Vitamin/mineral results advice required - Thyroid UK

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Vitamin/mineral results advice required

Josephine8585 profile image
6 Replies

I am a 32 year old member with hypothyroidism/Hashimotos. Current symptoms are

Deafness

anxiety

easily fatigues

sweats

hot flashes

heavy periods

dry skin

dry eyes

hair loss

eyebrow loss

dry mouth

flaky nails

constipation

joint aches and pains

muscle spasms/twitching

forgetfulness

headaches

dizziness when standing from sitting

low blood sugar

low heart rate

puffy feet and ankles

yellow tinge to skin

pale skin

dark rings under eyes

confusion

getting lost easily

ears ringing

weight loss

If anyone could help advise on my latest results for vitamins and minerals I would be grateful. GP says I have anaemia but it is unknown what type I have. I am also taking 800iu vitamin D3 for 4 years and folic acid 5mg any ideas please? Thankyou.

Jan-2017

SERUM FERRITIN - 16 (15 - 150 UG/L)

*SERUM FOLATE - 2.3 (2.5 - 19.5 UG/L)

SERUM VITAMIN B12 197 (180 - 900 PG/L)

TOTAL 25 OH VITAMIN D - 30.3 (>75 NMOL/L)

TOTAL WHITE CELL COUNT - 5.4 (4.0 - 11.0)

*HAEMOGLOBIN ESTIMATION - 114 (115 - 160 G/L)

RED BLOOD CELL COUNT - 4.97 (3.80 - 5.80)

HAEMATOCRIT - 0.400 (0.37 - 0.47)

*MCV - 78.8 (80 - 98 FL)

*MCHC - 372 (310 - 360 G/L)

MCH - 27.8 (27.0 - 32.0 PG)

PLATELET COUNT - 240 (150 - 400)

NEUTROPHIL COUNT - 2.8 (2.0 - 7.5)

LYMPHOCYTE COUNT - 1.9 (1.0 - 4.0)

MONOCYTE COUNT - 0.4 (0.2 - 0.8)

EOSINOPHIL COUNT - 0.2 (0.0 - 0.4)

BASOPHIL COUNT - 0.0 (0.0 - 0.2)

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6 Replies
Clutter profile image
Clutter

Josephine8585,

800iu is an insufficient dose to correct your low vitD which causes joint and bone pain. I would take 10,000iu daily x 6 weeks and then reduce to 5,000iu daily and retest late July. Aim for 75-100nmol/L.

You can buy D3 without prescription on Amazon. Please use the TUK affiliate link if you use Amazon healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Low ferritin, low haemoglobin and low MCV indicate iron anaemia. Has your GP ordered an iron panel or prescribed iron?

labtestsonline.org/understa...

Folate is deficient which is why you have been prescribed 5mg folic acid.

B12 is very low and may be causing some of your symptoms. Ask for advice about B12 deficiency on healthunlocked.com/pasoc

Josephine8585 profile image
Josephine8585 in reply to Clutter

Thanks I was prescribed ferrous fumarate before but they upset my stomach. GP says that is not their problem. Iron panel came back low but not out of range.

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply to Josephine8585

Josephine8585,

GP said it's not their problem you can't tolerate Ferrous Fumarate? Charming! You can buy other types of iron which you may find more tolerable. Humanbean has listed alternatives in her post below.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

All are very low suggesting gut is seriously affected. Gluten free should help

Folate & B12 are far too low - suggest you also post on PAS site (pernicious anemia)

Get GP to do full testing for PA - especially as you are already on folic acid - which can mask B12 issues

You may need to take folate rather than folic acid - some have issues converting folic acid to folate

Low B12 = low stomach acid - lots of posts on here about how to test & treat

Vitamin D - you need much larger dose. Looking for test result to be at least 70, preferably above 100. Ask GP for loading dose - or alternatively just order higher dose from Amazon or similar. Oil based soft gels 5000iu (or even 1000iu) daily for 2-3 months. Then retest - aim at maintaining near 100. some find 1000-2000iu daily in winter only is fine, others need higher & all year

Postal testing via vitamindtest.org.uk - £28

Ferritin - others will be along to advise. It needs to be around 70 minimum

humanbean profile image
humanbean

*SERUM FOLATE - 2.3 (2.5 - 19.5 UG/L)

SERUM VITAMIN B12 197 (180 - 900 PG/L)

I suggest asking the advice of the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum for these two results. They both look much too low to me.

