Weird blood results

[MadDonna8]

Morning ! Some savvy thyroid assistance needed !

I have been diagnosed 17 years ago with Me/CFS.. last year I contracted a nasty virus that flared symptoms! Mother - autoimmune thyroid / arthritis

Refered to endo with weird bloods

TSH 1.6 & 2.4 , FREE T4 19, serum folate 12.5 , vit B12 - 828, anti Ab 15, ferritin 215 ! Reactive hypos with too much carbohydrates , extreme cold intolerance raised pulse , raised BP & Adrenalin spikes (ambulance called)

Any thoughts? anyone had similar ?

Kindest regards

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

MadDonna8

Not sure what's weird about your results. Can you add the reference ranges please so that members can interpret them, ranges vary from lab to lab so can't be interpreted without the ranges from the lab that did the testing.

[MadDonna8 in reply to SeasideSusie]

TSH - 1.6 & 2.4 (0.27-4.2)

Free t4 -19 (11-22)

Serum folate - 12.5 (>3.9)

Vitamin B12 828 (>771)

Ferritin 215 & 181 (30-150)

Cortisol 8am 403 12 noon 256 ( 135-537)

Sorry just find it so hard to interpret the results... when I had a viral relapse last sept I was told my oestrogen wrong .. they put me on hrt patch... I was so cold - even in Tenerife I was turning blue yet my hubby was sweating buckets in 34c ! Sleep was the only thing that warmed me up! Adrenaline spikes when I’m sat doing nothing! Jan/ Feb .. ferritin & b12 was over the limits .. hospital even advised my gp go stop giving b12 injections yet I’m not on any ! Checked me for a genetic problem came back clear! Had array of bloods and refered to endo ... symptoms are extremely cold , brain fog, mid back ache , frontal headache, not really functioning some days! Any advise would be great fully received... ambulance man asked if I was on ‘pregnenolone’ said No! He said I think you should be! I don’t think I should be even on the hrt - I’m 47 !

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to MadDonna8]

MadDonna8

There's nothing wrong with those thyroid test results but they're not the whole picture. FT3 and thyroid antibodies should also be done.

Folate is fine.

B12 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."

So although you don't say what the unit of measurement is (pmol/L or ng/ml or pg/L) it doesn't seem to be too high but might be worth keeping an eye on.

Ferritin is puzzling unless you take iron supplements or your diet is rich in meat or liver or liver pate and other iron rich foods.

I can't comment on your cortisol results other than they're in range.

I would want the full thyroid panel doing to include FT3 and antibodies, even if it means doing it privately. You also need Vit D testing.

[MadDonna8 in reply to SeasideSusie]

B12 is ng/l ... thank u for your response .. x

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to MadDonna8]

ng/l is the same as pg/ml so yours is 828pg/ml and according to the quote from that book your level is fine. Originally mine was 661 and because of my age I supplemented to get it to 1000 and now keep it there with a maintenance dose of B12.

[Hidden]

You have probably had thyroid disease for all of those 17 years with CFS but it is hard to interpret results without ranges. Could we also have a list of symptoms?

[MadDonna8 in reply to Hidden]

I have extreme cold intolerance.. I have been in warm clothes this summer, feeling like I’m in a bubbly - detached from my surroundings, extreme brain fog / fatigue , my hair is so dry as is my skin , a lot of my symptoms are similar to my ME/CFS but the extremes of the adrenals seems heightened for sure ! X

[Hashi-Monster]

HRT can exacerbate hypothyroid symptoms.

You would be better off trying natural progesterone cream to increase T3 uptake. It’s the estrogen which causes high Thyroxine binding globulin and decreases T3 uptake.

[MadDonna8 in reply to Hashi-Monster]

I am on an oestrogen patch and I have the marina iud/ coil as I had a bilateral ablation of the womb 7 years ago as I had fibroids ! So the iud is giving me progesterone ( & preventing endo cancers) and now the patch is giving me oestrogen !! X

[Hidden]

I agree now that your results are weird as they appear normal yet you are so symptomatic. I agree that your FtT3 and Vit D needs doing and maybe a saliva cortisol. I personally take what the ambulance service say very seriously they are very good clinically. Your TSH of 2.4 suggest that some thyroid hormones might help.They are within range but the TSH is not the most reliable blood test in the world.My TSh has rarely got past 2.5 yet I was without hormones very poorly and am much better for taking them. Your T4 is however reasonable/ good and it maybe that you are not converting your T4 (thyroid store) to T3 (active thyroid hormone) very well. It can be difficault to get your T3 done on the NHS although worth asking. You might have to get blood done privately. Have you taken your pulse recently. It is a good indicator of thyroid health, better in my experience than blood tests and helpful if things are a bit confusing.There is a book by someone called Susuan Myhill you might find helpful called CFS mitocondria not hypocondria.

[MadDonna8 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your response..how bizarre I have recently downloaded the Myhill book to browse on my forthcoming holiday 👍🏻..

interesting you comment on pulse as I have recently purchased a Fitbit and mentioned to my husband only last night that my pulse has increased in a month .. normally 64 to 76 but I said this could be due to the raised b12 & ferritin?

Why is it that gps don’t test the t3 routinely ?

[Hidden in reply to MadDonna8]

GPs really dont know much about thyroid issues. They have very little training and good thyroid care is not encouraged by drug companys who provide ongoing training, the opposite infact.They do not realise the need for T3 testing and it is unlikely they will have even heard of people having poor conversion issues.