Neuropathy

[ABC852031]

B12 174pg/L

TSH 1.15mu/L

Vitamin D 32nmol/L

IgA 0.57g/L

I began intensive B12 injections in April and lots of my symptoms improved but the numbness in my feet and fingertips remains and my fingertips look wrinkly. From the above results can I rule out a thyroid problem? I am 60 and female.

[greygoose]

No, you can't. Not enough information. A full thyroid test includes :

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

Tg antibodies

But, doubtful you'd get them all from your GP! You'd be better off doing them privately.

Do you have a range for the vit D3? It looks very low.

Do you take a B complex? The B vits all work together and need to be kept balanced. Having B12 shots means that you need the other B vits, too.

[ABC852031 in reply to greygoose]

Thank-you for your input. Viapath tested my vitamin d and their comment was "serum vitamin d was within our insufficiency range 30-50 nmol/L". So at 32 I decided to supplement and have just started taking d3 and k2 although I don't know how relevant this deficiency is to neuropathy. I am taking other b vitamins as you suggest and will try to find somewhere to get thyroid tests done.

[greygoose in reply to ABC852031]

You can read about private testing here :

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/p...

I'm not sure there is any connection between vit D and neuropathy, but good levels of vit D are necessary, anyway.

The reason TSH is not enough is that it will only be high in Primary hypo. If you have Central hypo - where the problem lies with the pituitary (Secondary hypo) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary hypo) - the TSH will always be low, but so will the FT4 and FT3 be low. And, if you have Hashi's, the TSH will move up and down frequently, so just catching it on a low day, means nothing. You need to see what the Frees are doing, and if there are antibodies.

[Marz]

B12 works on the protective myelin sheath around nerves and can take time to heal. Hence you still have symptoms ...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Peripheral neuropathy can be due to mixture of low vitamin D, B12 and B5

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

Adding a good quality vitamin B complex daily may help. One with folate in. Eg Igennus Super B complex

If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

Plus improving vitamin D to around 100nmol

Better You vitamin D mouth spray is good as avoids poor gut function.

You may have low stomach acid (common problem, especially if hypothyroid)

Suggest you wait a month or so for vitamin levels to improve then run full Thyroid and vitamin tests

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4, TT4, FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies. Plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12.

Essential to test thyroid antibodies, FT3 and FT4, plus vitamins

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)

If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's. Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances too, especially gluten. So it's important to get tested.

[ABC852031]

Thank-you. I'll get tested. I don't think my gp will mind but even if he did, it's not as if any treatment has been offered to me. It took best part of four months to get a loading dose and then another six weeks and some private treatment before I got further injections. If I don't find the cause myself my hands and feet will never recover.