Blood Test Results

[Maud04]

Good evening,

Finally had some blood tests done by my GP. He advises my B12 is low therefore I am to do nothing and he will test again in one month and if it is still low i will have injections for two weeks on alternate days then once every three months.

Since last test my TSH has dropped from 9.27 to 6.41 *H(0.34 - 5.41) but my FreeT4 has also dropped from 14.7 to 12.9 (9 -24) He did however say that he does not pay any heed to the TSH (which from what I have read on here may be a good thing?)

VITAMIN ASSAYS

Vitamin B12 176 pg/ml *L( >200 )

Serum folate7.1 ng/ml (>2 )

GENERAL BIOCHEMISTRY COMPOSITE

sodium 139 mmol/L (133 - 146)

Potassium 4.1 mmol/L (3.5 - 5.3)

chloride 101 mmol/L (95 - 108)

Urea 5.2 mmol/L (2.5 - 7.8)

creatinine 73 umol/L (50 - 100)

Estimated GFR >60 ml/min/1.73m^2

Bilirubin 9 umol/L (<21)

Alk, Phos. 50 u/L (30 - 130)

ALT 20 u/L (5 - 55)

Albumin 41 g/L (35 - 50)

Calcium 2.38 mmol/L (2.20 - 2.60)

Adjusted Calcium 2.36 mmol/L (2.20 - 2.60)

C-Reactive Protien <5 mg/L (0 - 9 )

GLUCOSE

4.4 mmol/L (Random 3.5 - 5.5)

FULL BLOOD COUNT 10^9/L

Haemoglobin 131 g/L (118 - 148) white blood cells 8.2 (4.0 - 11.0)

RBC 4.09 10^12/L (3.9-5.0) Neutrophils 4.6 (2.0-7.5)

HCT 0.383 (0.36 - 0.44) Lymphocytes 2.7 (1.5-4.0)

MCV 93.8 fl (80.0 - 98.0) Monocytes 0.4 (0.2 - 1)

MCH 32.0 pg (27.0 - 32.0) Eosinophils 0.2 (0.1 - 0.7)

MCHC 341 g/L (310 - 360) Basophils 0.2 (0.0 - 0.2)

RDW 13.4% (10 - 14) Myelocytes

%HYPO 1.9 Promyelocytes

PLATLETS 261 10^9L (150 - 400)

MPV 9.2 fl

that is the lot

Just when I thought I was getting to grips with results by reading other peoples posts and the advice given ..........but this lot I am at a loss, any help would be greatly appreciated and I wil thank you in advance.

By the way he has upped my dose to 125mcg of levo with apossibility of 150 mcg in four weeks if my results are not better (I thought reading on here you should wait 6 weeks?)

Kind regards

Maud04

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Has any one checked your vitamin D?

If you can't face nagging GP again then can get spot blood test done via city assay for £28

vitamindtest.org.uk

Also do you know if your hypothyroid due to Hashimoto's? Have you had your antibodies checked?

There are two sorts TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) Both need checking, if either, or both are high this means autoimmune thyroid - called Hashimoto's, the most common cause of being hypo. NHS rarely checks TPO and almost never checks TG.

Make sure you get the actual figures from tests (including ranges - figures in brackets). You are entitled to copies of your own results. Some surgeries make nominal charge for printing out.

If you can not get GP to do these tests, then like many of us, you can get them done privately

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Blue Horizon - Thyroid plus eleven tests all these INCLUDING vitamin d

This is an easy to do fingerprick test you do at home, post back and they email results to you couple of days later.

Usual advice on this test, (home one or on NHS) is to do early in morning, ideally before 9am. No food or drink beforehand (other than water) don't take Levo in 24 hours before (take straight after). This way your tests are always consistent, and it will show highest TSH, and as this is mainly all the medics decide dose on, best idea is to keep result as high as possible.

If you have Hashimoto's then you may find adopting 100% gluten free diet can help reduce symptoms, and lower antibodies too.

Best advice is to read as much as you can. Vitamin and minerals levels are very important, but standard NHS thinking, doesn't at the moment seem to recognise this. You will see, time and time again on here lots of information and advice about importance of good levels of B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D and gluten connection to autoimmune Hashimoto's too.

vitamindcouncil.org/tag/aut...

[Maud04 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks Slow Dragon ,

No Vit D not tested, in fact GP did not ask for B12, I mentioned it to the nurse taking the blood sample and she said we will just add it in! .....................Did not want to push my luck too hard

I did ask the GP about Hashimotos because of my TSH and T4 results but he kinda batted it away and said lets get your levels better and we will look at that later .....

