Results

[Sunny1315]

Taking 50mcg what do I now need to take thank you

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 175 (<34)

TSH 6.10 (0.2 - 4.2)

Free T4 10.2 (12 - 22)

Free T3 3.7 (3.1 - 6.8)

Ferritin 14 (30 - 400)

Folate 1.8 (2.5 - 19.5)

Vitamin B12 104 (180 - 900)

Vitamin D 22.8

[shaws Administrator]

You have to have a blood test every six weeks, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the test and take afterwards. The aim is a TSH of 1 or below.

I will add in SeasideSusie to this post as she is brilliant at blood test results for vitamins/minerals and yours are so low that they will also give you symptoms.

What has your doctor suggested to improve your vitamins/minerals. Your B12 in particular is so very low and below range that he should test the 'intrinsic factor' to see if you have pernicious anaemia which is another autoimmune condition. It is also a very serious disease and can cause neurological damage.

[Sunny1315 in reply to shaws]

Thanks these were done 2 weeks ago and not acted on and I take levo/blood tests and fast as directed above

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Sunny1315 According to your other thread, you were told your results were normal. Who told you that? They're far from it.

TSH 6.10 (0.2 - 4.2) - over range.

Free T4 10.2 (12 - 22) - under range

Free T3 3.7 (3.1 - 6.8) - barely scraped in at the bottom of range

The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges when on Levo, if that is where you feel well.

You are undermedicated.

**

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 175 (<34)

Your high antibodies mean that you are positive for autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's which is where antibodies attack the thyroid and gradually destroy it. 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.

Gluten/thyroid connection: chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

**

And have you been told these are normal too:

Ferritin 14 (30 - 400)

For thyroid hormone to work ferritin needs to be at least 70, preferably half way through range. You need an iron supplement, preferably an iron infusion so ask for one, but you may only be prescribed tablets which will take months to raise your level whereas an infusion will raise your level within 24-48 hours.

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...

And as your ferritin level is below range, you should have an iron panel and full blood count to see if you have iron deficiency anaemia. Has this been done?

**

Folate 1.8 (2.5 - 19.5)

Vitamin B12 104 (180 - 900)

You are folate and B12 deficient. Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency b12deficiency.info/signs-an... You need to go to the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum for further advice healthunlocked.com/pasoc I believe you will need testing for Pernicious Anaemia and you will probably need B12 injections.

You should discuss the PA forum's advice with your GP. If you are prescribed folic acid DO NOT start taking it until any further investigations regarding your B12 have been done.

I have read (but not researched so don't have links) that BCSH, UKNEQAS and NICE guidelines recommend:

"In the presence of discordance between test results and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment."

And 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."

Folate should be at least half way through it's range.

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Vitamin D 22.8

You have severe Vit D deficiency. You need treatment and that should be loading doses of D3 folowed by a maintenance dose for life.

NICE treatment summary for Vit D deficiency:

cks.nice.org.uk/vitamin-d-d...

Treat for vitamin D deficiency if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are less than 30 nmol/L.

For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU]) given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenance treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000 IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders. Several treatment regimens are available, including 50,000 IU once a week for 6 weeks (300,000 IU in total), 20,000 IU twice a week for 7 weeks (280,000 IU in total), or 4000 IU daily for 10 weeks (280,000 IU in total)."

Each Health Authority has their own guidelines but they will be very similar. Go and see your GP and ask that he treats you according to the guidelines and prescribes the loading doses, do not accept 800iu. Once these have been completed you will need a reduced amount (not a paltry 800iu) to bring your level up to what's recommended by the Vit D Council - which is 100-150nmol/L - and then you'll need a maintenance dose which may be 2000iu daily (not 800iu), it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with City Assays vitamindtest.org.uk/

There are important cofactors needed when taking D3

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

Check out the other cofactors too.

**

You haven't said whether your GP has commented on these results or if you have been prescribed anything. If your GP has done nothing about them, then find another GP as a matter of urgency, sort out the supplements, then consider making a formal complaint against this GP for negligence.

[Sunny1315 in reply to SeasideSusie]

GP ran tests and told me they were normal but will act on them now thanks

[Sunny1315 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Also MCV 77.1 (80 - 98) MCHC 385 (310 - 350) Haemoglobin 116 (115 - 150) iron 5.7 (6.0 - 26.0) transferrin saturation 15 (10 - 30)

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Sunny1315]

Those results suggest iron deficiency anaemia Sunny1315

NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for iron deficiency anaemia treatment (which will be very similar to your local area guidelines)

cks.nice.org.uk/anaemia-iro...

How should I treat iron deficiency anaemia?

•Address underlying causes as necessary (for example treat menorrhagia or stop nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, if possible).

•Treat with oral ferrous sulphate 200 mg tablets two or three times a day.

◦If ferrous sulphate is not tolerated, consider oral ferrous fumarate tablets or ferrous gluconate tablets.

◦Do not wait for investigations to be carried out before prescribing iron supplements.

•If dietary deficiency of iron is thought to be a contributory cause of iron deficiency anaemia, advise the person to maintain an adequate balanced intake of iron-rich foods (for example dark green vegetables, iron-fortified bread, meat, apricots, prunes, and raisins) and consider referral to a dietitian.

• Monitor the person to ensure that there is an adequate response to iron treatment.

You really need to be wiping the floor with this idiot who has ignored these results, he doesn't deserve to be a doctor.