Around 3weeks ago I was asking if split skin could be caused by an under active Thyroid ,and generally it was suggested I had a private blood test, well I have now had this done,and I don't understand any of it,so help please with understanding these results ,and any advise in general would be gratefully received.
HAEMATOLOGY
Vitamin B 12. 417. pg/ml. 197 - 771
Note amended reference range due to Gen ll assay.
Folate ( serum ). 5.5. ug/L > 2.9
Note new reference. Range effective 03/04/2017 If no change in dietary habits,a normal serum folate makes folate deficiency unlikely.
The reason they've marked TSH with a * is because it's slightly under range. However, this isn't a problem, TSH is irrelevant when taking thyroid replacement hormone.
Your FT4 is pretty good but your FT3 is low in range, which shows poor conversion. Good conversion takes place when FT4:FT3 ratio is 4:1 or less, yours is 4.43 : 1
You would benefit from the addition of some T3 to your Levo.
**
Thyroid Peroxide Antibodies 20.6. IU / mL. 0 - 34
Thyroglobulin Antibody. *1316.0. IU / mL. 0 - 115
Although your TPO antibodies are in range, your TG antibodieThis is where antibodies attack the thyroid and gradually destroy it.
s are way over range confirming that you have autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's. The antibody attacks cause fluctuations in symptoms and test results.
You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
Your B12 could be higher. An extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."
Us Hypos tend to need a higher level so I keep mine around 1000. Sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges are what's needed to supplement B12 yourself along with a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins.
Folate ( serum ). 5.5. ug/L > 2.9
Folate and B12 work together, yours appears to be good.
**
FERRITIN. 31. ug/L. 13 - 150
Despite their comments, this is far too low. Thyroid hormone can't work unless it's at least 70, half way through range is best and I've read it's recommended for females to be 100-130.
You could buy some iron tablets but you'd need to keep an eye on your level and make sure you restested after 3 months. Take each iron tablet with 1000mg Vitamin C to aid absorption and help prevent constipaton. Always take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds and two hours away from other medication and supplements as it will affect absorption.
You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...
It's how I increased my ferritin from l35 to 91.
**
C Reactive protein. *5.3. mg/L <5.0
This is an inflammation marker and yours is slightly over range. Maybe you had an infection at the time of testing but Hashi's can cause this I believe.
**
25 OH Vitamin. D. 92. nmol / L 50 - 200
According to the Vit D Council, the recommended level is 100-150nmol/L so yours is pretty good. Are you supplementing?
Thankyou so much SeasideSusie for your very quick informative reply, I really don,t know how you can work all of it out,
I feel totally out of my depth, at least I can make some sense of the results, how I,m going to deal with all of this I have no idea. I have had an under active Thyroid for around 25years and no one has ever given me any guidance ,or explained what happens, most times after a blood test ,the first thing my G P says ,is " we need to lower the dose " ( I am on 100 mcg ) but on the occasions I,ve done this, I get all my original symptoms back ,so request going back to my usual dose. I do take Vit D ( 25ug and Vit B complex, I have also just bought Thyroid complex which I,ve never tried before ) to see if it helps, although I stoped taking them for 2weeks prior to my blood test so as not to interfere with the blood test results, I also have Vasculitis,so nothing is straight forward. Thankyou once again for your help and giving me your time it is very much appreciated.
I really don,t know how you can work all of it out,
Sheer desperation at being so unwell with no help from GP meant I had to research and learn to help myself.
If your Thyroid Complex contains iodine, please stop taking it. Iodine generally isn't good for us Hypos (despite what you read) unless tested and found to be deficient, but when you have Hashi's too then it's definitely out. Iodine can make Hashi's worse.
Checked the Thyroid complex and it does contain iodine,so pleased you mentioned it, can't understand that the reviews speak so well of it. I will get selenium instead ,are you able to say where is the best place to get these? I find it quite stressful trying to work it all out,but it does explain why I feel quite ill at times.thankyou for your help.
A lot of selenium supplements can have an unpleasant odour. The one I use is a nice small tablet with no odour. It only comes in 100mcg tablets but no problem taking two as they are small cytoplan.co.uk/selenium
You've just missed their summer sale, every July/August their whole range is on offer at 3 for 2 (when I stock up ). They do have random 3 for 2 offers regularly. Once you've registered with them you should get emails with offers, or just click on their Special Offers tab.
Probably the reviews are form people who don't have thyroid problems - possibly even from people who haven't actually tried it! Advertising is a cruel business! But, some people do find they feel well when they first start taking iodine, because it stimulates the thyroid to make more hormone. But, that can't last forever...
