I'd appreciate some advice

[anne1483]

Tired all the time, really really tired. Cholesterol. My diet is excellent, rich in green leafy veg. Don't drink alcohol, don't smoke. BP now 125/80 while my norm for decades has been 100/60. Unable to lose weight unless I drop calories to below 600 per day, which means literally starving. After no joy with GP went to Medichecks. Results:

Vit D insufficiency - 29.8 nmol/L (range 50 - 175)

B12 - Active - 96.400 pmol/L (range 37.5 - 188)

Serum folate - 6.38 ug/L (range greater than 3.89) (taking supplement)

CRP HS - 1.93 mg/L (range below 5)

Ferritin - 46.9 ug/L (range 13 - 15)

TSH - 2.35 mlU/L (range .027 - 4.2)

Free T3 - 4.66 pmol/L (range 3.1 - 6.8)

Free thyroxine - 14.400pmol/L (range 12 - 22)

TGA - less than 10 kU/L (range less than 115)

TPA - 9.19 klU/L (range less than 34)

On the surface this looks good, but I feel dreadful. I'm currently taking folate in drop form because my level dropped to 2.9 ug/ (don't know why). Now taking spray vitamin D for 12 weeks as suggested by Medichecks doctor. I suspect low vitamin D because of prolonged, unwanted overwork where I was working or sleeping.

Would it be worth looking at the TSH value? Is there an endocrinologist who'd be willing to look at this even short term to see if a tiny amount of levo would make a difference?

Thanks Anne

[Heloise]

Hi anne, it looks like you are not methylating well so the folate and B12 supplements need to be methylcobalamin and methylfolate. Often when ferritin is over range it is due to inflammation. Unfortunately they can't always pinpoint what the inflammation due to.

Good gut bacteria is involved with b vitamins and losing weight needs a boost in metabolism that comes from T3. If you think you have insulin resistance I've been recommending unfiltered apple cider vinegar with meals. It blocks some of the starch and kills some bad bacteria. Lower your carbs if your diet consists of loads and add good fats instead. Eat enough so that your body doesn't feel you are starving.

suzycohen.com/articles/meth...

[anne1483 in reply to Heloise]

Thank you.

[Heloise]

I would also add estrogen dominance as an important factor. It interferes with thyroid. I have found progesterone in liquid form helpful.

[anne1483 in reply to Heloise]

Thanks again. I've bought some apple cider vinegar for a start.

[Heloise in reply to anne1483]

Good, I hope you find it effective. I kept mine in the refrigerator with a little glass. I put about two teaspoons and a little bit of water and just swallowed it in one gulp. The best vinegar to use for this is the unfiltered one since it has more fermentation.

Think about progesterone. Lots of food contains estrogen and the chemicals used on plants are estrogenic.

In experiments, progesterone was found to be the basic hormone of adaptation and of resistance to stress. The adrenal glands use it to produce their anti-stress hormones, and when there is enough progesterone, they don't have to produce the potentially harmful cortisone. In a progesterone deficiency, we produce too much cortisone, and excessive cortisone causes osteoporosis, aging of the skin, damage to brain cells, and the accumulation of fat, especially on the back and abdomen. Ray Peat

raypeat.com/articles/articl...

[Angel_of_the_North]

It doesn't look good at all. Free T4 is not in the top quarter of the range and TSH is not under 1. Free T3 is not at half way through range (4.95). Vitamin D is not in the high 90s and you should be given a loading dose of vit D if your level is lower than 30. Folate is not in double figures - that's not a usual ferritin range - are you sure it's not 13-150? in which case ferritin needs to be 70-80. It's not TSH that gives you symptoms but the actual thyroid hormone levels. You look as though you need a 25mcg increase in levo and to optimise your vitamin levels. Eating a very low calorie diet will decrease your thyroid function and make you feel worse.

[anne1483 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Crikey. Thank you. Yes, ferritin range 13 - 150. Looks as though my first step should be to settle down the folate and vitamin D then recheck bloods for thyroid and find a private doctor because my GP considers the thyroid readings normal.

[FancyPants54 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

She isn't on any thyroid meds at the moment. These results are her own thyroid. She's asking us if we think she might get some thyroid meds from an Endocrinologist with results like these. I suspect the answer would be a resounding no to that question.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to FancyPants54]

No, you wouldn't get meds until Free t4 drops under range (or TSH reaches 10). Improving vitamin levels might increase thyroid hormones

[FancyPants54]

Hi Anne

You won't find an endo or GP who will give you thyroid meds with these results. As you are not on any meds at the moment and the TSH (which they are so focussed on is well in range for them).

So you need to do as much as you can for yourself. Dieting now is exactly the wrong thing to do. You will lower your Free T3 and make yourself feel worse. Forget that for now. Concentrate on feeling better first.

You are right to be supplementing D3. That's too low. But how much vitamin D is in your spray? You need a lot to load up. I also suspect that you have made a typo with the ferritin results? Do you mean the range is 13 - 150? If so, yours is too low and will be aiding your feeling so tired. Work on this. You can take tablets but we find we do better when we eat iron rich foods such as liver, liver pate, black pudding etc. I have been eating some every week for a while now and am finally seeing a bit of improvement with my ferritin.

These are the things I think you should concentrate on for now. Work at it and retest in perhaps 8 weeks to see what improvements you can see and feel.

[anne1483 in reply to FancyPants54]

This is probably why I have been craving steak and kidney pie. I'm using spray for vitamin D and folate to bypass any deficiency in stomach route absorption.

[FancyPants54 in reply to anne1483]

I've seen that you had put up another post as well as this one and you got extensive advice about the vitamins and ferritin from SeasideSusie who really knows her stuff on these things. So follow her advice and make sure you are using enough vitamin D spray. The other alternative is sublingual drops. I use the Nutri drops. They are a bit cheaper than Better You spray I think. But you need the one with the vitamin K2 added and it doesn't taste so good!

[anne1483 in reply to FancyPants54]

Thank you. Feeling grateful and encouraged.