Request for assistance understanding thyroid test results

[TheRealPumpkinska]

I said I'd post this a while back, but I have been quite down in the main, plus dealing with life stuff.. . Anyway, feeling a bit better so I've got my results here and dont understand them. I need to go back to GP with a bit of knowledge really. I've listed them in my profile too, plus my symptoms are in profile too.

Aug 2017 'Thyroid Plus 12' by Blue Horizon

Vitamin D 92 nmol/L range 50-200 (after v high loading dose & 5 months maintenance) was 41 (range nmol/L >50.00nmol/L) in Sep 2016

Serum Ferritin 37 ug/L range 13-150 (after minimal 28mg ferrous fumarate supplementation)* was 16 ug/L (range 10.00-150.00) in Sep 2016

Folate (serum) >20 ug/L (range >2.9). In Sep 2016 was 19.3 ug/L (range 4.60-18.70)

B12 2000 pg/ml range 197-771 (after course injections) Sep 2016 total serum B12 (range ng/L 191.00-663.00ng/L) was 400

CRP <0.6 mg/L range <50

TOTAL Thyroxine (T4) 89 nmol/L range 59-154

TSH 2.81 mIU/L 0.27-4.2 (was 2.72 in Sep 2016 range same)

Free Thyroxine 14.2 pmol/L range 12.0-22.0

Free T3 4.1 pmol/L range 3.1-6.8

Thyroglobulin antibodies 11.7 IU/mL range 0-115

Thyroid Peroxidase 11.6 IU/mL range 0-34

REVERSE-T3 28 range 10-24

*couldn't find non gelatine ferrous fumarate 210 mg pills until mid Aug this year. Have been taking since, (1 week loading dose twice a day, then 1 a day since) but was after this latest blood test. I should think this has increased significantly.

Daily Supplements

Solgar 300ug Biotin x2

Holland & Barrett Vegan multivitamin & mineral

Opti3 Omega 3 EPA & DHA x1 (temporarily stopped this week due to acid reflux, to see if it is the culprit)

Natures Aid 1000mg L-Lysine x1

Ferrous fumarate 210 mg x1

Medicine

Gaviscon Advance 2 - 3 times a day 2tsp

Naughty Drugs (well, they are, sort of)

Coffee 0

Alcohol mainly beer, 2-3 pints max beer a week, OR 1 or 2 shorts a week

Caffeinated tea 1-2 cups a day

Green tea (yuck) 1 per day

My diet is a healthy vegan one. Lots of organic veg, varied & with nuts & pulses & grains. I dont go in for the 'clean eating' thing. I bake my own low sugar gorgeous cakes, but I do not gorge on them. Re clean eating "If cake is dirty, then I must be filthy"

No smoking or illegals.

[Nanaedake]

Could you add the lab ranges to the results to help us make more sense of them? Lab ranges do vary, especially with vitamin B for instance.

Do you need to take the multivitamins that have iron in? Iron will cancel out other vitamins if taken together, I believe. Ferritin still looks low but I can't really tell without the lab ranges and you might need to take ferrous fumerate 2 or 3 times a day until levels are improved if it's low.

I expect you already know that biotin can affect thyroid test results so stop taking a day or so before thyroid tests. Iron should be taken 4 hours or more after thyroid meds.

Gaviscon may reduce absorption of vitamins. Many hypothyroid people have low stomach acid and this causes acid reflux, the symptoms are the same as high stomach acid but the cure if different. Many people here take organic apple cider vinegar to improve low stomach acid and prevent acid reflux. If your stomach is not acidic enough then the value to the eosophagus fails to slam shut and stomach content leak back up and irritate. Other people take probiotics. or HCL Betain.

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to Nanaedake]

I've added the ranges as requested. Thank you

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to Nanaedake]

It's so confusing! I was prescribed omeprazole (ppi) but I'm not taking it. I've read bad stuff about it. ENT after looking with a camera up nose & into throat area said I had too much acid. Besides, like you said, I really dont know if its low or high acid I have. All I know is the burning sensation & inflamed oesophagus & back of larynx.

