So confused! Can anyone help me make sense of blood results & advise on supplements?

[Louisa45]

Hi All, so a couple of weeks ago I was told my thyroid was a little underactive and prescribed a low dose of Levothyroxine. (25mcg). I assumed it was my TSH the GP meant but I got my blood results and that and my T4 are fine, T3 is a little low. I don't understand, reading other people's experiences on here, (i feel like I shouldn't be ill) how my symptoms can be so bad? 8 years ago I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and was incredibly ill, bed ridden, could barely walk, put on masses of weight although not eating much, cold sensitivity, pain , terrible headaches etc. I got a LOT better quickly when I gave up gluten and refined cane sugar and began supplementing with d3, magnesium and b vits. The last few months, may be a year, I felt myself going downhill and again my work/social life was getting affected. The fatigue has been bad, as well as dizziness and mild headaches, pains etc. Anyway here are the results, not sure which to include:

Serum free T3 level 3.6 (4.00-6.60)

Folate 20.1 (less than 3 suggests deficiency)

B12 535 (120.00-625.00)

Ferretin 38 (120.00-625.00)

TSH 1.45 (0.34-5.60)

Do you need any others? My ferritin has increased from 25 since Xmas, I understand it should be 70.

Supplements:

I usually take b complex, vitamin c, d3, magnesium, probiotics, one or two drops of cbd oil plus Melissa dream/other herbal sleep supplements.

Been advised by a nutritionist to take 1 a day of higher nature thyroid support formula which contains b vits, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, selenium, iodine and tyrosine. Gathered I need some of these to help the Levothyroxine work? But worried about going into thyroid crisis if there's suddenly too much of the hormone!

Was taking spa tone iron once or twice a day, now adding in 20mg gentle iron by solgar. I'm vegetarian so won't eat liver etc! Eat some greens, nuts, pulses etc but not sure what else to do to get levels up.

Also not sure about timings of when to take everything!!

Sorry there's a lot going on here. Any advice welcomed.

Thank you so much.

[Hidden]

You might want to try Cacao to get your iron levels up. Raw cacao powder can be purchased online, not sure if its available in health stores or supermarkets but it does contain a good amount of iron and other minerals. This is just a random link to give you an idea:-

nourishmylife.wordpress.com...

[Louisa45 in reply to Hidden]

Hello that's interesting as I have a lot of raw cacao, powder, nibs or black chocolate! I thought it was a weird addiction! Guess without it I could have gone anenmic. Thanks!

[Hidden in reply to Louisa45]

The body is a smart piece of kit, cravings often lead you to deficiencies - pregnancy being a good example. Take care x

[Marz]

You have not had your anti-bodies tested to rule out Hashimotos - or maybe you have ? if so then do post your results with ranges - Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg. Your FT3 is below range . Your starting dose is too low and should have been 50mcg . Were the results after you started the 25 mcg or before ? No VitD result either.

The Thyroid Support has some conflicting ingredients which may impair the uptake of your Levo/T4 - iron for instance and if you have Hashimotos then iodine is not a good idea either I have read.

Your B12 result could be artificially inflated due to supplementation.

[Louisa45 in reply to Marz]

Hi, thank you, I'm not sure about antibodies, I don't think they tested for this so I could try going back. Also not sure re vit d but I do supplement with this. These results were before I started taking Levothyroxine. Ok think I'll try to get hashimotos ruled out before taking any more of the supplement. Thanks again.

[Marz in reply to Louisa45]

The NHS only test TPO and RARELY the Anti-Tg - so again Hashimotos can be missed. Also the GP's like to ignore anti-bodies and pretend Hashimotos does not exist. Possibly because they do not understand a chronic condition and how it is to be treated - they like quick fixes with a pill !

Good to know as there is so much you can do to help yourself ....

[greygoose]

Your FT3 is below range! You are very hypo, despite your TSH. That's why you are ill. It's low T3 that causes symptoms, not the TSH. You haven't included your FT4, it would be interesting to see that.

Your nutritionist is very, very wrong to have given you that supplement. Some of the contents may be necessary for the levo to work - although I doubt the pill contains enough of them to help - but some of them could be making you worse. You should not be taking iodine or copper without getting tested first. Iodine can be anti-thyroid, and will make Hashi's symptoms worse. Hypos are often high in copper and low in zinc. Over-dosing on copper is not something you want to do.

However, do not worry about going into crisis if there is suddenly to much hormone! With your level of FT3 that's not likely to happen on 25 mcg levo, whatever else you take.

When are you getting retested? You are going to need several increases to get your FT3 to a level where you start to feel better. And the increases should be done at six weekly intervals.

[Louisa45 in reply to greygoose]

Hi, T4 10.8 (7.9-20.00) it says something underneath about trimesters which I don't understand.

To be fair the nutritionist only spoke to me on the phone and hasn't seen my results, I know her and we said we'd book an appointment soon

Thanks for reassuring me re thyroid crisis!

I was planning on getting retested in four weeks but perhaps should go back sooner to get tested for antibodies.

[greygoose in reply to Louisa45]

Antibodies can wait until your six week test. They're not that important, yet. So, you have low FT4, low FT3, and low TSH. Which pretty well adds up to Central hypo. Did anyone mention that? Have they tested the other pituitary hormones? If not, they should, because they could be low as well, causing a lot of symptoms.

Your results are irrelevant, if this nutritionist knew anything about thyroid, she would not be recommending iodine.

[Louisa45 in reply to greygoose]

Ok thanks re antibodies. I thought the TSH and T4 are in range? The GP just said my thyroid is a bit underactive. No idea about pituitary hormones! The nurse said my inflammatory markers were high, and they tested for magnesium for some reason, and in spite of me taking high doses bet 400 and 800 mg, it's still on the lowest side of normal, which seems odd.

I'm wondering what to do next. Endocrinologist refused to see me as TSH ok. Nutritionist perhaps doesn't know enough. Perhaps a private endocrinologist if I can afford it. Thanks for all your advice.

[greygoose in reply to Louisa45]

Well, they are, but so what? Just being in-range isn't everything. The FT4 is too low in the range. Combine that with your under-range FT3 and you have a problem. The TSH is in-range, but if you have Central hypo - a pituitary or hypothalamus problem - it always will be in range, even if your FT3 is zero. It's not just about the TSH.

And, it the pituitary is the problem, you may also have adrenal problems, because the pituitary may not be secreting the hormone to stimulate them to make hormone. It is very important that your pituitary is tested.

As you are hypo, you will obviously have inflammation. And, there's not point in testing magnesium because of the way the body handles magnesium. The results don't mean anything much.

I think the next thing you should do is read up on central hypo. Which such a low FT3, your TSH should be much, much higher. The fact that it isn't suggests there is a problem with the pituitary or the hypothalamus. Learn about it, so that you can go back to your doctor and explain about it - I doubt he's ever heard about it - explain that it is essential that your other pituitary hormones should be tested, and for that reason, you need a referral to an endo. But a different one, obviously, if the first one only goes by the TSH!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Louisa45]

it says something underneath about trimesters which I don't understand

That's to do with stages of pregnancy. If you're not pregnant then it doesn't apply to you.