I do not say these words in jest. Having most likely suffered from undiagnosed Hypothyroidism for over four years, at minimum. It was not until I started investigating my symptoms on my own, and came across this wonderful resource, that I pushed for further testing by my Family Physician. I have written to this forum on a previous occasion with my initial work up. I'd feel so ever more comfortable with my Dr's interpretation of my lab results after my final increase of Levo to 75 mcg for the past six weeks, if I heard it from the proverbial HealthUnlocked's mouth :). Can my hypothyriodism be considered managed at this time?
TSH 0.27 (range 0.2-4)
FT3 4.8 (range 3.5-6.5)
FT4 19.6 (range 10-25)
Iron 12 (range 6-28)
Transferrin 0.19 (range 0.15-0.5)
Ferritin 17 (range13-375)
Urine Cortisol 94.8 (range 100-380)
I look forward to being a future "answerer" of questions, as opposed to, a poser of them. Thanks in advance for any responses
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Mitzvah_heroes
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Have you been supplementing to improve your low B12 in previous post ?
Not had vitamin D tested?
Ferritin is still quite low. Look at increasing iron rich foods plus vitamin C to improve iron absorption. Eating liver or liver pate once a week should help
Have you tried strictly gluten free diet?
As to these thyroid results m they are obviously better than previous ones.
Do you do your tests as early as possible in morning and fasting and no Levo in the 24 hours prior test?
How do you feel?
You might need to improve vitamins first, and retest thyroid again in 6-8 weeks
Are you sure your username should be sloooow drrrragun 😊! Seem pretty lightning quick to me! AND, even more impressively, you went back and referred to my original post! I feel spoiled, indeed! Thank you for your glorious effort 😊!
Yes - injections and now wayyy high b12 on the blood test. Will start continuing supplementing carefully once my b12 acne clears up.
No, not Vitamin D tested - apparently not available through our health care dollars in Canada. So I plan to purchase a test to do myself.
Yes, doctor did not seem too concerned with iron as not terribly low and had increased 2 points since starting to be conscious of upping iron levels through my food. But, as I'm been taught well by this forum, these levels need to be more at the top end and I plan to make them so. Any opinion on a route to go with that - I have a few articles tagged already to brush up, but was wondering your opinion?
No on the strictly free gluten. I tested negative for celiac. But, have heard many posters to this site that even without a celiac diagnosis it seemed to help improve their health. So, seriously considering giving it a go.
Yes, I followed all the tricks of the trade for this past blood draw - meaning fasting and no Levo till after blood draw first thing in the morning.
I'm really cautiously optimistic - I've wanted to feel human for so long, with no hope and no answers, that it seems miraculous that I could be feeling as good as I do at this very moment. But, you know, still the fear of dropping the other shoe is there - like a shadow.
I will definitely continue to improve vitamins. Dr says I can retest in 2 weeks if I kept being all questioning at how in the world after all this struggle could there be light so quickly. He understands that I'm a funny duck :).
Iron 12 (range 6-28)27% of the way through the range
Transferrin 0.19 (range 0.15-0.5)
Ferritin 17 (range 13-37.5)
These results are not good. I'm very suspicious of the reference range for your ferritin. I've never seen a reference range like that, can you check it?
For an idea of the optimal levels of iron and related results you should have, see this link :
Regarding ferritin (iron stores), the level that works best for many people is roughly mid-range or a little bit over.
If you supplement iron make sure to test regularly, say every two months. It is important that your ferritin and iron don't go above optimal because iron is poisonous in excess.
You might find yourself in the situation of having either ferritin or iron being optimal but the other one being too low. You'll probably just have to live with this. (I do this - my ferritin is roughly optimal and my iron level is too low, but I won't push my ferritin any higher.)
I don't know anything about urine cortisol testing but your cortisol is obviously far too low. Have you researched this and what to do about it? Has a doctor seen and commented on this result? You must pursue this with a doctor because Adrenal Insufficiency is an extremely serious condition. Note that there are different ways in which insufficient cortisol production can occur, but doctors often ignore secondary and tertiary adrenal insufficiency, and only consider Addison's Disease, so they have to be pushed to look at all possibilities.
Also please note that the reference ranges given in the document apply to the endocrinology department that produces it. Other organisations will have their own ranges.
One of our members is knowledgeable on cortisol-related diseases - Hidden - although I can't remember if she has ever commented on urine test results.