I was taking probiotics, (Cytoplan) but not sure anything had changed. Still constipated. I know nothing of HCL Betain...

[greygoose]

Well, your TSH shows that your thyroid is struggling, but the Frees - probably - say you're not quite hypo yet - although really need the ranges to tell.

If you're supplementing B12, your really need to take a B complex, to balance the Bs, not just biotin.

There is absolutely no point in taking a multivitamin with iron - or without iron, come to that - you're just wasting your money.

Why do you drink green tea if you don't like it? I doubt it's doing you any good, and it might be harming your thyroid. It's goitrogenic and has a high level of fluoride. Might just as well give it up.

Your vegan diet is only healthy as long as you keep taking iron and B12, and get enough fat! The body needs fat, so don't skimp on it.

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to greygoose]

Hi Grey Goose, thanks so much for replying.

I will post the ranges when I get home later. I know some places have different ranges, but the actual results I thought were fixed and if the numbers of those actual results are high or low, that was the significant bit. I perhaps dont understand how ranges work!

Why is flouride so bad?

My Multivitamins have all the B's in them, so I thought this would be sufficient.

Green tea for antioxidants really.

I've been vegan for 26 years and had no major problems until recently. I def get enough fat

[greygoose in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

Um, no. I don't think you have understood how ranges work. What is important is the position of the result within the range. You cannot know if a result is high or low without knowing the top and bottoms of the ranges.

Fluoride is bad in so many ways, but it's particularly bad for the thyroid. Sorry, can't remember the details off-hand, but I know we should avoid it - especially in toothpaste and drinking water, because that isn't even natural fluoride, it's industrial waste.

A multivit sometimes has all the Bs, in it, but not always. However, if the multivit contains iron, you won't be able to absorb any of the vitamins because the iron blocks them. And multivits are bad in many other ways. It's best to take a B complex, which just has Bs and nothing else.

Yes, green tea is an antioxydant, but there are many other antioxydants that are much better than green tea - especially if you don't like green tea!

You may very well have been a vegan for many years with no problems, but now you are hypo, and the changes everything. All the basic laws of nature change when you are hypo!

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to greygoose]

Vitamin supplements are bloody confusing. I thought iron blocked one thing, but not all? Besides, I think one of those supplements has been giving me acid reflux, so have stopped them all for a while, until I can find out which by elimination.

FYI: My mistake re 'multivitamins and iron', it was supposed to be multivitamins and minerals (doh). They have all the B vits in them. Shouldn't that be enough? I know overdosing on one of the B vits is very bad.

I've added the ranges as requested too. Thank you

[greygoose in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

Yes, but you shouldn't be taking your vitamins with your minerals. And certainly not with iron. The iron will block the absorption. Sorry, I don't care what's in them, multivits are one huge great con, and can in no way improve your health.

Take a B complex, by all means, but one that has just B vits and nothing else.

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for getting back to me. Wow, thats a strongly held view! I'll have to do a load of research on that I suppose, as it sounds way more complicated than I tbought it was. Its tricky, as I want to be sure I get decent amounts of minerals, vit D, vit C, etc too. Dont want to be deficient. Any pointers welcome

I was making a tea from raspberry leaves from my garden. I'm told they have a good range of B vits in them. Looks like I will carry on with that.

[greygoose in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

I have no idea about the B vits in raspberry leaves - nor how much tea you would have to drink to get enough of them!

You probably are getting enough B vits at the moment - you wouldn't from a multivit! But your iron is dire. So, you should be concentrating on raising that, at the moment, and you won't do that with a multivit. You should be taking straight ferrous fumerate - perhaps with some vit C to help with absorption. You can take straight vit C - as much as you like! But start low and work up because it might affect your gut. Your vit D isn't too bad, could be a tad higher. So, take a little vit D 3 with vit K2 - MK7. And take some magnesium.

My absolute point is, taking a multivit will never assure that you are getting enough vitamins. It just won't. You'll just be wasting your money.

[Nanaedake in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

Here's how to check out your stomach acid

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Hypochl...

I agree with Greygoose that a B complex is better than a multivitamin. If you get a B complex with folic acid as methylfolate it will be more absorbable.

