Help with Mother's test results - high TPO

[Misscshell24]

With my recent thyroid issues I suggested my mom get her thyroid levels checked with BH. She is in Quinton, Birmingham UK. She is not on any medications and this is her first time having her levels checked. She is 68 years old. Does this mean she has Hashi's?

Many thanks!

[shaws Administrator]

Yes, she has an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease called Hashimoto's.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Some doctors wont prescribe thyroid hormones if the TSH hasn't risen but if you email [e-mail] and ask for a copy of Dr Toft (ex President of the BTA) article in Pulse Online, highlight where he says that if antibodies are present should be given levothyroxine.

[Misscshell24 in reply to shaws]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate your response and will email Louise Roberts.

My mom has had textbook hypothyroid symptoms since I can remember, extreme sensitivity to cold, fatigue, weakness, feeling run down, weight fluctuations, insomnia, digestive issues, mental health up and down cycles, etc. so surprised all her other levels are within range.

[gabkad in reply to Misscshell24]

Her ferritin is high. Do you have any ideas? Is she taking an iron supplement? If not, then she needs to get her liver checked out. Ferritin can be high if the cells in the liver are leaking. That's not good. If she is overweight then it's fatty liver disease. This can make a person feel poorly.

[Misscshell24 in reply to gabkad]

I have asked her if she is taking an iron supplement and will post when she replies. She is quite slim. Thank you very much for letting me know about the iron and liver. If she is not taking supplements I will have her get her liver checked.

[Marz in reply to Misscshell24]

Raised Ferritin can sometimes indicate inflammation somewhere in the body. My husband's was raised when he was first diagnosed with Hashimotos and then reduced once he was being treated. So it could have been linked to his inflamed thyroid.

Yes the results are in range but the FT3 - the ACTIVE hormone - is low and just above the range. So that could be the reason for many of her symptoms. Good that you had the tests done privately - as GP's/Labs rarely test the FT3 - and you would never have known.

There are more receptors in the brain for T3 than in any other part of the body - I have read. In fact T3 was once used for people with depressive illnesses back in the 50's and 60's.

I am not a medic - but a Hashi's sufferer with a B12 issue.

PS. I would suggest a B12 supplement to improve levels up to 1000 and also some VitD for the winter months to bring it up to 100.

I would keep an eye on the Ferritin level - too much is not so good.

[Misscshell24 in reply to Marz]

Thank you ever so much. I will talk with my mom about everything. She has a dr's appt to go over the results. I will have her relay everything to the doctor so hopefully he will be of some use.

[Misscshell24 in reply to gabkad]

She is not taking supplements so will have her get liver levels checked. Any certain tests or just basic liver panel?

[gabkad in reply to Misscshell24]

C-reactive Protein is a generalized test for inflammation. As Marz wrote, she may have something going on. But ferritin does come from leaking liver cells, so a full panel for enzymes is a good idea. Also pancreatic lipase. You never know what's going on but not feeling well is a good reason to check things in more detail and not assume only that the thyroid meds are inadquate. The body will reduce conversion of T4 to T3 when there's something 'off'.

Since your mother is not taking supplements or vitamins of any kind, either she is eating lots of greens and vitamin B12 containing foods or her level of B12 is relatively high in range because that too leaks from liver cells.

[Misscshell24 in reply to gabkad]

Thank you very much. We are Skyping shortly, so appreciate all the helpful info so I can relay it all to her.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Misscshell24]

Her FT3 is low so suggests to me she is hypo and her FT4 is lowish as well. I'll give you links. T3 is the active hormone required in all our receptor cells for us to function. T4 is inactive and has to convert to T3.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/diagno...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

One doctor, now deceased, tried to fight against the guidelines as he said many people were in parlous situations because of the failure to diagnose by symptoms and refuse a trial of hormones.

[Misscshell24 in reply to shaws]

I appreciate all of the helpful information. Emailed Louise and I will talk with my mom about it all. I just heard back and she is not taking any iron supplements or foods high in iron.