Blood results help?

[Asilam]

Can anyone help me interpret my blood results. Thanks.

I really struggle to understand them.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

How long did you leave between your last dose of Leo and your last dose of T3?

How do you feel?

Are you taking any supplements, if so what and the dose?

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your reply. I take both my Levo (100mcg) and T3(10mcg) first thing each morning at least an hour before I have anything to eat. I didn't take my dose on morning of blood tests though. Not supplementing at the moment as was waiting for results first.

[Aurealis in reply to Asilam]

And how do you feel?

[Asilam in reply to Aurealis]

Not feeling great at the moment, very tired, hair falling out, a. Lot of pain too.

The Dr who reviewed my bloods suggested reducing my levo but didn't say why and I'm not great at interpreting results as although I've been hypo for a long time this is the first of me trying to understand it more and get to my optimum health

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Asilam]

The Dr who reviewed my bloods suggested reducing my levo but didn't say why

The Medichecks doctor? Well they just toe the same line as your GP would, because they are NHS trained. He is saying to reduce your Levo purely because your TSH is low. Can't he see that your FT4 and FT3 are also low? This is what I don't understand, they don't seem to be able to take the actual thyroid hormones (FT4 and FT3) into account.

I don't even know whether that doctor would understand that taking T3 will lower TSH and FT3. The comments are usually not worth having, you'll get a much better interpretation from forum members.

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes, the medichecks Dr. I kind of thought they might have the same outlook as GOs would. I will certainly read all the info you have given in the links to educate myself and I also know I'll get much more relevant help and advice here. Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Asilam]

Asilam

You were right to leave 24 hours between Levo and blood draw but last dose of T3 should be no more than 12 hours. Your FT3 result will be lower than the normal amount circulating in your blood. I take a combination of Levo and T3 and I split my dose the day before so that I take half early morning and the second half around 8.30ish in the evening as I know I will do my test about 8.30 the next morning.

TSH and FT4 are about where you'd expect them to be when taking T3 as it does tend to lower them.

But you haven't answered about how you feel.

Your high antibodies confirm autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's, I don't know if you already knew this. A strict gluten free diet and supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.

As for your vitamins and minerals

Active B12: 49.8 (25.10-165)

This is on the low side and you will see from this link that anything below 70 warrants testing MMS to see if there is B12 deficiency viapath.co.uk/our-tests/act...

Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Folate: 2.64 (2.91-50)

B12 and folate work together. You are folate deficient. You need to speak to your GP about your folate and B12 results and ask for further investigation. Further B12 testing, MMA as mentioned, also intrinsic factor antibodies, to see if you have Deficiency or Pernicious Anaemia, should be carried out and supplementing with B12 commenced either by injection or other form, before taking the folic acid your GP should be prescribing for the folate deficiency.

**

Vit D: 59nmol/L

The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L. You need to supplement to raise your level and I would suggest that as you have Hashi's then an oral spray will give better absorption. BetterYou do one in 3000iu strength and I would double dose - 6000iu daily- for 6-8 weeks then reduce to 3000iu daily. Retest in 3 months and see where your level lies. Once you have reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose which may be 2000iu daily, 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 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.

BetterYou do a combined D3/K2-MK7 spray which you might want to consider rather than getting a separate K2-MK7 softgel.

**

Ferritin: 46.7

This is too low. For thyroid hormone to work (that's our own as well as replacement hormone) ferritin needs to be at least 70, preferably half way through range. 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...

**

CRP: 5.58 (0-5)

This is an inflammation marker and as you can see yours is slightly over range. Raised CRP can indicate acute infection or inflammation but is not specific. It may be raised due to the Hashi's.

**

Reverse T3 is fine, nice and low.

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for all this information. I will spend tonight looking at it all and also arrange to see GP. The Dr who reviewed my results suggested lowering my levo but didn't say why. I have emailed Dr Toft for advice too as I am due to see him in the near future. At the moment I'm very tired, hair falling out more than usual, dry skin and a lot of pain and weight not shifting at all but heather going on more. I've already bought the better you VitD spray and some methyl folate too. I'll try to see my GP this week and see what she says.

I try to eat relatively gluten free but will make more of an effort to be totally gluten free.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Asilam]

The Dr who reviewed my results suggested lowering my levo but didn't say why

I have explained that in my reply further up.

