Hi,I previously posted 12days ago + shaws asked me to get blood results-have bn diabetic for 22 years insulin dependent,was diagnosed 19 years ago with under active thyroid,3weeks ago was admitted in hospital with low cortisol blood results were 31-had test done Soz can’t remember name -were they inject cortisol in + my reading was 475,dr wanted it higher + put me on hydro cortisone 20mg daily -15 in morning +5 -6hrs later,-prior to this had bn on steroids + very strong antibiotics due to granulomars in my face, then for past 6mths have had steroids injected into face,bk in Oct 17 was told to reduce thyroxine by 50,down from 150 to 100+ 2-3wks after was taken by ambulance bcos my balance was bad + violently sick,still have balance issues, am still unwell + have endo app nx month-my results-
Serum folate 4.6ugl/l. 3.90-20.00
Total white cell9.3x10*9/l. 3.50-11.00
Cortisol plasma cortisol 10-ku/l. 00-35
Serum vitamin b12 377ng/l 223.00-1132
Serum ferritin 45. 14-186
Thyroid function 3.8. 0.30-5.50
T4 23.7. 11.50-22.70
Free t3 5.1. 00-7.00
My T3 +T4 we’re tested in Oct 17 + that’s why had dose reduced by 50mg
Potassium 4.5. 3.50-5.50
Electrolytes,sodium 136. -135-145
Iron 11. 11-30
B12. 408 180-900
When I queried some of these results were told all normal
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christinamaria11
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I am not the best in reading blood tests. On the contrary, my knowledge is pretty much restricted to the thyroid hormones.
But I would say that your Iron, Ferritin, Folate and B12 are not good enough. If they could be on the end of the range that would be better for you. Your Iron actually is just and just low... Anemia is not going to help at this stage.
It seems that in your case a smart diet is key for everything and can help your recovery because diabetes and cortisol levels can be completed changed by the food you eat on the daily basis. The food will also help with all the vitamins and minerals you need to improve.
Hi Claudia, thank you for reply am truly grateful,I am trying to take all the info on here in -there’s so much I’m unaware of,had I not found this site,I would have not asked for the test shaws advices + dread to think! I have bn eating 3xbrazil nuts + have bn eating red meat but think it’s liver I have to eat? My diet previously was pasta veg + fish + bread,although for past 6 months have had to force myself to eat as I feel nauseous,,do you think I should ask advice from admin do I pm them ? Thank you in advance
As I said, I am not the best adviser around here but I believe help is on its way. People here work during day and they tend to answer questions later or at night (I was free today, I am actually sick at home). But yes, I would PM the people here if I needed some emergency advice.
My daughter is vegetarian and she takes iron daily. A form of iron + vitamin C capsules (they come together) and it is working fine for her. Her results improved. Maybe you should talk to you doctor and try.
Anyway, one thing that I don't recommend is to force yourself to eat. I think you should eat only when you are hungry. Even if you have diabetes, it is better if you eat only when you are hungry. We are trained to eat the way we eat today. We don't need all those meals and snacks. So many meals means an extra burden for a person with insulin issues like you. And I definitely don't recommend you eating pasta or bread. Don't they mess up your blood sugar too much? Maybe you should try low carb-high protein meals.
If you feel dizzy or nauseous you can make yourself some mix of orange juice + water + a very small pinch of salt. Can use sparkling water and it is better than Gatorade or similars. You find recipes for Salted Orange Juice on Youtube. Sometimes is salted lemonade. But I think lightly salted OJ is better because you don't have to add sugar because orange juice is naturally full of it. It helps.
Sorry about your skin, it must be difficult to deal with this kind of problem. But maybe it can be result of the stress and the cocktail of meds. Our skins tend to reflect a bit of the chemical mess we are carrying inside... The antibiotic is definitely a complicated additional to this equation.
Hi christibamaria11 I am going to add SeasideSusie into this post as she is excellent with advice and knowledge as you have so many very low results.
I do wish they'd stop adjusting doses according to the TSH and other results. Doctors think that results in the 'normal' range means we are on sufficient doses but it doesn't. We need optimum doses especially of vitamins/minerals.
The aim for us who are hypo is a TSH of 1 or lower Your FT3 could be a bit higher but it is all your others that need some action. When we get the 'all normal' you just have to look at your iron which is the 'bottom' of the range whereas we need it everything towards the top.
I am sorry you have other problems on top of hypothyroidism and to have injections on your face sounds awful.
