blood test results

[spoonking]

Hi i am currently taking levothyroxine 100mcg 4 days a week 125mcg 3days a week would like your thoughts and advise on resent blood test results:-

TSH 0.43miu/L

B12 1479ng/L taking 1,000ug supplement

FOLATE 9.4ng/mL

FERRITIN 109ng/mL

also supplementing vit d Calcichew-*D3 Forte twice daily

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

spoonking Is your Calcichew Forte D3 prescribed by your GP? Has your calcium been tested? Unless we are deficient we shouldn't supplement with calcium.

As you are supplementing with D3, are you taking K2-MK7 and magnesium as well (they are co-factors)?

What is the range for folate and ferritin? It's not possible to say if they are optimal without the range.

B12 in on the high side but retesting after supplementing doesn't give an accurate result anyway.

Is your TSH within range? Do you feel OK on your current dose? To comment properly on thyroid results then FT4 and FT3 re really needed, along with reference ranges for everything.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes, sadly t3 and t4 missing is a sign of the times.

[spoonking in reply to SeasideSusie]

calcichew forte d3 is prescribed by gp. not taking k2-mk7 or magnesium. Test results:-

TSH 0.43mui/L ( 0.38-5.5 mui/L) asked if T3 had been tested, lab won't test for T3 if T4 within range.

B12 1479ng/L (211-911ng/L)

FOLATE 9.4ng/mL (3.4-15.8ng/mL)

FERRITIN 109ng/mL (22-322ng/mL)

Hope these are the figures you wanted, find the whole thyroid results confusing. Self medicated B12 because feel tired & weak most of the day read low B12 could cause these symptoms.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to spoonking]

Folate is just about right, half way is 9.6 and it should be at least half way in it's range.

Did you test B12 before self supplementing? It's always best to test to see if we do actually need to supplement with that particular vitamin or mineral.

When you are supplementing with B12 you should also take a B Complex to balance the B vits. It's best to use one that contains methylfolate (natural) rather than folic acid (synthetic) and that will keep your folate level topped up. You may want to look at what Gambit62 has linked to before deciding what to do about continuing with B12.

Ferritin needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work properly, and optimal is half way through range. If you're not taking an iron supplement then I'd just eat iron rich food to top yours up a bit, I eat liver once a week and find that is good enough for me.

Was FT4 tested? Your TSH is in a good place for a treated hypo patient but it's not the TSH that is important. FT3 is the most important test as that tells us what is going on with the active hormone but doctors don't seem to know this. How do you feel? Do you feel well or do you still have symptoms? What is it you actually want to know?

As far as the Calcichew Forte D3 is concerned, presumably it is this one (taken from patient information leaflet online):

"CALCICHEW*-D3 FORTE 500 mg/400 IU CHEWABLE TABLETS

calcium/colecalciferol....

Calcichew-D3 Forte is used to treat and prevent vitamin D/calcium deficiency, which may occur when your diet or lifestyle does not provide enough, or when body requirements are increased. This medicine may also be prescribed or recommended for certain bone conditions, for example osteoporosis, or during pregnancy.

.......

levothyroxine (hormone used to treat thyroid deficiency); these should be taken at least four hours before or after taking Calcichew- D3 Forte....."

Do you have a reason to be taking calcium? Was your calcium level tested and is it being monitored? What was your D3 level when tested?

If you've been prescribed it for low level of D3 then 400iu is a piddling amount, not even a maintenance amount.

If you don't have a low calcium level you shouldn't take a calcium supplement or any supplement containing it.

D3 aids absorption of calcium. That calcium needs to be directed to bones and teeth so that it doesn't get deposited in arteries and soft tissues. So when taking Vit D we also need K2-MK7 as this will put the calcium in the right place. So D3 and K2 work in synergy. Also, magnesium is another co-factor needed when taking D3. Unfortunately your GP won't know this as they're not trained in nutrition.

If you don't need the calcium then if you say what your level of Vit D is members can suggest a better supplement.

Are you taking the Calcichew 4 hours away from your Levo so as not to affect it's absorption?

[Gambit62]

re B12 please see my response on this post

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

as SeasideSusie says levels B12 serum levels don't really mean much if you are supplementing with the high doses you are using - what you need to monitor now is symptoms.

[Glynisrose]

TSH can become supressed no matter what thyroxine you are taking.