Trying To A Help a Friend

[janey1234]

Hello

This community has helped me enormously with my thyroid issues and I would be grateful if 'you' could have a look at my friends bloodtest results and perhaps see if we can help her too. I have gathered as much info' as I can (apologies if too much). Thank you in advance ☺

My friend is 59, suffers with rheumatoid arthritis and has generally been feeling 'not quite right' for many years. She recently went to the docs with her symptoms , had her bloods tested and was told everything is fine except her nails show she has Beau's Lines. All the rest of her symptoms were dismissed.

A lot her symptoms seem to match poss' thyroid ones, but GP said her thyroid is fine. I gave her the TUK list and she's ticked off the ones she has....

Tiredness

High Cholesterol

Weight Gain

Cold extremeties

Muscle cramps/weakness - Burning sensations

Joint stiffness

Foot/wrist pain

Puffy ankles

Abdominal distension

Blurred vision on occassions

Croaky voice

Brittle Nails

Wanting to be solitary

Easily upset

She also struggles to stay awake after lunch and would crash out if you could.

Since Sept 2016 she has been taking a Cytoplan 50+ Complete Multi Vitamin & Mineral with CoQ10 Immune Support. She also takes AllicinMax (to ward off colds and stomach bugs) & occasionally Fos-A-Dophilus live Acidophilus & Bifidobacteria pro-biotics. She doesn't take any medication for her RA but has days when just getting down the stairs is almost impossible because of the pain.

These are her bloodtests results (19th January 2017, taken 8am, non-fasting), again apologies if too much info'...

HbA1c level (DCCT) 5.6% (4 - 5.9%)

HbA1c level (IFCC) 38 (20 - 41)

Serum B12 413 (180 - 1100)

Serum Folate 7.3 (3 - 13)

Serum Ferritin 78.9 (20 - 300)

Thyroid.....

Free T4 15.5 (10.3- 24.5)

TSH 2.07 (0.3 - 5.5)

Bone Profile....

Serum Calcium 2.47 (2.15 - 2.6)

Corrected Serum Calcium 2.49 (2.15 - 2.6)

Serum Inorganic Phosphate 1.06 (0.8 - 1.4)

Liver function...

Serum Total Protein 63 (60 - 80)

Serum Albumin 41 (35 - 50)

Serum Globulin 22 (25 - 35)

Serum Alkaline Phosphatase 101 (30 - 130)

Serum Gamma GT level 17 (5 - 40)

Serum ALT level 12 (5 - 55)

Serum Total Bilirubin 2 (3 - 20)

Renal....

Serum Sodium 143 (135 - 145)

Serum Potassium 5.1 (3.5 - 5)

Serum Creatinine 78 (45 - 120)

Serum Urea 5.3 (3.3 - 6.7)

Full Blood Count....

Total White Cell count 7 (3.9 - 11.10)

Red blood cell count 4.46 (3.88 - 4.99)

Haemoglobin Estimation 128 (118 - 148)

Haematocrit 40.3 (36 - 46)

Mean Copuscular Volume (MCV) 90.4 (82 - 98)

Mean Corpusc haemoglobin 28.7 (27.3 - 32.6)

Platelet count 418 (140- 400)

Neutrophil 4.1 (1.7 - 7.5)

Eosinophil 0.1 (0.0 - 0.5)

Basophil 0.1 (0.0 - 0.1)

Monocyte 0.7 (<0.80)

Lymphocyte 2 (1 - 3.2)

She was told her cholesterol level in July 2016 was 'abnormal' at 5.7.

Is it possible her thyroid is struggling and perhaps an antibody test could show Hashis or does her result look ok?

Thank you. X

[SlowDragon Administrator]

As they are both autoimmune, it's very good idea to test both antibodies

everydayhealth.com/rheumato...

Also gluten is strongly suspect in all autoimmune diseases, not just Hashimoto's

glutenfreesociety.org/glute...

everydayhealth.com/rheumato...

[janey1234 in reply to SlowDragon]

That RA and Thyroid link is really interesting. Does her thyroid result suggest it is struggling and therefore a TPO (?) test is worth asking for?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to janey1234]

She should ask for both thyroid antibodies to be tested BECAUSE she has another autoimmune disease, therefore much more likely to have Hashimoto's.

TSH is currently too low for any NHS medic to consider as thyroid issue, unless she has high antibodies.

Bear in mind about 20% with Hashimoto's never have high antibodies, so a scan of thyroid if antibodies are low might be useful

There are two sorts of antibodies TPO Ab and TG Ab. (Thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin) Both need checking.

TPO is rarely checked and TG almost never checked. More common to have high TPO or high TPO AND high TG, but negative TPO and raised TG is possible, though rarer.

[janey1234 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon . Fingers crossed her GP will agree to test her TPO and / or AG. In a way, a positive result will give her something to work on and address, whereas at the moment she has a whole heap of symptoms and doesn't know what she is trying to fix.

If her GP refuses, is it worth getting a BH test done?

[Clutter in reply to janey1234]

Janey1234,

Your friend's TSH indicates her thyroid gland may be starting to struggle but currently her FT4 is good. NHS won't usually diagnose hypothyroidism until TSH is over range ie >5.5 and it is unlikely her TPOab will be tested until her TSH is abnormal.

[janey1234 in reply to Clutter]

I will pass all of this info' back to her...thank you.... none of her symptoms have been addressed though. Her GP said her results were fine and that was it. She continues to feel dreadful. 🙁

[Clutter in reply to janey1234]

Janey1234,

She needs to go back to her GP to see why she is feeling dreadful. A good start will be to consider whether medication for RA is helpful and to ask for ferritin, vitamin D, B12 and folate to be tested. Low/deficient levels can present symptoms very similar to hypothyroidism and make you feel very unwell.

[janey1234 in reply to Clutter]

Her Folate, Ferritin and B12 were tested...

Folate 7.3 (3 - 13)

Ferritin 78.9 (20 - 300)

B12 413 (180 - 1100)

I just googled the 50+ multivit she is taking and wonder whether they are the best way to get all the vits she needs and in the best form / strength eg) isn't the B12 part lost in stomach acid (as opposed to sublingual form which is what I take), or Vit D supposed to be taken with a fatty food?

I will def' suggest the Vit D test too.

Having been 'fixed' myself by the team here on TUK (inc' advice from yourself), it's really difficult to see others possibly being left to suffer unnecessarily when maybe we (you) can help.

Thanks Clutter ☺

[Clutter in reply to janey1234]

Jayney1234,

I can't see any problem with those results.

I don't personally rate multi-vits. There isn't enough of what's needed if, for instance, your friend was vitD deficient, and they often have iron and calcium in the same tablet which means they won't do much good but they won't do harm either.

[janey1234 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter x

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Personally I would get both antibodies tested privately. It would probably be huge uphill battle with GP, who would only test TPO antibodies anyway, so you friend woukd end up paying to get both checked

She could/should also try 3-6 months strictly gluten free

[janey1234 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok...thank you SlowDragon . I'm going to pass all of this to my friend. This has been a great help and already I feel more positive for her. X

[rosiet84]

Her Hba1c results are pretty high in range which suggests blood sugar issues. A low glycemic index diet would be a good idea as she may develop diabetes unless her blood sugar is stabilised. Unstable blood sugar could lead to blurry vision etc described.

[janey1234 in reply to rosiet84]

Thank you rosiet84 . I will pass that info' on.