Attached are the results of my private blood tests. Is anyone on here able to offer more clarity in a simple way about what they suggest. I’ve had an under active thyroid for about 30 years. I take 75 mg of thyroxine. I’m curious to know if my thyroid function may be playing any part in my renal failure and other conditions and I have osteo arthritis apparently also. Any advice based on these results I’d be most grateful.
Thank you
Angela
My daughter posted her results also on here last night and has had several positive replies with advice. Thank you
Your high TSH indicates you are undermedicated and you need an increase in your levothyroxine dose. I would get your doctor to sort it out, be assertive if necessary. Your low fT3 is unusual, there's a possibility you have selenium deficiency although this is rare in the UK. When selenium is low you are less able to convert T4 to T3 so your fT3 goes low and TSH goes high because the pituitary relies on T4 to T3 conversion to push down TSH. If you can't get a selenium blood test I would just supplement some selenium, just a small dose up to 60 mg or just eat a few brazil nuts each day.
Thank you very much for looking at my results and giving me some simple advice. I forgot to mention I have cerebral palsy I've been in a wheelchair all my life and so my typing skills are slow and not up to scratch for replying very well. I quite like brazils so I'll grab a bag when I'm out. Certainly I will pop in Holland and barratt and see if I can get some selenium.
Appreciate it.
Angela
You only need to take one of selenium tablets or brazil nuts but of course there's no reason why you shouldn't get both if you fancy a change now and again.
Since you have cerebral palsy it's important that your doctor optimises your thyroid treatment since you don't want two challenges to tackle. Your thyroid hormone levels are too low and sorting them out will make life a little easier.
thank you very much. Im taking it on board. need to make changes. want to feel well again,
thank you
Angela54321
TSH: 13.7 (0.27-4.2) - Very over range
Total T4: 89 (59-154) - This includes both bound and unbound (free) and shows not much T4 as it's very low in range
FT4: 15.8 (12-22) - 38% through range
FT3: 2.6 (3.1-6.8) - below range so not enough T4 to T3 conversion
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.
You are very undermedicated and need an immediate increase in your dose of Levo, 25mcg now, retest in 6 weeks, another 25mcg followed 6 weeks later by another retest, and continue until your levels are where they need to be for you to feel well.
If your GP is reluctant to raise your Levo, here are a couple of articles you can use in support of your request:
Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,
"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.
In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance.
But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.
This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."
You can obtain a copy of the article by emailing Dionne at tukadmin@thyroiduk.org print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctor.
And from pathology.leedsth.nhs.uk/pa...
scroll down to
Thyroxine Replacement Therapy in Primary Hypothyroidism
and in the box you will see for TSH
0.2 - 2.0 miu/L Sufficient Replacement
> 2.0 miu/L - Likely under Replacement
*
Selenium does help conversion, as does zinc. You could test them both. However, eating Brazil nuts is very hit and miss. To contain any selenium they have to be grown in selenium rich soil and it needs to say this on the packet. Then the areas where the soil is rich in selenium vary in the content - Eastern Amazon having the highest amount according to the table in this link (but the packaging wont tell you where they have been grown)
honey-guide.com/2012/11/19/...
So all in all, the best way to know how much selenium you are getting is to supplement and the recommended form is selenium l-selenomethionine (avoid selenite or selenate) and the usual amount is 200mcg daily.
Thyroglobulin antibodies: 1988 (0-115)
This confirms an autoimmune type of thyroid disease, most likely Hashimoto's as you certainly don't have Graves disease (overactive thyroid) because your TSH would be suppressed/undetectable and your FT4/FT3 would be extremely high/over range if you did.
Most doctors dismiss antibodies as being of no importance and know little or nothing about Hashi's and how it affects the patient, test results and symptoms. You need to read, learn, understand and help yourself where Hashi's is concerned.
You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Gluten/thyroid connection: chriskresser.com/the-gluten...
stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...
stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...
hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
**
Hashi's and gut absorption problems tend to go hand in hand and can very often result in low nutrient levels or deficiencies, yours aren't dire but they're not particularly good.
B12: 388pg/ml
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 can help raise your level by supplementing with sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges along with a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins, eg Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B.
**
Folate: 6.8 (>2.9)
Obviously over the limit but in my opinion it could be higher. If you buy one of the B Complex brands mentioned above, they both contain 400mcg methylfolate at the recommended serving and this will raise your folate level. Also, eat more folate rich foods.
