Blood results question

[Samsara333]

please can anyone advise on my blood results if the Thyroid tests seem normal. I have been pretty unwell for sometime.I have a large goitre,bppv vertigo.headaches nausea. pins and needles numbness and itching sensation.sore throats.extreme brain fog and fatigue. weight gain. back pain/hip pain/sciatica. I've been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome as a result and have regular B12 injections to help with this. b12 was never tested at the onset only on injections therefore now shows >2000.I was vitamin D deficient 9 months ago at 20 which increased to 100 after 6 weeks of loading doses from GP. After that advised to supplement 1000 and three months later Feb result only 55 so dropped from 100 to 55.Advised to increase supplements so now taking 3000 and still only 65 after another three months. I have finally managed to get them to test my Thyroid Ft3 and Ft4.last three years would only do TSH which has always been in range despite symptoms so they wouldn't look any further. recent research mentioned cfs/ME connection with T3 so they finally agreed to test. Do the Thyroid results look normal? And should my vit d be so slow increasing They don't seem concerned but I am as I have a family history of MS, Graves,hashimotos,COPD etc

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Samsara333

bppv vertigo - benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

brief periods of vertigo with movement, recurring from time to time.

This is different from the dizziness that you would experience with a B12 problem.

Presumably your GP diagnosed this and say what causes it? Did s/he mention the Epley Manoeuvre? If not then there are YouTube videos that show how it can be done. I had an episode of this, diagnsed by GP, no infection, definitely BPPV. He mentioned the Epley Manoeuvre but didn't perform it. I did it myself, once daily for 3 days, the third time did the trick, not had an episode since.

Thyroid results

Unfortunately, no-one knows their normal levels when fit and well as we're never tested.

Your TSH is where it should be for a normal person, which is less than 2.

Your FT4 and FT3 are quite low in range and for a normal person one would expect them to be around mid-range-ish.

I have a large goitre

It would be a good idea to have thyroid antibodies tested and/or an ultrasound, particularly with the family history of Graves and Hashi's.

If GP can't or wont get antibodies tested, you could do them with one of our recommended labs, but because of your family history I think your GP should offer to do them. There two types of antibodies that can indicate Hashi's - Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin. NHS rarely does TPO and almost never does TG.

Vit D

After raising your level with loading doses, you should have gone onto a decent maintenance dose which keeps your level within the range recommended by the Vit D Council - which is 100-150nmol/L. Unfortunately, because doctors aren't taught nutrition, they think 1000iu daily will keep your Vit D level up, it doesn't for everyone and hardly expected to for someone who had severe deficiency initially. Mine was 15 when tested, I treated myself and once I'd reached the recommended level I now find I need 2000iu daily in the summer and 5000iu the rest of the year. Not everyone needs that amount, it's very individual, so we have to find our level by trial and error.

With your current level of 65 I would increase your daily dose for a couple of months. Are you using an oral spray 3000iu dose? If so I would double it for 6-8 weeks then drop back to 3000iu daily for a month then retest. If using softgels then depending on what dose they are I would take 5000-6000iu daily and follow the suggestion as for the spray.

If necessary you can do your own testing 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 as recommended by the Vit D Council -

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.

Ferritin is too low. This needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work (our own as well as replacement). 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...

[Samsara333 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Susie thanks for reply. BPPV diagnosed by Halpike manoevour and I have nysta gmus which is positive test. I wasn't given the Epley manoevour as GP said better to refer straight to ENT as certain head movements make me sick. and as several things going on.ENT appointment is on Tuesday.GP said they should do an MRI to rule out things that could be causing the vertigo. thanks for advice on the vit D. I will try the increased dosages and see how that affects my next test. What can i do to get the FT4 and FT3 to a better level? I will ask about the hashimotos test again. I do eat liver.I have some feruglobin supplements I bought but not taken as I was told my ferritin was normal.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Samsara333]

Samsara

I hope the ENT appointment can sort you out. My GP didn't do any test, just diagnosed it by asking questions and eliminating "normal" vertigo and infection. I asked someone to check nystagmus for me (GP didn't do that) and it wasn't noticed. It was rising from the bed in the morning that brought on mine, I would sit up and fall straight back down again accompanied by dizziness. I had to find a way to manouevre myself out of bed without sitting up. It was only that one movement that caused it. Once I saw about the Epley Manoeuvre and how the crystals dislodge it all made sense, and after the third time of doing it it was like a miracle. Room spun, I was lying on the bed to do the manoeuvre and the spinning that followed the manoeuvre was so bad I was clutching the bed! But after it passed that was it and it's never come back (touch wood!).

Your GP actually sounds very on the ball and willing to do referrals, mine wont do anything like that.

I don't know if there is anything you can do to raise your FT4 and FT3. That may be where they naturally fall with your TSH, none of us know the place where we should be when well. Stay away from any "thyroid support" supplements though. I think the first thing to do is see if you can get both antibodies tested. If they only do TPO and it's positive then that's enough, if they only do TPO and it's negative then it's important to do TG as you can be negative for TPO and positive for TG. If your GP can't get them done then I would consider a private test, which can be done for a reasonable price with a fingerprick test with one of our recommened labs.

[Samsara333]

sorry not seen this until now. I'm actually on weekly b12 injections so how would PA be tested as my b12 level is obviously now very high?.asked GP he said no need to test because of this.