Hi greygoose , decided on the blue horizon blood test 11, and understood very little of it, However , I have to say I learn,t more in an hour from the very kind SeasideSusie than I have in 25years from the medical profession ,who have never explained or indeed tried to explain either my condition or subsequent blood test results,except, for them continually ( at least recently ) trying to reduce my dose from 100mcg to 75 mcg, ( which I have found from trial that I get most of my symptoms back once lowered ) I am pleased to say I had only taken 1 Thyroid complex capsule,so no problem ! there.
I would like to ask , if the 100mcg dose is to high would taking 1 every other day help , rather than going to 75mcg . reports on here from other Thyroid members suggest it is almost an impossibility to get a GP to prescribe T3.( if that is what would help me ).I am going to try eating Gluten free products ,and I have now ordered Selenium tablets,
Is the fact that I have Antibodies a great difference from a straight underactive Thyroid,I was told 25years ago that I had Antibodies ,but nothing was ever discussed about it not then or since,so have never looked into it,
Thankyou for your reply,I am very grateful for any advice , and I do admire the fact that members are so willing to help, and are so knowledgeable.
Jackrussell, unless you use the Reply button on the post you are replying to, the person you are replying to won't get a notification that they have a reply...
greygoose
I've just alerted greygoose, so hopefully she will read your reply to her.
SeasideSusie is the best! Always something to be learnt from her.
There would be no advantage to you in alternating 100/75, because 100 isn't too much, I don't care what your doctors say! You are not over-medicated. Your FT4 isn't even at the top of the range, and reducing your T4 by 25 mcg every other day, would correspondingly reduce your T3, which is already too low. Your problem is not very good conversion, not over-medication.
Your doctors only want to reduce your dose because of the low TSH, of which they have no understanding. So, that's another of your problems : ignorant doctoring. Ignore them and stand your ground. You do not want your dose reduced.
In the present climate, it is practically impossible to get T3 prescribed. Once again, due to the ignorance of doctors, but also due to the rediculously high price.
But, there are two solutions, as far as I can see. One, you find a doctor that has minimal understanding of thyroid, and the importance of T3, get him to write you a prescription which you then get your pharmacy to fill by importing T3 from Germany or France. There was a good post on that, yesterday, but I can't remember who posted it. Perhaps you could flip through yesterday's posts and find it.
Two, you import your own from Turkey or Mexico. That's the more expensive option, but the one with the least hassle. Just post a new question, asking members to PM you with their trusted links to on-line sources.
The difference between having antibodies and not having antibodies is, that with antibodies, you are certain that your hypo is going to get worse, as your immune system slowly destroys your gland. Also, there's the possibility that, as your thyroid dies off, it will release massive amounts of hormone into the blood, temporarily raising levels of T4 and T3, giving your doctor a heart attack and causing him to accuse you of abusing your thyroid medication, and slashing your dose! Once again, it's just down to ignorance on his part. And, finally, antibodies themselves can add to your symptoms. So, despite what doctors say, it really is quite a big deal to have antibodies.
Thankyou for the reply,I have just posted for a pm for reputable sources,and hopefully can try for the T3 . It is like a minefield all this can and can't do,isn,t it.All I know from a personal point of view ,without the help and knowledge of people on this forum ,a good many of us would " sink "
jackrussell.... Hashimotos is an autoimmune disease where in our body attacks our thyroid gland. Some folks are able to lower their antibodies by eating gluten free. Selenium (no more than 200 - 300 mcgs per day) is also very protective of the thyroid gland and can also help to lower antibody numbers. Keeping a log (nothing too complicated) can help you track your response to your thyroid meds. Take your body temp and heart rate about 3 - 4 pm each day along with your thyroid dosage and how you are feeling. An old-fashioned mercury thermometer is supposed to give you the most accurate body temp numbers. Some find that keeping a digital thermometer in their mouths 3 - 4 minutes longer than normal gives a pretty reliable number.
When body temp/heart rate is high, you want to back down on your dosage. When too low and too slow, you want to increase just a bit every 10 days - 2 weeks. Before the invention of the cursed TSH test, this and the alleviation of hypo symptoms was the only way doctors had of dosing thyroid meds. It worked very well.
Thankyou for your reply, I am going to try eating Gluten free,and I have ordered Selenium , I will do the checks that you have suggested,it will be interesting to see if there is a change ,The old ways seem sometimes to be far more simple, however we hope treatment progresses, the biggest problem I fear ,is the lack of knowledge by most GPs ,or is it lack of interest ?, and the need to inform and discuss with the patients there illness.
Agree, jack, especially about docs either being woefully ignorant or just not wanting to engage. The old ways were simpler and docs were a lot less protective of their 'god' image...lol... But remember, patients' exposure to chemicals, fake food, chemically treated water and fast food was so much less than it is nowadays. I do believe, rightly or wrongly, that this exposure is wreaking more havoc on our health than anyone wants to admit. And they wonder why so many of us, in desperation, are driven to self-treat?
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Blood results help
Help with blood results before speak to gp
JUST got my results PLEASE PLEASE HELP !! ???
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