If your vitamin D is now 92 within the range you state (range 50-200) then you could continue with a maintenance dose and test again around January to find out what it's doing. You should then be able to guage whether you need to increase your maintenance dose over the winter or not. Be careful not to overdose on vit D because it is stored in your body. Mid-range is best.

Take vitamin D with co-factors - magnesium as well as K2-MK7. Magnesium citrate is cheap and absorbable and should help with constipation. Avoid magnesium oxide which is found in most multivitamins.

Serum Ferritin 37 ug/L range 13-150 this is still much too low. Ferritin needs to be at least 70 or half way in range for levothyroxine to work well. Could you return to your doctor and ask for supplements to be increased?

If you take a B complex, some of the B's have antioxidant properties as does vitamin C.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/125...

So you don't need to bother with the green tea. I like pepermint tea for the calming effect on stomach after a meal. I take 1000mcg of vitamin C a day and it seems to help improve stomach acid. Some people take it with their iron supplements to improve absorption but if your stomach is irritated you might have to work on getting stomach acid in balance first.

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to Nanaedake]

Thanks so much. I will certainly be looking into what you and Grey Goose have suggested.

I still have no diagnosis but was seriously ill earlier this year. I paid for the last tests myself, (many friends inc nurses, suggested investigating thyroid). GP wouldn't refer to endo or do any tests for thyroid other than TSH, which they said was normal. (notes on illness in my profile). Do you think my symptoms are down to thyroid issues? Do my test results point toward that or could something else be going on?

[TheRealPumpkinska]

I've been taking F. F with clementine juice, a couple of hours after eating. But last week, I have given my body a rest from supplements for a few days though, due to acid burn a few minutes after taking them. I suspect its the multivitamin, or the Omega 3.

Are those iron results that bad? It's probably alot higher now, as I've been supplementing with higher F. F since Aug, (after that test).

Thanks for advice on other vits, will look into it. I dunno, i just seem to be buying various supplements and sometimes I wonder if I'm just being a damn mug. Too many and when to take them all? Argh.

The one thing which definitely made a significant change was Floradix magnesium. I had awful uncontrollable palpitations back in Jan and was getting quite scared. I started taking this stuff and it was almost miraculous. It made a significant difference in my heart symptoms. I'm still not fixed as when i get remotely stressed my heart feels very bad, tired and aching, (if that makes sense?), not as strong as it used to.

I'm not sure what MK7 is, so will look it up.

[Nanaedake in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

I don't know what Floradix magnesium is composed of but here is some info on magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to Nanaedake]

Thankyou. Its got mag. citrate in it. Its liquid, fruit & veg juices plus chamomile. It worked for me very well, but its expensive, so once I've finished it, I will be buying cheaper!

[Nanaedake in reply to TheRealPumpkinska]

I buy a good quality powdered magnesium citrate which is cheap and effective. I add it to a natural blackcurrant cordial to make it palatable.

It doesn't look like your thyroid is failing although I would perhaps test again in 6 months to a year as your TSH is on the highish side but still normal for someone without thyroid disease who is not taking levothryroxine. Your own thyroid hormones won't work very well if you are nutrient deficient.

Has your GP tested for pernicious anaemia? You could check out the Coeliac society to get some information. If you haven't got thyroid disease then your nutrient levels are low so it's either your diet and you'll just have to keep supplementing or something else. You haven't got thyroid antibodies so it's not thyroid autoimmune disease that's causing the problems.

[TheRealPumpkinska in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank you so very much! I will ask them again to look into PA. I cant understand my low vit/min levels, its odd, but that does need looking at. I had an endoscopy and biopsies taken, there's no sign of coeliac disease, so thats good. My duodenum was slightly inflamed, but thats all I was told.

I will work on my vit/min levels & take it from there.

[TheRealPumpkinska]

With my levels as they are, I was wondering if I would be doing any harm buying some kelp tablets? This awful fatigue has to stop. I know you advocate a vit b complex, but as I assume my thyroid results arent dire, it may be ok? What do you think?