my GP is so very dismissive about anything I would like to go to her and suggest treatment options.
Regarding my B12 can I supplement this with a vitamin do you think?
Hi miacat29 First of all I agree with Marigold22 about getting this sorted before going ahead with a pregnancy. My daughter-in-law's history is - miscarriage>live birth>miscarriage>live birth (now diagnosed with autism)>miscarriage (twins and the tragedy here was that one died in the womb unknown early in pregnancy, eventually the other one died in the womb resulting in induced birth of one fully formed baby and one 'sac containing matter')>live birth. So out of 6 pregnancies three were born healthy and four didn't make it.
Part way through all this she was told she had epilepsy (she didn't) and fortunately listened to me, refused the epilepsy drugs, went to a private doctor who diagnosed hypothyroidism on symptoms and my d-i-l had to buy her own medication. GP refused to accept the diagnosis until after the miscarriage of the twins and a hospital blood test came back 'Thyroid results satisfactory for someone on thyroid medication'. Tragedies that need not have happened.
So, despite all your symptoms your thyroid results unfortunately are all in range and I'm afraid will not persuade your GP to consider hypothyroidism. However, your FT4 is low in range and your FT3 quite low but will be considered normal. Here is a link to BMJ's Best Practice website which will explain about low TSH and low or normal FT4 and FT3 bestpractice.bmj.com/best-p... Have a read and maybe discuss with your GP which might possibly result in a referral to an endo. If you do get a referral email louise.warvill@thyroiduk.org.uk for a list of thyroid friendly endos and ask members for any opinions before going ahead.
However you do have a couple of nutritional deficiencies which you might want to address.
Ferritin is low and needs to be half way through range at least. Your GP won't prescribe an iron supplement because you are in range so you could get some Solgar Gentle Iron which contains 25mg elemental iron and that should bring your ferritin up. Take each tablet with 1000mg Vit C to aid absorption and help avoid constipation. Take iron away from other supplements.
Your B12 is low at 286. Below 500 and there is a risk of neurological problems. The Pernicious Anaemia Society recommends level of 1000 so you could supplement with Solgar or Jarrows sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 5000mcg to start with for a couple of months then reduce to 1000mcg.
When supplementing with B12 we also need a B Complex to balance the B vits. Look for one containing methylfolate (natural) rather than folic acid (synthetic). Methylfolate is the active form, folic acid needs to be converted. As your folate is good then you don't need a particularly high amount of methylfolate in the B Complex.
Your Vit D is a bit low at 71, 100+ is better. I would suggest getting a D3 supplement 2000iu, one daily, and also take K2-MK7. Vit D aids absorption of calcium and K2 directs the calcium to bones and teeth rather than arteries and soft tissues.
Don't expect your doctor to agree about your vits and mins, they just don't seem to have any knowledge of optimal results being important.
Your thyroid results are euthyroid - meaning there's no obvious problem. You do have highish rT3, but that is probably because you're not very well, are you. Your inflammation is very high. I don't know anything about APS, I'm afraid, but that could possibly be the reason for the inflammation, rather than your thyroid.
But, you do have very low nutrients : ferritin, vit D and B12.
Optimal for B12 is 1000, so you can see you're a long way off that. If I were you, I would supplement with 5000 mcg sublingual methylcobalamin daily for about four/five months. Then go onto a permanent maintenance dose of 1000. With that, take a B complex with methylfolate. Your folate isn't low, but if you want to get pregnant, you need good levels, and methyfolate is the best.
Your vit D should be a bit higher, around 85 ish. You could take about 1000 iu vit D3 daily. I'm not very good with vit D3 or ferritin, so hopefully, someone else will come along and give you better instructions. But, you do need to take some vit D3. And with it, some vit K2, because taking D3 increases absorption of calcium from food, and the K2 makes sure it goes into the bones, and not the tissues.
Your ferritin should be at least mid-range. So, you should supplement that, too. And take at least 1000 mg vit C with it, to help absorption. In fact, taking a high dose of vit C might help with the inflammation, too. You can increase to gut tolerance. Take a couple of thousand before bed, because that's when it's best used by the body.
If I were you, I would get your nutrients sorted before going on to adrenals - which might not be necessary anyway. With low ferritin, and very low B12, you are bound to feel tired and have bad symptoms. You could feel much, much better when they're optimal.
Thank you so much for all your replies. Please excuse my very delayed reply. I have been ill in bed for the past week with one thing and another! I will reply to each of you individually as soon as I am a bit more with it but thank you for being so helpful and supportive
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We have lost 3 pregnancies so far. According to the Dr's at the IVF clinic the reason we have miscarried is because of APS (putting me at a greater risk of miscarriage and still birth due to problems with my blood). I had no idea I had this until they told me. As I said previously, my GP is very dismissive and keeps telling me all my symptoms are stress related or it is all in my head (she jokingly called me a hypochondriac last week)! I left the surgery in tears, and it got me wandering if that was the case and it's all in my head. But i know in my heart of hearts that something isn't right. I least I now know am I am totally mad with the latest diagnosis of APS! But who knows if it also has anything to do with thyroid issues as well! 
Blue Horizon results-please help me understand. 
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