Yes I believe things like iron were mentioned by slowdragon. Yes mitzvah this is definitely reason to feel like progress has been made and you do have reason to celebrate!! Like slowdragon said work on your iron and try to get your vitamins/hormones to get caught up. I had a similar scenario happen to me and both my Dr and my Endo told me the same thing. and they were correct I got my tsh/t3/t4 levels kept getting better and leveling out and over time so did my iron, cortisol levels. You are still early on in your treatment and you are absolutely heading in the right direction. As your thyroid continues to be managed, absorption of a lot of these other things will most likely fall in line, as your blood work is already beginning to show. Your iron was at 10 and now is at 12 with no supplements simply you eating a bit better and your thyroid levels beginning to come in line. I would keep doing what you are doing and make sure you eat iron rich foods etc and keep up with you routine bloodworks.
first lab ferritin ranges: 10-100
When I was first diagnosed - I felt terrible ---
tsh: 4.48
t3: 3.9
t4: 11.2
transferrin: 0.13
ferritin: 13
iron: 10
----------once i first started to see results - I had good days and bad days but getting better
second lab ferritin ranges: 10-75
tsh: 0.34
t3: 4.3
t4: 17.9
transferrin: 0.18
ferritin: 16
iron: 11
----------3 blood test later with no changes in anything - many more good days than bad
current lab ferritin ranges: 13-35
tsh: 0.39
t3: 5.1
t4: 19.9
transferrin: 0.27
ferritin: 23
iron: 14
----------2nd last blood test no other changes - occasional bad day but nothing like what a bad day used to feel like almost exclusively feel really good
tsh: 0.22
t3: 5.8
t4: 21.1
transferrin: 0.41
ferritin: 29
iron: 21
----------last blood test no other changes - occasional bad day but nothing like what a bad day used to feel like almost exclusively feel really good
tsh: 0.22
t3: 5.8
t4: 21.1
transferrin: 0.41
ferritin: 29
iron: 43
with blood tests in the middle where my tsh/t3/t4 would fluctuate some. i also had low cortisol and to this day it remains a little on the low side but really doesn't seem to affect me. i have more energy and a far better quality of life than i could scarcely imagine when this journey began. So congratulations Mitzvah!!! This is still a journey but from my experience and what i've heard from plenty of others, it looks like you are on the right path :).
i think the high levels are meant for men and much lower for women which actually brings your levels closer to inline. they are still a little low but not bad and going in the right direction.
The results may vary slightly among laboratories, but in general, normal ferritin levels range from
higher lab ---> low lab (each lab has its own results come out based on tests etc)
12 to 300 ---> 10 to 150 of blood (ng/mL) for males
and 12 to 150 ---> 10 to 35 of blood (ng/mL) for females.
I am very much in agreement with Hypogirlss in that i think that your numbers are very much inline with where mine were fairly recently. i too am in fairly early stages of my recovery but i do have a family history of hypo with 2 of my 3 siblings as well as my mom having hypo. I was where you are at about 11 months ago and my numbers did look fairly similar to yours. where my tsh/t3/t4 all began getting better with a relatively low dose, but my iron, ferritin, transferrin and cortisol (pee) levels were all on the low side of normal with my cortisol levels being significanly lower than yours. however in my subsequent blood tests my iron, ferritin, transferrin levels have gradually and relatively consistently been getting higher and higher with nothing more happening than eating more of an iron rich diet and my thyroid beginning to be managed. i went from having left my job/relationship and being bed bound and miserable for the last few years to... wait for it... back with the love of my life whom i pushed away and retraining for a new career all together! YEAH!! Like I said earlier i too am fairly early on in my treatments but i have more hope, faith and energy not to mention a better quality of life than i could've ever imagined a when this whole thing started. as it is now my thyroid levels have been quite consistent for the last close to a year now, with my iron levels gradually getting better and better but still low side of normal. so far as i can tell the ranges that you gave for your ferritin are exactly the ranges that i was given 13-375. I dont remember my exact numbers from when this started for me but i was similar in that my numbers were "subclinical" according to my Dr. meaning low normal or high normal but none of the levels were beyond then numbers they deemed to be serious. i only have my last set of blood work but here they are:
tsh: 0.27
t3: 4.7
t4: 18.2
transferrin: 0.18
ferritin: 17
iron: 13
I still have my diet changed somewhat where i eat more red meat and less gluten working on gluten free. Also keep my Synthroid and blood work routines consistent which is leading to a new lease on life and i only see my life getting better and better. I still have a bad day every now and then but they aren't as severe as they used to be and certainly not as often. So please stay positive and keep hope and faith. I feel infinitely better than i did so... it will get better!
