I have recently had a blood test and my Doctors have told me the results are normal. I asked for a print out to view them myself. I am wanting to check if I am perhaps on the higher end or lower end of a spectrum, but am thoroughly confused by all the medical jargon that comes up when I google and am very confused. If anyone could explain any of this to me in the simplest form I'd be incredibly grateful. I am a 26 year old female if that is any help.
Presumably you suspect you have symptoms of perhaps being hypothyroid?
Your ferritin is on low side at 39. Should be ideally at least around 70.
Suggests you are slightly Anaemic
Eating liver or liver pate once a week should help improve your levels. Or other iron rich foods
Your TSH at 2.33 is not high
But FT4 at 14.5 is a little low
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4, TT4, FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies and also very important to test vitamin D, folate and B12. (As well as ferritin)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or vitamins
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 are very common too, especially gluten. So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .
They tested me for anaemia and any thyroid issues. I’m ALWAYS exhausted, regardless of how much sleep I have. My periods are incredibly heavy and irregular. My hair molts a lot. I’m a light sleeper and reguarlay catch colds/viruses going round because my immune system seems to hate me. I suffer from eczema, but in the last few months have had dry flaky skin on my face, which is new for me. I have IBS and suspected endometriosis - both of which run in my family, as well as Gilbert’s Syndrome.
I’ll look at getting more tests. Thank you so much.
Do you think it looks like I have might slight anaemia then and a perhaps a thyroid problem?
IBS may actually be gluten intolerance or Coeliac. Both are more common with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's). Gluten intolerance is extremely common with Hashimoto's
Vitamin levels are often low as direct result
Endometriosis can be linked to hypothyroidism
Extremely heavy periods are classic sign of being hypothyroid. Obviously very likely to cause Anaemia as direct result of heavy blood loss.
Getting thyroid correctly treated would improve periods, if you are hypothyroid
Just testing TSH and FT4 is completely inadequate
Gilbert's syndrome can cause symptoms for some people (medics deny this) liver is more sluggish
They’ve tested me for intollorances before and again apparently came back with nothing out of the ordinary. To be fair my IBS is quite erratic. I can eat the same thing for months and be fine and then suddenly I’m bad for a while and then fine again.
but your MCV and MCH don't suggest iron deficiency anaemia.
Serum ferritin level (XE24r) - 39ng/mL
Your ferritin, although in range, is on the low side, it's recommended to be half way through range, especially for thyroid hormone to work (our own or replacement hormone). 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...
I had to seriously fight for a blood test. They were very reluctant.
They tested me for anaemia and any thyroid issues. I’m ALWAYS exhausted, regardless of how much sleep I have. My periods are incredibly heavy and irregular. My hair molts a lot. I’m a light sleeper and reguarlay catch colds/viruses going round because my immune system seems to hate me. I suffer from eczema, but in the last few months have had dry flaky skin on my face, which is new for me. I have IBS and suspected endometriosis - both of which run in my family, as well as Gilbert’s Syndrome.
I also did an Iodine patch test on my arm which disappeared completely sometimes between 5 and 11 hours (when I went to sleep after 5 hours it was mostly gone and had completely disappeared when I woke in the morning.) I know it’s not 100% accurate but was told it could signify a deficiency which could suggest a thyroid issue. When I mentioned this to my doctor she asked “What’s Iodine? I don’t know anything about a test.”
Basically I’ve had health issues for years, but according to the doctors the tests always come back normal. They also do this with my temperature and tell me it’s a little warm but not high enough for a temperature - they never listen to me when I say that is a temperature for me since my temperature never spikes the way everyone else’s does for some reason.
Push for an answer about your very low haemoglobin. If your GP can't help then he can refer you to haematology.
Hypothyroidism can be caused by iodine deficiency but it's not the most common cause.
If you want to know your iodine status, then the best test is the non-loading urine test from Genova Diagnostics which can be ordered with ThyroidUK as your "practioner" as Genova don't deal with the general public.
Test description:
Urine Iodine Test:
Specimen requirements: Urine
Cost: £71.00
Order Code: END25
Turnaround time: 5 - 10 days
Iodine is an essential trace element, vital for healthy thyroid function. Adequate levels are required to enable the production of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones, whilst also being required in other areas of health. Deficiencies can lead to impaired heat and energy production, mental function and slow metabolism. Urine iodine is one of the best measures of iodine status. This test is not performed as a loading test, but can be used to establish existing levels or to monitor iodine supplementation.
As you have not had B12 and Folate tested - it is possible you could have Folate or B12 anaemia - so worth testing ... I think Docs think there is only Iron anaemia
Thank you. I’ll push for that to be tested. She refused to do any kind of hormone testing etc unless I specified which I was testing for, but obviously I didn’t know!
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