Latest test results

[anthonyj89]

After a repeat blood test after 3 months of the first my results are the following:

TSH 6.5 (Jan 5.92)

FT4/FT3 don't have these to hand but GP showed they were top third of the range and higher than previous

Vitamin D 27! Should be at least 50 so on 60000IU/week loading dose

Folate below reference range. GP gave prescription for folic acid but said I should just buy in supermarket as much cheaper.

B12/Ferritin normal

I'm feeling a lot better than in January, so that's a start, hopefully the Vitamin D supplementation will clear the remaining symptoms. Advised I should have a repeat blood test in 6 months.

My only concern would be the relatively high TSH, but both GPs I have seen are not concerned about this.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Anthony

Have you got the range for your TSH? I expect you are over range. As it is higher than last time I believe you should be treated.

You really should get a print out of your results, put them on the forum and we can see where your F4 and FT3 actually do lie within their ranges.

Did you get thyroid antibodies tested?

I assume your Vit D is 27nmol/L which puts you in the deficiency category hence the loading doses. Presumably you are on 60,000iu weekly for 5 weeks, as that will be the usual total for loading doses (300,000iu). You will then need to retest and your dose change should be dependent on the result. Come back with the result, chances are your GP will suggest 800iu daily which is very low for a maintenance dose. The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L so once you reach that level you will need to find your maintenance dose to keep it there. You'll have to find that by 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/

Your doctor wont know, because they are not taught nutrition, but 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 helps D3 to work and 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.

Is your GP going to recheck your folate level after your course of folic acid? Don't buy supermarket brand supplements, they're cheap and nasty. You need a decent brand. Once your folate is at a reasonable level you will probably be better off with a decent B Complex to keep all B vitamins in balance (eg Thorne Basic B).

B12/Ferritin normal

Normal just means somewhere within the range but doesn't mean they're optimal. What are the results, with ranges, and we can tell you if you need to increase the levels.

[anthonyj89 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi Susie. Just got a printout from the surgery. They didn't test T3, so ignore that.

25-OH vit D 27 nmol/L

Folate 2.6 ug/l ref >3.8

TSH 6.52 miu/l ref 0.3 to 3.18

FT4 19.8 pmol/l ref 13.10 to 21.30

B12 421 ng/l ref 197 to 771

Ferritin 111ug/l ref 30 to 400

Is it strange that TSH is high but FT4 is towards the top of the range?

Thanks

Anthony

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to anthonyj89]

Hi Anthony

Is it strange that TSH is high but FT4 is towards the top of the range?

Yes it is. Was it the same in January? If January showed a high TSH and lowish FT4, then I think this time a high TSH with a high FT4 may possibly mean that something is wrong with the testing. Maybe repeat it with a different lab (perhaps get a private test done with Medichecks or Blue Horizon).

For hypOthyroidism you'd see a high TSH with low FT4. For hypERthyroidism you'd see a low TSH with a high FT4. There is no condition (that I am aware of) that would have high TSH and high FT4 if undiagnosed.

**

So these two "normal" results:

Ferritin 111ug/l ref 30 to 400

Yes, normal as within range. I have seen it recommended to be half way through it's range, also that for males it should be 150. So you could do with nudging it up and the easiest way is to eat liver. It doesn't have to be in one meal, you can put it in casseroles, spag bol, cottage pie, curry, etc. Try and have about 120g liver a week. Also include other iron rich foods, liver pate and others listed here apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...

B12 421 ng/l ref 197 to 771

Not dire but not really good enough. 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."

So I would want mine over 550 at least. You could supplement with some sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges, 1000mcg,

Folate 2.6 ug/l ref >3.8

You said you have been given some folic acid by your GP. Once you've been retested and are over the 3.8 limit, buy some B Complex as that is needed when taking B12 to keep all the B vitamins in balance. Thorne Basic B is a good one.

Vit D covered in previous reply above.

[anthonyj89 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Many thanks for this. I'll try to get these other levels up too.

From memory FT4 from January was 17 with a TSH of 5.92.