Thanks to this site I have had my results back from medichecks and would really appreciate some help and advice on what they mean and what to do next. The report commented that folate serum was low-can you advise me about this? The advice was to consider reducing but I think that they mean increasing? Would this cause tiredness/aching? Alsoit is stated that my Iron is high and I should stop taking supplements. However, I do not take any.
You should see your Doctor to get checked for Hemochromatosis. This can cause a feeling of weakness/Fatigue along with abdonimal pains and Joint pain so it is definitely worth getting follow up checks done for your ferritin levels especially if you do not supplement with Iron. They will need to check your TIBC and Transferrin saturation levels.
You can take a folic acid supplement to improve Folate levels and include more leafy greens in your diet as they are a natural source of folate along with Banans/Melons and Beans Hope that helps
I assume these tests were done whilst taking 100mcg Levo.
Both FT4 and FT3 are too low.
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 if that is where you feel well. I think you need an increase of 25mcg Levo, retest in 6-8 weeks and see where your levels lie then and how you feel.
Although your TPO antibodies are within range, they are quite high. I've been tested a few times for both TPO and TG and mine are usually in the 6-10 range, never more than 12. so for your TPO Abs to be 24 (<34) I would be a bit suspicious and repeat the test at some time as you may find it will be over range and confirm Hashi's. As antibodies fluctuate you may have just caught them low this time.
Active B12 looks OK but with regard to the comment about your Folate, personally I would contact Medichecks about this. They need to be careful that they give accurate information, this is not the first time something like this has happened. They will just check again and send new comments but I do think it should be pointed out to them, they really ought to have stricter control over this, not everyone can interpret results themselves so have to rely on their comments.
If your Folate level is definitely below range then I think you should point this out to your GP. He may want to do their own test and if it comes back low again they should prescribe folic acid. If it just comes back low in range then buy a good B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B which contain 400mcg methylfolate at the recommended dose and that will help raise your folate level.
Vit D is slightly low at 83.7nmol/L. The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L. You may want to consider supplementing with D3 at around 3000iu daily for a couple of months, then retest. If all you want to retest is Vit D then you can use City Assays who do a home fingerprick blood spot test for £29
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 such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
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. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
Magnesium 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
Thank you so much. That is really informative. Yes, you are right. I am on 100mcg of thyroxine and do still seem to have a lot of symptoms. I am seeing my doctor on Thursday so I will ask for an increase in thyroxine and print off results as suggested. I have just emailed medichecks regarding that error. Do you know anything about ferritin? They said I should stop taking iron supplements as this is high but I don’t take any! Also, could you please tell me how long- having followed advice- should I wait for retest?
Sorry, I don't know about high ferritin, it maybe needs looking into by your GP. It is quite a long way over range for someone not supplementing. However, ferritin can be raised by infection or inflammation but in that case I think your CRP would be raised too as that is another inflammation marker. Is your diet high in iron rich foods - liver, black pudding, liver pate, meat, other iron rich foods are here apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in... If not, then maybe your GP can keep an eye on your level and investigate if it stays high.
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Hope that helps
Thyroid check . Please have alook at the results and comment .
Confused with blood tests
Central hypothyroidism?