Don't expect your GP to agree about the nutrient levels. As far as they are concerned anything anywhere within the range is fine, but they're not taught nutriton and don't know about optimal levels being needed for thyroid patients. I don't know if Dr Toft is any more enlightened on the subject.

Optimising your vitamins and minerals may help the symptoms you have mentioned, and there is room for thyroid meds to be increased. Where your levels need to be will be individual to you so tweaking T3 and Levo may be necessary.

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks again

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

It was Dr Toft who asked my GP to prescribe T3 a few years ago but as you say I will get more relevant and helpful info here.

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Just had a reply from Dr Toft saying my results are very satisfactory!

I will definitely be taking any advice from very informed members on here like yourself as opposed to Drs who think these results are satisfactory.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Asilam]

What about your vitamin and mineral results? Does he consider those to be very satisfactory too or is he just meaning your thyroid results?

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

I’m not sure he just said the result are very satisfactory. I can’t believe these are the professionals we are supposed to trust and rely on to help with optimum health. Not one dr has mentioned Hashimotos from my results.

Glad I found this site as I know I will get advice that means something and not palmed off with everything is fine.

[Asilam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Should I split my T3 dose to twice daily as opposed to first thing each day? Would that be better?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Asilam]

That's individual as well. Some people split their dose some don't. I started off splitting mine but I got so fed up of trying to fit it in around food, or a coffee and biscuit in the afternoon, that I started to take it all at once in the morning and found that it didn't make any difference for me (but I do split it the day before I do a thyroid function test so that my last dose of T3 is about 12 hours before blood draw). Experiment and see what suits you.

[Ari3]

Where did u get these checked ? What website pls ?how much did it cost to you?

[Asilam in reply to Ari3]

Hi unused Medichecks. The full range and prices are on their website.

medichecks.com/

[ShootingStars]

Hi Asilam, No wonder you don't feel well. Did this doctor tell you you have Hashimoto's? Both of your thyroid antibodies are elevated. This means that you have autoimmune thyroid disease. As a result of Hashimoto's and the antibodies attacking your thyroid, you are hypothyroid.

You are also undermedicated, not over medicated. This is also why your are feeling so bad.

You also have a elevated CRP, an inflammatory marker. This could be from Hashimoto's but it might not. It could be from other health issues, whether known or unknown. Do you have any other know health issues?

Your Vitamin D is too low, folate is too low.

The lab range for your ferritin 13 to 150. Yours is 46.7, which is fine because there is absence of a complete iron panel showing all of your other iron values. It would be incorrect to say that you have low iron without knowing the rest of your iron values. Based on your ferritin level, you are not deficient or even low. There are no legitimate studies saying that your ferritin has to be at any certain level aside from recommending that it should be close to 50.

In contrast, my ferrin was under 30 and as low as 23 for years. I always get a complete iron panel, not just inconclusive ferritin. I have a full head of hair, no hair loss, great energy, etc. I did start taking iron based on being told it had to be 70. It went up 13 points in just 3 weeks. I kept taking it. A few weeks later my ferritin was 54 and all of my other levels were toxic levels. (this had happened to me once about 4 years ago when I started eating liver and beef). I quickly stopped taking extra iron and then re-tested a month later. Last I checked, my ferritin was 57, highest it's ever been recorded, and all my iron values were normalized. All in all, I only took iron supplements daily for about 2.5 months. So please beware! Iron values can raise quickly. If you're not running a complete iron panel regularly while supplementing iron, you will never know if you have iron toxicity or not, or if you are permanently damaging your organs.

Based on your thyroid blood work and thyroid hormones FT3 and FT4 (TSH is not a thyroid hormone), you are under medicated and need a higher dose of thyroid medication. You have all of those symptoms because you are hypothyroid (low thyroid hormones) and you also have Hashimoto's. If you reduce your meds as that doctor wants you to, you will feel much worse and your antibodies might increase, making you feel even worse than just hypothyroid. The treatment for Hashimoto's is thyroid medication for life. I'm sorry, but there is no cure for Hashimoto's. The goal is to get your thyroid into a euthyroid (happy and balanced) state, which is where you'll have the least symptoms. Taking thyroid medication and optimizing your FT3 and FT4 helps take the strain off of your thyroid and often can help you lower your antibodies.