**
Vit D: 54nmol/L
The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L
.For your level, the Vit D Council recommends:
To achieve 100nmol take 2000 IU D3 daily
To achieve 125nmol take 3700 IU
To achieve 150nmol take 5800 IU
Due to your raised antibodies (possible Hashi's) then for best absorption an oral spray is recommended, eg BetterYou which comes in 3000iu dose. I would suggest taking 6000iu daily for 3 months then retest.
Once you've reached the recommended level 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/
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council -
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
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
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
Check out the other cofactors too.
BetterYou do a combined D3/K2 which you may wish to consider, in which case you don't need to take it with the fattiest meal of the day.
**
CRP is very high, this is an unspecific marker of inflammation. You could ask your GP to retest this and if it remains high investigations into the cause should be made.
Your ferritin is also extremely high and can also be an indication of inflammation and infection. You should discuss this with your GP because there are other causes of high ferritin.
**
I’m curious to know if my thyroid function may be playing any part in my renal failure
I have no idea about that, sorry.
and other conditions and I have osteo arthritis apparently also
As for osteoarthritis, well anyone can develop that, hypo or not. I've been diagnosed hypo for 43 years but I don't have osteoarthritis but I do have some developing in my fingers which is to be expected at my age.
Angela
Please avoid H&B own brand, also high street and supermarket own brands, they are cheap for a reason, usually contain lots of fillers (best avoided if possible) and often the wrong form of the active ingredient. Best brands come from ordering on the internet, you can always ask for recommendations here.
What a fab response from SeasideSusie ! Only a small thing to add - wondered how you take your thyroid meds ? Any other medication that could affect uptake of Levo ?
I have read of people having improved kidney function when optimally treated for their thyroid.
Angela, Some clarification. First I mistakenly wrote '60 mg' of selenium, it should have been '60 mcg'. I've no objection to the suggestion to take 200 mcg, it's probably much more than needed but is not a toxic level and would produce a quicker response if you are selenium deficient. I'm always wary of suggestions to use specific forms of supplements because they often offer marginal benefit at considerable cost. In the case of selenium you only need miniscule amounts so I'm not sure it's worth forking out for expensive forms. We usually get enought selenium from a healthy diet so if we are deficient we only need a little to get up to our 60 mcg daily requirement.
I didn't know that the selenium content of brazil nuts varies so much. It's clear that we can't rely on them to prevent selenium deficiency. A number of patients eat brazil nuts to overcome selenium deficiency, from their comments I assumed it was an effective method. However, patient comments are no subsitute for evidence.
I forgot to say that selenium can reduce thyroid antibody levels and of course you have high levels. There's no robust evidence that going gluten free reduces thyroid antibodies, just vague hypotheses. The internet doctors who advocate gluten free for reducing thyroid antibodies never carry out a placebo controlled study, they are scared of the results. By all means try gluten free if everything else fails, but give it at least six months before you do. Change one thing at a time so you know which changes are beneficial.
I have seen a case report of a patient whose renal impairment was caused by hypothyrodism which responded to levothroxine therapy. This patient had much lower horomone levels than you. So, your renal failure could be related to your inadequately treated hypothyroidism. Perhaps hypothyroidism isn't causing your renal failure but it certainly doesn't help.
You asked for 'more clarity in a simple way'. In your case I would: -
Ask your doctor to do a blood test to measure your selenium level. Once you get the result if it is low or not high I would supplement with some selenium as a trial.
Tell your doctor your TSH is high and fT3 low and you think you should have your levothyroxine increased. Hypothyroidism is linked to renal impairment, your low fT3 may be affecting your kidney function.
Your doctor will probably only test your TSH, which isn't really enough. However, if you are having to pay for blood tests I wouldn't bother doing another detailed one until your TSH is below 3.0. Usually patients need their TSH down to around 1.0 or 2.0 before they feel better, or even lower in some cases. So there's not much benefit in spending money on a full test until your TSH comes down to these sort of levels. Another full thyroid blood test whilst TSH is elevated will not tell you anything you don't know already. This is just a tip to save you some money.
OMG why am I not surprised by this.. I’ve been on the phone today to the results line at my own gp... (I had my thyroid bloods done on the 24th August at the doctors) and then I got the private bloods done per above on the 29th August. The results line at my own doctors have told me that my results are normal and within range. It maddens me. Based on comments on here and my private test results above, I know my results are not normal or fine. Bite my tongue moment again I think. Going to try and get an appointment with my doctor after the weekend. I’d like to hear from him face to face about what makes my results normal with them. I’m also going to take my private results along and show him.. after his explanation. Sick of being fobbed off now.
That’s me vented!
Angela
trying to understand thyroid results
Thyroid Blood Test Results
Help with Thyroid test results 
Thyroid test results+ pregnant 
thyroid blood test results