You'll find them here :

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

****

TOTAL 25 OH VITAMIN D - 30.3 (>75 NMOL/L)

Much too low. Some people feel at their best with a level of around 100 nmol/L. Some go as high as 150 nmol/L. However some people don't tolerate vitamin D supplements at all and have to rely on sunlight, lamps made for the purpose, and food which contains vitamin D naturally.

Buying vitamin D3 (NOT D2) is easy, and is not terribly expensive, and lots of different dosages are available.

Your level of 30 nmol/L (European units) is equivalent to 12 ng/mL (American units).

To do the conversion : 138.68.12.120/?post_project...

To find out how much vitamin D you need to raise your level :

www1.grassrootshealth.net/m...

According to that chart you need to take 6000 iU of vitamin D3 per day to get up to 40 ng/mL or 100 nmol/L.

Some other comments about vitamin D supplementing :

1) Vitamin D3 is fat-soluble. For best absorption take with your fattiest meal of the day.

2) Taking vitamin D supplements raises the absorption of calcium from the diet. Having too high a level of calcium isn't desirable so calcium supplementation should be avoided unless calcium has been tested and found to be deficient.

3) To get calcium into the bones and teeth rather than lining your arteries you need to take co-factors with the vitamin D - vitamin K2 MK7 and magnesium.

4) Magnesium supplements come in many forms. Choose one that appeals to you from these lists that gives you a dose of about 300mg - 350mg magnesium per day :

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

metabolics.com/blog/the-def...

globalhealingcenter.com/nat...

5) I don't know much about vitamin K2 MK7, and I just buy one that gets good reviews at a price I'm prepared to pay.

6) Take vitamin D and magnesium at least 4 hours away from Levo or other thyroid meds.

7) Some magnesium supplements make people sleepy, so you might want to take them in the evening.

humanbean profile image
humanbean

SERUM FERRITIN - 16 (15 - 150 UG/L)

*HAEMOGLOBIN ESTIMATION - 114 (115 - 160 G/L)

RED BLOOD CELL COUNT - 4.97 (3.80 - 5.80)

HAEMATOCRIT - 0.400 (0.37 - 0.47)

*MCV - 78.8 (80 - 98 FL)

*MCHC - 372 (310 - 360 G/L)

MCH - 27.8 (27.0 - 32.0 PG)

****

Low levels of ferritin, haemoglobin, red blood cell count, haematocrit, all point to iron deficiency.

Note that your iron deficiency may be worse than your results actually suggest because B12 deficiency pushes some results in the opposite direction.

See the table on this link :

irondisorders.org/Websites/...

Some other links :

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

If you want to keep tabs on your own iron levels privately there are various sets of tests that can be bought over the internet :

medichecks.com/iron-tests/i...

medichecks.com/tests/fbc-fu...

medichecks.com/anaemia-test...

More info on private testing and possible discounts :

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

More info on optimal iron levels :

rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...

****

There are quite a lot of ways of improving iron levels.

The basic iron supplements of the kind that the NHS prescribe are all available online or from pharmacies without prescription (at the pharmacist's discretion - if you get refused go to a different pharmacy and try again).

evidence.nhs.uk/formulary/b...

Ferrous fumarate 210mg - can be bought in boxes of 84. Each pill contains 69mg of pure iron. Usual dose for deficiency is one tablet, 2 or 3 times a day.

Ferrous sulfate (or sulphate) - usually comes in a similar strength and dose to Ferrous fumarate, but you need to check what the iron content actually is.

Ferrous gluconate - roughly half the iron content of ferrous fumarate.

Ferrous bisglycinate (available online only as far as I know) - roughly 20mg - 25mg pure iron per pill.

Another option is to buy haem (or heme) supplements, or ferritin supplements. They are a lot more expensive than the iron salts mentioned above, and may need to be bought from the US. They have the advantage of being far less harsh on the gut than iron salts.

Another option for non-vegetarians is eating liver or black pudding once or twice a week.

When taking any iron supplements, taking 500mg - 1000mg vitamin C per pill increases absorption of the iron and helps to overcome any problems with constipation caused by the iron.

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