I was recently diagnosed after ending up in hospital with pneumonia and sepsis from which i did not seem to be recovering. A respritory consultant noticed my goitre when I was sent back to hospital for a chest x-ray and hence I got a diagnosis of underactive thyroid primary hypothyroidism.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Maud04]

Good books/websites to read

The thyroid pharmacist -Hashimoto's the root cause

Immune system recovery plan, by Susan Blum

Amy Myers website

If we have Hashimoto's we need to address this aspect, as well as taking replacement Levo

But NHS doesn't address the autoimmune aspect, or consider importance of vitamins or acknowledge common issue of gluten intolerance

I wasted nearly 20 years believing GP / endo.

[Maud04 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you Slow Dragon

Looks like I will be going to Blue Horizon for tests then.............as I said or tried to say in my earlier post I have no idea what most of the results are or what he was even testing for ? Some results look okay to me while others do not look all that great but have no idea if they are bad?

And it would seem they were possibly a waste of money as it would have been more useful to have antibodies and Vit D tested

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Maud04]

Yep......I had so many expensive tests ......probably approaching 100's of blood tests in 20 years, as well as brain electrode tests, MRI, pituitary function tests, ms test, test for pheocromacytoma, ACTH test, etc etc .........so much cheaper to have tested Vit D and advised I try gluten free, even though my coeliac test was negative.

Never tested for B12, folate or ferritin either.

My profile has more

[whispers60]

Its ok to ignore tsh results once you have got them where they should be and then focus on ft4 and ft3 ( which he doesn't seem to have checked? ) I don't know about your other test results as I do not know enough about them. However your tsh is still too high and should be around 1 or under.

Can I ask how you take your levo please. and yes,myou are right, 6/8 weeks is the ideal time between tests.

I am sure some of the more knowledgable people will be along to help you out with the blood results

[Maud04 in reply to whispers60]

Good afternoon Whispers60,

Funnily my GP asked the same question and was surprised by my answer.

I take my pill at around 330am with around 3/4 of a pint of water , I read on here somewhere to take a large glass of water ...........so that is what I do! I am really sick and tired of being sick and tired LOL and am prepared to do just about anything to feel better.

Kind regards

Maud04

[Cyclegirl]

Your TSH is really high!

[Maud04 in reply to Cyclegirl]

Cyclegirl

Not as high as it was around 9 weeks ago when it was around 84 or something silly

Kind regards

Maud04

[Cyclegirl in reply to Maud04]

I hear ya, mine was 94 at one point. Mine is below 1 now.

[Maud04 in reply to Cyclegirl]

Cyclegirl

How long did it take for you to get your dose correctand levels to be correct ? I suppose I have not been at this very long although I would be I have had a thyroid problem for some time (looking back and knowing what I now know and that so far is not so much ! but I am reading all the time and trying to take in what I read. So keep hoping for that miracle cure

[Cyclegirl]

I am in the states- had hypo for 20 years. When it was bad like that they kept checking me every 2-3 weeks I think, but it takes 6-7 weeks to normalize. All together I would guess 9 weeks.

[Maud04 in reply to Cyclegirl]

Thank you Cyclegirl

For me it has now been nine or ten weeks and I am worse than I was a month ago, Perhaps that is because I have gone back to work on a phased return.......I am trying to be optimistic about it all but every week it gets more difficult.... but then I should be grateful I am still alive as when admitted to hospital i was pretty poorly with pneumonia and sepsis, they only discovered the thyroid problem a couple of months later.

[mistydog]

Your B12 is already at a critical level, I don't know why he wants to wait to treat it (apart from money). I wouldn't worry about the TSH test in 4 weeks, you are already way undertreated, so it won't probably do harm to go up in 4 weeks, but obviously you need to let the next gap be 6-8 weeks if possible.

I'd seriously look at changing your doctor though - I appreciate that he doesn't go by TSH but you are sick and tired, right?!!!

[Maud04 in reply to mistydog]

Thanks Mistydog

As I told a work colleague Sick and tired of being sick and tired it has been a long haul I have not been well since Christmas but then the hospital stay with sepsis and pneumonia.........they only discovered the thyroid problem 9-10 weeks ago because i was going to the doc weekly with what I thought was another chest infection aching bones etc and a respritory consultant noticed my goitre I thought I had a fat neck due to the weight I have put on which I thought was due to my age

I will stop now as I ammoaning again !LOL

you are right about my GP even though I have been asking for months for a B12 check he did not order it I asked the nurse taking my blood and she said may as well along with all the others ....so it seems I was right but for some reason they have to check in one month to ensure it is not just a one off ............then I will get injections every other day for two wees then once every three months for life.

The funny thing about the visit is he asked me to ist my symptoms and ironic as it is I forgot to mention a few things but in particular by bad memory

Made me laugh on the way home

Kind regards

Maud04

[mistydog in reply to Maud04]

I think you need to make a list and then take it with you when you go back! Put bad memory at the top (it's a big symptom of low B12!).