Diet and reducing inflammation is super important for Hashimoto's. A completely gluten free diet is recommended. Gluten is inflammatory, so is soy and dairy, and it is also best to avoid those foods, too. By doing so, you might experience a reduction in antibodies. Lowering your inflammation and antibodies will reduce autoimmune response and should make you feel better. The first step is taking the right level of meds to get your FT3 and FT4 up where they should be, and to eliminate gluten, soy and dairy. At least try the diet for 3 months to see if you feel better. Most people do. It has to be completely no gluten. No cheating other wise you're just causing unnecessary inflammation and risking additional autoimmune response.

[Asilam in reply to ShootingStars]

Thanks for your reply. No mention of hashimotos in the report at all.

I will certainly try total gluten free and see how things go. Going to see GP regarding increasing doses but think it will be a no as she’ll say my TSH is too suppressed. I will increase slowly myself.

[ShootingStars in reply to Asilam]

Hi! You're welcome! That's what those high antibodies mean: Hashimoto's. Both of your thyroid antibodies are elevated, indicating Hashi's. The word won't be on your lab results.

Good luck with asking your GP for increased meds. If they try to tell you that elevated antibodies don't matter, they are completely incorrect. Yes, they do matter. This means your body is attacking itself, it's own tissue, your thyroid. That attack is very stressful on your thyroid and your body. In order to feel better, you need to try to get those antibodies to lower. It's not easy to do and don't expect much movement in getting them lowered very quickly. They may never come down much, or maybe they will. Or, maybe they'll go higher, which you don't want to happen. Any illness, bacteria, environmental toxic, etc, can cause your antibodies to increases. With autoimmune diseases, your body can become highly reactive to things that would have previously not have effected it, or would have effected it minimally.

Going gluten free can help. Taking 200 mcg selenium daily is rumored to help, but it doesn't help much, if any. There are very few positive medical studies on just selenium. There are 1-2 studies on selenium and inositol taken together than showed positive results. However, I am someone with Hashi's who took selenium and inositol forever and my antibodies still increased drastically anyway. It's worth a try, but don't expect a miracle.

If you need help in increasing your meds and which type to take plus dosage, be sure to ask people here. Everyone here is happy to assist you!

[Asilam in reply to ShootingStars]

I would really appreciate help on increasing dosage. I’m taking 100mcg Levo and 10mcg T3 atm. I have both 20mcg and 25mcg pills for T3 and currently take half of 20mcg with my Levo first thing. The dr who reviews my bloods said I may need to reduce Levo but that’s only as he thinks my TSH is too low.

I would appreciate any advice on dosage increases

Thanks so much.

[ShootingStars in reply to Asilam]

Hi. You’re welcome! Hold on and I’ll give you some ideas. I’m on my phone now, so have to go calculate. Off top of my head, for your FT3, you should be close to 3/4 range, which is 5.875. Yours is 4.65. If you go much about that, you’ll have symptoms.

Your FT4 should be at least over half, which is 17. Yours is 15. If it gets too much about that, you’ll have symptom. If your FT3 is in optimal your FT4 will likely be a little over half. If one or the other is above of below optimal, that creates an imbalance and creates symptoms.

Decreasing T4 would also make your FT4 decrease. Yes, your TSH will decrease if you take more meds, but low TSH is to be expected with Hashimoto’s , especially if it’s already low and your frees are also too low. Mine is currently lower than yours. It previously was even lower. You could try taking more T3 first, if you want. It’s up to you if you’d want to increase by 1/4 pill or 5 mcg in am, and see if you have an afternoon slump from the short half life of T3, if you’d want to increase it in the afternoon instead of morning or if you’d want to increase more than 5 mcg, 10. Do you currently have an afternoon tiredness or fatigue?

[Asilam in reply to ShootingStars]

I am fatigued most of the time but definitely more so in the afternoon. I only take my T3 in the morning with my Levo so I’ll try adding an afternoon dose first and see how that goes.

Thanks again

[rockin60s]

Here is a link:webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/lab.... This might help

[Asilam in reply to rockin60s]

Thanks x