Medichecks results-Thought I may have a thyroid or b12 problem but in range apart from folate and crp.

[In-limbo]

Hello. I have many symptoms with overlap with thyroid and b12. This past year I have visited the dr dozens of times they think I'm a hypochondriac so I did these test through medichecks. I'm suffering a lot with air hunger right now and tiredness. I also have loose stool most days and have had since I had gallbladder removed a year ago. I was diagnosed with h pylori in April and had treatment. I'm at a loss where to go from here.

[Clutter]

In-Limbo,

Thyroid results are within normal range. TSH > 2.0 indicates the thyroid gland is beginning struggle to produce hormone and FT4 is bottom of range. However, NHS rarely makes a diagnosis until TSH is over range or FT4 below range. I recommend you give a copy of your results to your GP and ask for them to be placed in your medical records and request a follow up thyroid test in 3 months in case FT4 drops below range.

Thyroid antibodies are negative for autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's).

Folate is deficient (below range). My GP prescribed 5mg folic acid to correct my folate deficiency.

B12 is lower in range than many are comfortable with but because it is within range NHS will not prescribe. You can buy 1,000mcg methylcobalamin sublingual lozenges over the counter to supplement.

CRP is an inflammation marker and indicates you have inflammation or infection somewhere in the body.

Ferritin is low in range. 75-100 is optimal. You could supplement iron which can be taken with 1,000mg vitamin C to aid absorption and minimise constipation.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[In-limbo in reply to Clutter]

Many thanks for your help. Previously my tsh has never been above 2." When tested it is usually closer to 1.

I have changed GP practice recently as my previous go surgery don't care about investigating any of my symptoms. They just think I'm an anxious hypochondriac! I strongly suspect I have some kind of autoimmune disease so thought I'd start with these tests as it covers hashimotos and b12 deficiency.

I also have had a sunburn like rash on my chest for months that I don't know the cause of and if it's related I'm guessing testing ANA is next?

I feel so alone as Drs do not take me seriously as I have so many symptoms I'm now scared to see a GP as hate feeling like they think I'm crazy or worrying over nothing. I used to be a midwife and now I can't work due to my symptoms I haven't worked in 2.5 years since my daughter was born.

[Clutter in reply to In-limbo]

In-Limbo,

It's sad that patients are made to feel like hypochondriacs because their doctors can't work out what is wrong with them from the symptoms they present

If your GP doesn't know what the rash is you should be referred to a dermatologist.

[hebden in reply to In-limbo]

I too changed GP practice recently for the 3rd time because I just can't get any one to take me seriously. Ive been told its in my head or its fibromyalgia which they know nothing about and just want to give me anti depressants. Im either mad, a hypochondriac or its all down to my weight. I have just started having anxiety / panic attacks and I don't sleep well at all. I lost my job nearly 2 years ago through ill health and I just want to feel like me again. I am trying to optimise my vitamins and minerals and then get another private BH blood test to see where my thyroid levels are as I think I will have to start self medicating.

[leoopard in reply to hebden]

Sorry to hear that hebden. I had to change GP three times due to a similar diagnosis (ME/CFS). My current one isn't exactly helpful but they are far less obstructive and don't talk a load of psycho-twaddle so I think I am probably pretty lucky.

[In-limbo in reply to hebden]

Sorry you are also going through this. It's ridiculous do they think I enjoy going to the Drs. It's not like I have the time I have 3 young kids to look after which is very difficult to do when suffering all these symptoms! I've also deciding I need to change my diet and start taking more supplements.

[humanbean]

In a healthy person with a healthy thyroid TSH is usually around 1 - 1.5. Yours is substantially higher than that suggesting your thyroid is struggling. Unfortunately the NHS won't treat underactive thyroid until TSH is over the range, and in some cases they wait for it to go over 10, which signifies to me that the doctor is either a sadist or an idiot.

Your Free T4 of 12.5 (12 - 22) is only 5% of the way through the reference range. That is much too low. To feel well hypothyroid people on levothyroxine usually need it to be in the top half of the range, and maybe even as high as the top third or quarter of the range.

Your Free T3 is 33% of the way through the reference range. To feel well hypothyroid people on levothyroxine usually need it to be in the top half of the range and maybe as high as the top third or the top quarter.

Your antibody results are currently negative suggesting that, for now, you don't have antibodies attacking your thyroid. This could change - the result isn't set in stone.

