My test results surprised me, any thoughts please !

[ferretmam]

Hi guys,

I've been reading here since September peeping through the brain fog trying to make sense of this awful thing that has plagued me for years. Like most of you i have Nhs gp who won't deviate from what is written on screen. His last parting words to me were "oh,100 must be your number ! ". I wasn't totally convinced by his T4 only decision & refusal to test for antibodies, so i went home & researched gluten free stuff then best i can altered my diet.

My gp may well be right, but i still don't feel well ! I self medicate 5000 vit d3 (along with co factors ) daily as the Nhs won't hand over the goodies My old gp's results had me as low as 20 (Uk) , i also take 100 mcg Levothyroxine

Results yesterday

Free Thyroxine 16.8. pmol/L (12 - 22)

Total Thyroxine T4. 99.5. nmol/L ( 59 - 154 )

TSH 1.35 miu/L. ( 0.27 - 4.2 )

Free T3 4.73 pmol/L ( 3.1. - 6.8 )

Thyroglobulin antibodies (TGab) 60 iu/ml ( 0 - 115 )

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) 68.5. iu/ml. ( 0 - 34 )

Folate 19.98 ug/L. ( 2.91. - 50 )

Ferritin. 93 ug/L. ( 13. - 150 )

C Reactive Protein CRP 1.74. mg/L. ( 0. - 5. )

25 oH Vitamin D 95 nmol. ( 50. - 200 )

Active B12 vit B12. 179. pmol/L. ( 25.1. - 165. )

B12 result had a note next to it asking me to stop supplementing with B12. This vitamin is not one that i supplement.

Looking at these figures it seems like my gluten free ( mostly ) diet is helping , but i'm still like a zombie............. Any clues please & thanks

[Nanaedake]

Are you getting enough calcium in your diet? You need to eat some calcium rich foods with every meal.

[ferretmam in reply to Nanaedake]

Thanks for replying

My last full blood count done by old gp, new gp won't repeat, as he thinks i'm fine.

Serum Calcium was good at. 2.41. mmol/L ( 2.2. - 2.6. ) , so yeah.... I'm probably ok

[Nanaedake in reply to ferretmam]

Serum calcium only tells you that you have enough calcium in your blood, not whether you have enough in your diet. If you lack dietary calcium your body will draw itfrom your bones as your heart and brain absolutely rely on it. You will not know you are deficient until too late so ensure you get calcium rich food with every meal. Apparently thyroid disease predisposes to low calcium levels.

[ferretmam in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank you Nanaedake, i had no idea ! - will do my best

[Naomi8 in reply to Nanaedake]

I supplement with buffered ester C 1000.,as this is gentle on the stomach.Will I get enough calcium from this(calcium ascorbate)I eat cheese & drink milk.

I have been advised on this forum to avoid calcium

[ferretmam in reply to Naomi8]

Interesting, i will look out for posts re: ester C - tho i do believe i may know someone who uses that product

[greygoose]

Does your GP only test your TSH? If so, he has no idea whether 100 is your number or not! Your TSH isn't bad - although, personally I would want it lower than that - but your FT4 and FT3 are not quite mid-range, and most people need them a lot higher than that to feel well. I would think you need at least 125 mcg levo, if not a tad more. So, you are slightly under-medicated. But, I wouldn't expect a GP to know that.

[ferretmam in reply to greygoose]

Thanks greygoose

I did sort of think that myself but couldn't remember why i thought it ( brain fog ) was looking through other posts to see what i could find out.

We moved into a rural community last Aug & immediately my results shot up to 79.4. miu/L , I also was poorly converting & felt dreadful. I guessed the house move perhaps triggered a Hashi's flare but new gp thought i was talking rubbish & dismissed it.My old gp was good at testing, but this guy immediately accused me of not taking my Levo. He's only once tested T4 ( December ) alongside my TSH. Sadly out here there are few options and he's not listening, i get the feeling he thinks i'm neurotic or something so i'm trying to work this out myself x

[Nanaedake in reply to ferretmam]

Be emphatic with your GP that you are compliant and do not miss doses. I had the same problem in rural area with GP saying I wasn't taking meds. It turned out the thyroid tablets were faulty and when switched to different formulation I was then badly overdosed due to lack of equivalence between brands. I suppose they still thought it was my fault until the medical alert went out and then the doctors failed to know about it and I had to inform them. All in all it was a horrible mess and no useful help at all from the docs.

[ferretmam in reply to Nanaedake]

that sounds awful

Thank god you found these lovely people.

Will try & be sweet next time i see he ( but will be going armed with plenty useful info i hope ) x

[greygoose in reply to ferretmam]

You mean your TSH shot up to 79.4? That's not a Hashi's flare. With a flare your TSH drops and your Frees shoot up.

There's not much you can do with a doctor that knows nothing about thyroid, but thinks he knows it all. All you can do is self-treat.

[ferretmam in reply to greygoose]

Yes my TSH - see i have no idea !

I'm starting to write everything down, i need to totally understand this thyroid monster !

Just don't know why B12 is up in clouds now

[greygoose in reply to ferretmam]

Well, it's only slightly elevated. I shouldn't worry about it, as long as it doesn't get any higher.

[ferretmam in reply to greygoose]

[andyswarbs]

I used to take Vitamin D tabs, but have now cut back on them. There is research showing it can reduce life expectancy cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/.... I have read other reports indicating that it is important to ensure you get get good calcium levels if you take VItamin D. For this I would recommend dark green leafy vegetables which are very high in calcium healthyeating.sfgate.com/ca...

[ferretmam in reply to andyswarbs]

Thank you - i will look at those reports, need to look at leafy veg too ( or rather how to disguise them )

[andyswarbs in reply to ferretmam]

If you are not used to eating dark greens then some people add them to smoothies with some fruit to sweeten the taste. If you struggle with the fibre swap from smoothies to juicing to remove the fibre for a while as your gut gets more used to the tastes.

If you are trying kale and not used to it get whole kale rather than chopped. Then hold the plant by the top and pull down with the other hand towards the base of the stalk. This rips all the leaf away from the stalk in a couple of seconds, which you can then dispose of.

[ferretmam in reply to andyswarbs]

nice tip !

Ive never tried kale, i thought it was just one of these new fads (*face palm*) - i'm so ashamed, i really should learn about fruit & veg properly - don't get me wrong..... i'm not a takeaway person, i do cook - just probably not how i should ( turnips are my fave and white cabbage )

Will def get some kale and give it a try tho - pity its going to send my lovely pinky purple smoothie green !

[Gambit62]

if you don't supplement B12 then suggest you speak to GP about reviewing liver and kidney function. Both can lead to rising levels of B12 - as an early symptom.

further testing could involve looking at serum B12 to active B12 to see if the ratio is significantly different from the normal 20/30% which could be indicative of a problem metabolising B12

MMA/homocysteine - which could clarify if there is a functional B12 deficiency going on.

[ferretmam in reply to Gambit62]

sorry i missed your reply, thank you for that. I will go see gp and get it checked. I had a really bad episode about 16 years ago whereby my whole body swelled up and i could not move for fatigue, i was also severely depressed. Gp did bloods and found a kidney test was slightly over the range. He put it down to it being a new more sensitive test ( he didn't say what test) and then discounted it saying if he'd used older ranges it would not have shown. He gave me antibiotics & anti depressants and sent me away. I never did find out what was wrong.