folate 15.5 ug/l 4.6-18.7) B12 very high at 1770 ng/l but then i take a lot and have monthly jabs serrum ferritin 79.8 ug/l (13 - 150) Vit D 65.3 nmol/l (borderline 25-75 optimal 75- 200 over 250 poss toxicity) zinc 15.5umol/l (11-24) magnesium .94 mmol/l (.70 - 1.00) selenium 1.29 umol/l (0.89 - 1.65)
thyroid peroxidase antibodies - negative (ranges <60 = neg 60-100 equivocal >100 =positive) no figure given so must be les than 60.
The tsh is still on high side and vit D borderline - could these 2 things be why I am so tired and struggle in the mornings? Also SO VERY forgetful. Memory dreadful - worryingly so.
Any advice?
Thanks
Written by
Gillsie54
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Firstly while your TSH is higher than it should be unfortunately you will not get treated on the NHS or even likely privately in the UK for hypothyroidism. NICE guidelines state that TSH has to be 10+ to get treatment or FT4 has to be out of range. In cases where doctors may agree to trial levo then your TSH level must be above the range. As most private endos also work in the NHS they have no incentive to treat you privately as they don't want to get struck off if another doctor complaints about their "unethical" treatment of a patient. In addition most doctors have been sold the myth that it is the TSH that matters when in fact it is your T3 level so won't treat you regardless as you aren't out of range. (Your T3 level is high but due to your high TSH it indicates your thyroid is struggling.)
Secondly on to your vitamin D level. If you have any autoimmune disease - and you have one - you need to make sure your vitamin D level is not just adequate at 75nmol/L but optimal at around 100nmol/L. To get to this level you should supplement 5,000IU per day of vitamin D3 for about 8 weeks then every other day take a 5,000IU vitamin D3 supplement. After 3 months get tested.
You can buy a finger prick test from City Assays, who are actually an NHS hospital in the Birmingham area, for £28 and perform the test at home then post it back to them. If your level is still too low repeat until it gets to around 100nmol/L. It doesn't matter if your result is over as long as it isn't over l50nmol/L.
You will need to continue to supplement vitamin D3 for life however the dose may vary therefore it is important for you to have a vitamin D test once a year at the start of Autumn to check your level and then vary your dose accordingly.
Thank you so much for that info. I will start some vit d supplements. Is there anything I can take to help my thyroid work better or is it best not to interfere?
I forgot to add your ferritin level is good so make sure you keep it at that level. You don't want to go lower than 75.
This link give more information about the interaction between ferritin and haemoglobin so you know why it is important to maintain a good level. chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev... (You can ignore the chemistry bits at the end unless you are into chemistry.)
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 in UK of being hypo.
(NHS rarely checks TPO and almost never checks TG. NHS believes it is impossible to have negative TPO and raised TG. It's rare, but not impossible, there are a few members on here that have this.)
I have seronegative hashimotos. No antibodies in blood, the immune attack is totally contained within the thyroid. They confirmed with fine needle aspiration.
No, it's exactly the same. I've read that the disease is less severe if you have this - I suppose because you don't get bursts of antibodies in your blood. I don't know, it feels rubbish to me!
How on earth do I get the GP to check for thyroid hormone resistance? I can not get any thyroid checks via the GP other than TSH and it took 10 years for them to give me the correct diagnosis of pernicious anaemia. (I tested positive for intrinsic factor antibodies and parietal cell antibodies.) It is all so frustrating. Thanks for all the info from everyone though.
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