B12 - your doctor should check the 'intrinsic factor' before you supplement to exclude pernicious anaemia. If you do supplement it should be with B12 methylcobalamin sublingual (bypasses stomach) and you can get them from Amazon. I have P.A. myself as well as hypo. Usually if we are hypo we may also have stomach issues such as low acid and we have to take tablets to give us acid which enables stomach to dissolve food. Hypo slows everything down, i.e. heart, pulse etc, so as we increase dose both begin to go higher.
I haven't read your post because my eyes can't cope with blocks of text like that with no paragraphs. So I have just copied your results and will comment on those as Shaws has tagged me. Any I haven't commented on are because I can't help with those.
Serum folate 4.6ugl/l. 3.90-20.00
This is too low. Folate should be at least half way through range. Eating folate rich foods will help, as will a good B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B.
Serum vitamin b12 377ng/l 223.00-1132
B12. 408 180-900
Whichever is your latest doesn't really matter, they are both lower than they should be according to 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."
As long as you have no signs of B12 deficiency - which you can check here b12deficiency.info/signs-an... - then you could supplement with sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 1000mcg daily, along with a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins (recommendations mentioned above).
Serum ferritin 45. 14-186
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...
Iron 11. 11-30
Your serum iron is low. Along with a lowish ferritin then you should speak to your GP about whether you need further investigation (full blood count, iron panel) and whether you need to supplement iron.
Thyroid function 3.8. 0.30-5.50
T4 23.7. 11.50-22.70
Free t3 5.1. 00-7.00
These results are unusual. Your TSH is quite high, yet your FT4 is over range. One would normally expect a low TSH with a high FT4.
Do you take a B Complex or Biotin? If so that may have skewed the results, Biotin needs to be left off for 5 days before a test.
By the way, if you are eating Brazil nuts for selenium, then if the packet doesn't say "Grown in Selenium rich soil" then there probably isn't any discernable amount, if any. Here is a chart of the selenium content of the nuts depending on where they are grown
Hi seaside,sorry will try to write in paragraphs,thank you for your help,have looked on b12 symptoms + have all bar restless leg syndrome,have nr urine continence ,my balance is bad til present day even though was admitted to hospital twice + advised to walk with stick!I have had 3xbroken bones in last 3years which is when they did bone scan + detected brittle bones,so do I medicate with Thorne super B for folate and take sublingual methyl cobalamin for B12?
I will eat liver no more than 200g per wk + do I ask for full blood count for iron from doctor?
Tsh was done in April this year yet no t3 or t4 we’re done, the t3 + t4 we’re from October 17-that’s why they reduced thyroxine from 150 to 100 + have no tsh results from Oct 17 either!
I don’t supplement with any vitamins except E,I do eat a lot of green veg + salad + Brazil nuts are grown in selenium soil,
Prior to them changing my thyroxine have not had weight issues am 5ft 7 + bn around 62-64 Kg for years,now am losing weight ,
have looked on b12 symptoms + have all bar restless leg syndrome, ........ my balance is bad til present day even though was admitted to hospital twice + advised to walk with stick! .......... so do I medicate with Thorne super B for folate and take sublingual methyl cobalamin for B12?
I would say that due to you having lots of the symptoms listed, then you should list them, discuss with your doctor, and ask to be tested for B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia. Don't start any folate/B Complex supplements until after testing.
Your GP will be able to do a full blood count and iron panel. If he wants to know why you've asked for them, say it is because your serum iron is at the very lowest point of the range and you believe that it should be about half way through the range. You can see where optimal levels lie for an iron panel here rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_...
Tsh was done in April this year yet no t3 or t4 we’re done, the t3 + t4 we’re from October 17-that’s why they reduced thyroxine from 150 to 100 + have no tsh results from Oct 17 either!
So we can't interpret your results then. They all need to be done at the same time. TSH on it's own doesn't tell us where your thyroid hormones lie. TSH is not a thyroid hormone, FT4 and FT3 are thyroid hormones.
The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it needs to be for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges when on Levo. So your TSH of 3.8 was too high, I expect your FT3 and FT3 would have been low.
And with these results:
FT4 23.7. 11.50-22.70
Free t3 5.1. 00-7.00
there are signs of possible poor conversion of T4 to T3.
Have you ever had thyroid antibodies tested?
Were both lots of tests done under the same conditions? We always advise thyroid tests to be done at the earliest appointment of the morning, after an overnight fast (delay breakfast until after the test) and leaving off Levo for 24 hours (delay taking Levo until after test) as taking Levo before the blood draw will give a false high FT4 rather than show what's normally circulating in the blood.
Reducing your levo from 150 to 100mcg was wrong. Dose changes should be in 25mcg increments, never more.
Ok thank you for advise , will go bk to dr + ask full iron test,discuss b12 + get all thyroid bloods done or what they are willing to do,Am 100% per cent certain that all my problems started after dose was lowered
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