I wanted to start off by saying YEAH!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! This is definitely progress and you are going in the right direction. This is a journey but this is a significant step in your journey. It will be better once some of your iron levels come up and they should if you continue with eating iron rich foods and keep going with your medication routines. As a couple of the others have already noted that as your thyroid levels get better so will your ability to absorb other things and that along with taking in more iron they should work their way up. Others live perfectly good lives with thyroid levels normal and in range but lower iron levels. Also there are always other ways to get your iron levels raised if need be.
I think this is reason to celebrate for you and your little triangle ;). There are steps in this journey but you have just overcome one of the more important ones. So again CONGRATULATIONS and feel good about this! This is happy news that I've already shared with my little triangle, so there will be a toast to you at our dinner table tonight.
Hi again mitzvah fancy meeting you here, I would like to start off by saying CONGRATULATIONS! I very much agree with most of the others above that tjese results ARE a good thing and moving towards a taking your life back. This IS a signigicant step and one that you will always remember. I remember when I had my first blood test with decent numbers, I was beginning to feel better but was almost afraid to allow myself to believe and riddled with self doubt. In general I was beginning to feel better and better but every time I had a bad hypo day and they will happen for the first while as your hormones etc reachsome sort of equilibrium. During these usually brief periods I would doubt myself, my diagnosis, my life...and completely forget and be unable to remember ALL of the good days during this time. Take it from me it will get better and by that I mean consistently where you can rely on how you will feel both physically and emotionally. Be patient with this process and you will CONTINUE making progress as you already are. Stay positive and believe that those good days will become more normal and the bad days will be the out of the ordinary ones to the point of very rare. Keep doing what you are doing. Please be patient on bad days and celebrate this. Mazal tov!!
Your sage words couldn't have come at a better time. Yesterday was the first day of my first "hypo managed" cold/flu. After 5 days of energetic bliss. They reminded me that this is simply a stumble, not a fall. I will update once my feet are back on the ground. I feel blessed for the caring, heart felt encouragement. Certainly another invisible thread. Let's keep weaving the "web". 💖
Ouch!! Ya mitzvah at the very least before your hypo is completely managed getting a cold/flu is an absolute beast!! Best thing to do is listen to your body and do what it says. If i says sleep all day then i would recommend that you do that. Also its very hard not to get discouraged during this time and forget about the good days or the progress that you have made. So please please please try to remember that.
Otherwise yeah you sounds like you are doing exactly that and making progress. So i believe CONGRATULATIONS are in order!!! You know what else you might have converted me I'm typically not a huge reader but after reading all of these posts i got that book and am loving it and looking for more books to order. So on that note thank you. Keep up whatever it is that you are doing it sounds to me like it might be working. Take care
Just a quick note as it is bedtime, I just wanted to agree taabag that colds and flus during the early stages of treatment are awful. They make your symptoms come back as strong as ever, possibly the worst part for me was the loss of hope because of the fatigue, muscle pain and moods. But it will get better and once properly treated being sick isn't nearly as severe. You are on the right path and you and your triangle will claim your lives back.
I would just like to take this moment to thank everyone who has set up this forum it seems to be a very powerful tool not only for knowledge sharing but the sharing of incredible peoples stories and hope!
Which leads me to my second thank you and that is to the amazing people that have shared information and possibly even more importantly their stories and given hope to I'm sure many people but in particular my beautiful wife (mitzvah_heroes) who has endured so much. She is without doubt the kindest and strongest person that I've ever met. I am a lucky guy, I am 1 in 10, she is 1 of a kind. You all have been a bright light in what is another step of her recovery from this dreadfully under diagnosed and life limiting disease. When I say life limiting it certainly appears as though it doesn't have to be life limiting, but sure feels like it during the diagnosis and dosing steps to recovery.
You all have given hope that only people that have been there can truly give. You've also done it in such a way that only truly kind people can. So from the depth of my heart I thank each and every one of you. You have given hope to her at a time when hope is a very hard thing to come by.
I hope that all of you also have a speedy recovery to health and happiness that eludes most. But for those that give so freely of themselves I hope for it to be returned 10 fold. You have truly made a difference.
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