blood results advice

[hippy66]

Hi all,

had my blood results back from blue horizon. Please could someone take a look and feedback in simple terms what they mean.

CRP 1.80 <5.0 mg/L

Ferritin L 9.6 20-150 ug/L

TSH H 7.66 0.27-4.20 ml/UL

T4Total 100.2 64.5-142.0 nmol/L

Free T4 4.34 3.1-6.8 pmol/L

Anti-Thyroidperoxidase abs H 239.8 <34 kiU/L

Anti-Thyroglobulin Abs H 346.5 <115 kU/L

Vitamin B12 679 deficient<140 insufficient 140-250

Serum folate 20.09 8.83-60.8

interestingly GP blood results show different readings. Are there different ranges that labs use? :

B12 979 ng/L (187-883)

serum folate 8.7ug/L (3.1 - 20.5)

serum folate 2ug/L (10-204)

TSH 3.74mu/L (0.25 - 5.00)

T4 free 14pmol/L (9-19)

Levothyroxine increased from 50mcg - 100mcg. Building up to it in 25mcg doses. Also started on ferrous fumarate 210mg twice a day.

Could anyone say whether these results confirm Hashimotos or Graves? Notes added by doctor from blue horizon say they could suggest one or the other?

Well confused!!

Thank you for your help in advance.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

hippy66 My understanding is that TPO antibodies can be present for both but TG for Hashi's. Also, for Graves disease FT4 and FT3 would be high and TSH low. I'm happy to be corrected by someone with more knowledge of Graves than me.

I would say you have Hashi's.

Did your GP prescribe Ferrous Fumarate? I would have thought with your BH ferritin level being so low a full iron panel should be done.

I have no idea why your B12 should be so different other than because B12 isn't made in the body but from food (and the same for folate) then maybe you'd eaten something to boost your level when your GP test was done.

For your GP results you've put

serum folate 8.7ug/L (3.1 - 20.5)

serum folate 2ug/L (10-204)

Which is folate and what's the other one for?

[hippy66 in reply to SeasideSusie]

thanks for your reply seaside susie,

sorry GP result should read as serum folate 8.7 ug/L and serum ferritin 2 ug/L

GP prescribed ferrous fumarate. What does the rest of that sentence mean(BH ferritin and full iron panel). Only so I can go armed with info to GP if something needs tweaking

I guess a gluten free diet is worth a shot then if it's Hashi's. Do GP's even know of this ? If so, why don't they test for antibodies too? It would seem like a money saving exercise if it helps to stabilise some individuals symptoms rather than going back to them for more meds. Maybe I'm looking at it too simplistically.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to hippy66]

"I would have thought with your BH ferritin level being so low a full iron panel should be done."

I would have thought with your Blue Horizon ferritin level result being so low that your GP should do a full iron panel test, [there may be more going on than just low ferritin (ferritin being your iron store)].

Now that you've clarified that your GP ferritin test result was 2ug/L (10-204) then I think your GP has been negligent in not doing the full iron panel test and I think he should have given you an iron infusion rather than iron tablets.

You may want to research ferritin deficiency, here's one link to get you started healthline.com/health/ferritin

Iron tablets should be taken with 1000mg Vit C to aid absorption and help prevent constipation. Take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds and other supplements and medication.

Your folate could do with a boost as it should be at least half way through it's range. With the BH result it should be about 36 and with your GP range 11.8

Some GPs seem to know about Hashi's and gluten but not many.

They don't tend to test for antibodies because they don't always have much knowledge of thyroid disease and, of course, every test costs the surgery money.

I'm afraid I don't have much to say in favour of doctors, I have too much experience of being let down by them.

[hippy66 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I agree , I asked for an iron infusion some time ago having had a long history of low iron levels , GP said there was no proof they worked better than iron tablets!GP on Wednesday said my levels were a bit low but not too bad. GP hasn't seen BH results yet . I am due back on Monday so will ask then. GP tested me for celiacs. but didnt mention a correlation between hashi's and gluten. Thank you for your invaluable advice . It helps to have a bit of a clue what you're talking about when challenging GP's👍