shawsAdministrator

Welcome to our forum and you can copy and paste some of the info above onto your Profile so that members can look at it without asking repeat questions.

Do you have the ranges for your results - these are in brackets after the results. The reason being that labs differ in their machines as do the ranges. Ranges help us to respond. To add the ranges click on the down arrow next to 'more' and select edit and then insert them.

First of all, hypothyroid symptoms can increase before we are diagnosed and we used to be diagnosed upon symptoms alone.

Now in these, modern times, it all relies upon a blood test.

In the UK GPs have been told not to diagnose until the TSH reaches 10, despite disabling symptoms. That could take sometime.

Some helpful advice:-

The blood tests have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test and take it afterwards. If you didn't follow this procedure your results could be skewed.

I shall give you some links as we have to read, learn and ask questions as answers don't always come through the Professionals. Ask for thyroid antibodies to be checked. If these are present you should be prescribed and it is an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease called Hashimoto's or hashi's and going gluten-free can help reduce the attack of the antibodies on the gland which eventually make you hypothyroid.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

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

DarthKite in reply to shaws

Hi shaws, just edited my post. Thanks for the suggestion of adding in the ranges. Also added two more figures as well.

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shawsAdministrator

Both your Frees are too low - but doctors only look to see if they are 'somewhere' in the range and I will give a link to TUK's chart. FT4 and FT3 should be nearer the upper part of the range not near the bottom. Your TSH should be around 1 or lower

You need a prescription but GP hasn't diagnosed you due to your low TSH. He is waiting till its 10 - as they're instructed.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

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

You don't have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease - called Hashimoto's - as your Antibodies aren't high enough.

DarthKite in reply to shaws

shaws, you are a star. Been struggling a lot of late and just knowing that I'm not actually mad makes me feel slightly better. I'm going to Florida in two weeks so might try to see someone there. Might cost me an arm and a leg, but a better chance there.

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SeasideSusieAdministrator

DarthKite

You can work on these:

Vit D - 41 (this is low, that much I do know) (>50)

The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L. With our current level of 41nmol/L the Vit D Council recommends the following

To reach 100nmol/L - 3200 IU daily

To reach 125nmol/L - 4900 IU daily

To reach 150nmol/L - 7000 IU daily

along with D3's important cofactors magnesium and Vit K2-MK7.

Retest after 3 months. Once the recommended level is reached then you'll need a maintenance dose which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with City Assays vitamindtest.org.uk/

A good D3 supplement is Doctor's Best softgels, they contain extra virgin olive oil, and as D3 is fat soluble the oil helps absorption. A good K2-MK7 is Healthy Origins, again a softgel containing extra virgin olive oil. Both of those supplements contain only the essential ingredients, no fillers, etc. It's a good idea to take them with some dietary fat even though they contain olive oil.

You'll need to decide which form of magnesiumis best for you naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

B12 - 407 (206 - 1000)

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."

You could take sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges and 1000mcg might be enough. Jarrows do one, Cytoplan also do one containing methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin which is the one I use.

A good B Complex is needed when taking B12. You could look at Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B, both good brands with bioavailable ingredients.

Were Folate and Ferritin tested as well?

DarthKite in reply to SeasideSusie

Hi SeasideSusie, thanks for the reply. Wasn't sure at all about B12 whether it was low or not. On Vit D supplements as is it very low.

Folate - 5.9 (4.5 - 20.0)

Serum Ferritin - 54.8 (23 - 393)

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SeasideSusieAdministrator in reply to DarthKite

DarthKite

On Vit D supplements as is it very low.

What dose of supplement are you taking and is it prescribed? You also need the magnesium and Vit K2-MK7 as mentioned.

Wasn't sure at all about B12 whether it was low or not.

I would definitely be supplementing with your level, and I would be wanting it at the top of the range.

Folate - 5.9 (4.5 - 20.0)

This is too low, it needs to be at least half way through it's range. The B Complex will help there as long as it contains 400mcg methylfolate (which Thorne Basic B and Igennus Super B do at the recommended dose)

Serum Ferritin - 54.8 (23 - 393)

This is too low. 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...

Your low nutrient levels will be bringing their own symptoms so I would work on getting them optimal for a few months then do a complete thyroid/nutrient panel again and see how things are.

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