Your vitamin B12 is too low. Neurological damage can occur with a result lower than about 500. Your folate is much too low as well. You should talk to the Pernicious Anaemia Society on this site for more advice on your B12 and folate levels. You can find them here :

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

You are allowed to join as many communities on this site as you like, you aren't just stuck with us

Your CRP (C-Reactive Protein) is too high. It is a measure of inflammation in the body. For more info on it :

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

The problem is that CRP indicates inflammation without actually telling you where it is. If a doctor was to act on a CRP level like yours (they almost certainly wouldn't though), they would have to ask about symptoms and do other tests to try and find out what was causing the inflammation. Do you know of any condition which could be causing the high result?

You could have problems with allergies e.g. problems with gluten or lactose, for example, which were causing inflammation in the gut if you were still eating bread, or food containing milk products.

Lots of people with thyroid problems find going gluten-free helps, but usually it is the people who have positive antibodies who try the experiment. I have never had positive antibodies, but I did give up gluten (reluctantly) as an experiment and I got lots of benefits. I have previously been tested for coeliac disease and it was negative, but my experiment has shown I probably have gluten ataxia. The gluten was affecting my brain rather than my gut.

Your ferritin is too low. You need to get it up to about mid-range i.e. up to about 80 - 90 with the range you have been given. Iron is actually poisonous in overdose, so caution is needed to avoid overdoing it, and regular testing is essential.

This test is a good one for checking iron status and nothing else :

medichecks.com/find-a-test/...

The problem is that people differ in their ability to absorb iron. Some raise their levels quickly, some people could take a couple of years. So, until you know how well you absorb it you should test every 8 weeks or so. And be careful if other conditions change. My ferritin crept up very, very slowly while I supplemented. Then I gave up gluten and my absorption improved a lot and I suddenly had more ferritin than I needed. So be careful.

You can buy high-dose iron supplements in UK pharmacies or online, but not in UK supermarkets. People often have problems tolerating iron supplements so you will have to experiment.

A couple of the popular ones on this forum (there are lots of different kinds available) are :

Ferrous fumarate 210mg in a box of 84. Take one tablet, 2 or 3 times a day. Each tablet contains 69mg of pure iron.

Ferrous bisglycinate (also known as iron bisglycinate or Gentle Iron), take in the same way as ferrous fumarate. Each tablet or capsule is likely to contain 20mg - 25mg pure iron, but check the packaging. This can only be bought online on sites like Amazon.

More info on iron supplements :

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

Take 500mg - 1000mg of vitamin C with each iron pill to help absorption and to reduce the risk of constipation.

It's a shame you don't have a vitamin D result. Low vitamin D makes people feel awful.

If you want to test vitamin D with a finger-prick test :

vitamindtest.org.uk/index.html

[In-limbo in reply to humanbean]

Many thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately I cannot tolerate iron tablets they give name sickness stomach pain and diarrhoea instead of constipating.

I had my vit d checked in April and it was 50 nmol/l with the range starting at 50. A few years ago it was 21 and I felt awful.

I've been tested for coeliac and it was negative but I do wonder if that could be causing my problems. I also have broken out in cystic acne on my back and jawline (I'm 35!) I suspect that I need to trial giving up gluten though it will be difficult as I love carbs and I'm a vegetarian.

[humanbean in reply to In-limbo]

A level of 50 nmol/L for your vitamin D is too low, in my opinion. I had a level in the 50s and raised it to about 100 and it made a huge improvement in how well I felt.

Have you experimented with iron tablets? There are lots of different kinds. Which ones have you tried?

[In-limbo in reply to humanbean]

I've tried the usual ferrous sulphate/fumerate/gluconate. Also tried fersymal liquid iron. Floradix syrup and feroglobin slow release tablets.

I used to take spatone and tolerated that a few years ago so will try that again though I k own it is a much smaller amount of iron but I'll have to increase it slowly.

I have some 5000iu vitamin d tablets so I will start taking them again and see if it helps.

I must push to get this rash diagnosed my problem is I don't argue I just say ok and suffer in silence.

[loueldhen]

Are you doing anything with your diet?

[In-limbo in reply to loueldhen]

No I haven't been but I am going to start eating better.

[loueldhen in reply to In-limbo]

Be radical. It's the place to start. It doesn't matter what imbalance exists. I like Isabellla Wenz and Sarah Ballantyne but Kelly Brogan puts it very succinctly: no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no cheating. Try it for two weeks. (I include dried fruit in the 'no sugar' rule). If that doesn't help I would look at any medications you are on. I have at several points in my life been at a dead end with a medical approach. All times I have recovered by eating clean first.

[In-limbo in reply to loueldhen]

That is radical! I'm a vegetarian so that doesn't leave me with much to eat! I wouldn't know how to start!

I'm not on any regular meds.

[loueldhen in reply to In-limbo]

Just watched the series 'Betrayal' Tom O-Brady. They had interviews with vegetarians who had been forced to reconsider their position because it's very difficult to achieve healthy as an 'autoimmune' vegetarian. I think the series will replay at the weekend if you can catch it but it's good at explaining why there are so many autoimmune issues these days and why diet is so important to counter them. At least you're not on meds. They frequently make matters worse not better. See if you can work out a way of doing it for a couple of weeks. If you search for paleo vegetarian you may get some info.

[leoopard]

Hi InLimbo,

These results have hopefully reassured you that you were right all along.

Several things jump out:

DEAL with these FIRST

1. Your C Reactive Protein is VERY high - this indicates some form of serious inflammation OR an infection.

This requires a conversation with your Doctor.

2. Your B12 and B9 are far from optimal. Deficiency in each creates similar symptoms

- While your doctor would prescribe Folic Acid for this - it's synthetic and can both cause issues and make blood tests invalid. I would choose to take 800mcg of Methyl folate and 1000mcg of Methyl-B12. Both are best in sublingual tablets (dissolve them under your tongue) and freely available on Amazon.

- if your Doctor offers Folic Acid don't argue she/he won't understand the problem with them.

- we want Folate to be 15 or higher and B12 to be 500 or higher.

Look into these AFTER your B9 deficiency and any infection have been deal with.

3. Your T3 and T4 are not high enough for great health (these may in part be downstream of your B9 / Ferritin).

4. Your Ferritin (stored iron) is not high enough for optimal health (this may be downstream of thyroid).

Best of luck,

[In-limbo in reply to leoopard]

Many thanks for you help. With regards to the crp any time it has been measured in the last 2 years it has never been under 5 and is usually 10. Drs haven't been concerned about it al all. I would have a guess it is due to inflammatory response rather than infection as its been raised for so long. I've decided that I need to sort out my diet (I'm about 2 stone overweight)

[humanbean]

I saw a program on TV a couple of months ago called something like "The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs" in which a doctor was trying to reduce the number of antibiotics that were prescribed to patients in an ordinary surgery in the UK. He used a machine (not usually available to GPs) that measured CRP in the surgery as a way of convincing people they didn't need antibiotics.

One of the women he tested went into the surgery because she had a respiratory infection. He tested her CRP and it was 50, so she got a prescription for antibiotics after all.

I think the obvious implication is that CRP will be very, very high indeed when there is active infection, and it may be only slightly raised if there is inflammation. I suspect this is why doctors aren't interested in CRP unless it is very high indeed. For inflammation we are on our own in trying to find a cause and/or cure, sadly.

[In-limbo in reply to humanbean]

Yes I used to be a midwife and we wouldn't be worried in terms of infection with a level of 10 I do think it does indicate inflammation though. What I don't know is what is causing the inflammation. Is it a food intolerance gluten? Lactose? Or due to low b12 I don't know!

[humanbean in reply to In-limbo]

Sorry, but I don't know. There must be hundreds of causes of inflammation, some more likely than others, and people just have to cross their fingers, try things, experiment, and hope for the best.

I suspect that there are probably allergy tests and/or blood tests that might narrow down or eliminate some possibilities, but it is something I know nothing about.

A few years ago I had biopsies taken during endoscopy and blood tests that all came back negative for coeliac disease. So I carried on eating gluten for another five years after those tests.

I eventually gave up gluten in desperation as an experiment, expecting to gain nothing. But it turns out I do have problems with gluten after all - probably gluten ataxia (I have no official diagnosis), and I feel loads better when not eating gluten. So, even testing may not tell you what you want to know.

[In-limbo in reply to humanbean]

That's very interesting with regards to the gluten. The one dr I saw at my old surgery out of about 7 who mentioned nutrition actually advised me to give up wheat and gluten he said it could cause a lot of my problems even though I'm not a coeliac (had blood test) I should really have listened to him. I need to give up gluten for at least a few month and see if it helps. As a vegetarian I eat a lot of pasta and bread though.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to In-limbo]

Gf bread and pasta are both acceptable, or at least I felt they tasted good enough (I got on well with Genius bread but if you taste-test a few you should find one that works). Quinoa is grain-free and I use it in place of more carb-heavy rice and potato. You can also do a thing with steamed cauliflower which apparently is a lot like rice (you can find the recipe if you google cauli or paleo rice or similar).

I think if you want to try gf, if you can identify substitutes you can live with for the top two or three foods you find yourself eating most often you'll be halfway there.

[Jenny3267]

I had a bad experience with Medichecks. Also take a look at trust pilot reviews. Their tests aren’t very accurate. People have had different results. I tried to have a test done and it was a dreadful process. Very unprofessional.