Any advice on these results : Ferratin 56.4 (1... - Thyroid UK

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Any advice on these results

46 Replies

Ferratin 56.4 (13-150)

Folate 12.14 (>3.89)

B12 123 (37.5-188)

VIT d 111 (50-175)

TSH 1.99 (0.27-4.2)

Free t4 20.5 (12.22)

Free t3 5.54 (3.1-6.8)

TPO antibodies 124 (<34)

TG antibodies 151 (<115)

Ongoing symptoms of extreme heat regardless of the temperature. Fans on constant day and night, previously freezing cold even in summer, extreme fatigue and exhaustion made worse by physical exertion, very overactive bladder, joint and muscle pains, very dry and brittle hair that breaks easily and just generally feeling run down and unwell. Any advice appreciate 😊

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46 Replies
SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Sophie2009

Ferratin 56.4 (13-150)

Folate 12.14 (>3.89)

B12 123 (37.5-188)

VIT d 111 (50-175)

TSH 1.99 (0.27-4.2)

Free t4 20.5 (12.22)

Free t3 5.54 (3.1-6.8)

TPO antibodies 124 (<34)

TG antibodies 151 (<115)

You posted these results in this thread a couple of months ago

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Advice is the same. Have you been supplementing anything that was suggested and started a gluten free diet?

in reply toSeasideSusie

Hi yes. I have been taking selenium and eating iron rich foods. I have been on a gluten, dairy, caffeine and sugar free diet for a month now with no improvements.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to

Removing gluten, etc, from your diet can take quite some time for a difference to be noticed. I think it's said to give gluten free a 3-4 month trial.

To know if your ferritin level has improved then you'd need to retest. What iron rich foods are you eating?

in reply toSeasideSusie

I eat liver pate, leafy vegetables (spinach and kale) and lots of red meat. I appreciate your advice but 3-4 months seems a long time away. I am really struggling now.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to

From what greygoose has mentioned in reply to another post, spinach doesn't help because although it has a high iron content the gut doesn't absorb it. I would concentrate on liver pate and try and "hide" some liver into meat meals as previously suggested, particularly strong tasting meals like curry and chilli.

in reply toSeasideSusie

Oh ok. I didn't realise that. I'll need to try and disguise the liver in a casserole maybe. Liver pate is fine. Can eat that no problem.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Do you always eat a good source of vit C with with your iron-rich food, like potatoes, to help absorption? Or take a C supplement at the same time?

in reply togreygoose

Yes. I do eat potatoes with my meals. I eat a lot of oranges too. Will that count the same towards vit c intake?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Not sure the oranges count as far as absorbing iron goes, because would wouldn't eat them with your roast beef, would you?

When people take iron pills, they take a vit C pill at the same time, so that the iron and vit C meet up in the stomach. Which is what we're aiming for. :)

in reply togreygoose

Ah ok. That makes sense. So take a vit c tablet with your meal at night?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Whenever you eat your iron-rich food. You can't have too much vit C. :)

in reply togreygoose

OK. Thank you. I may have asked you before but i'm still suffering terribly from constantly overheating. Fans on day and night. Even in winter. Is that the hashis?

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Not specifically Hashi's, I wouldn't say. It's a symptom of hypothyroidism, whatever the cause. Are you under-medicated?

in reply togreygoose

Hi i thought hypothyroidism was feeling cold and hyperthyroidism was feeling too hot. Not on any medication as my levels are all within range

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

No, you cannot label symptoms so rigidly. Many of them can be either one or the other.

So many doctors insist that hypos put on weight, hypers lose it. But, hypers can just as easily put on weight and hypos lose it.

Another one is blood pressure: hypo low BP; hyper high BP. But I'm hypo and have always had high blood pressure.

There are many more like that. Which is why it's so difficult to go just by symptoms. We always need blood tests as a back-up. :)

in reply togreygoose

I had thought I was more hypo than hyper as i was always frozen until the end of last year. When it changed to the heat. Never had weight gain. Always weight loss. And my BP is never high. More on thr low side. So very confusing

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Only confusing if you have fixed ideas to begin with.

I think I've been hypo since I was a small child: always had weight problems, always suffered from over-heating, always had high blood pressure.

Diagnosed in 2000 and put on levo, etc. etc. etc.. In 2013, things changed. Started suffering from the cold, blood pressure went very low, lost a lot of weight. Now, I'm sort of between the two. This is not a static disease, Hashi's, things change. But, my blood tests have always said hypo.

in reply togreygoose

It's just what i read about hyper/hypo symptoms. I know different now though. Would you say i have hashis now, even though other results are in range? Those results were from the beginning of may. Having private ones done on Monday. To monitor any changes. Earliest appointment was 9.15

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Hashi's doesn't go away. It's always there. And your antibodies are still well over-range.

in reply togreygoose

I know but it's to check the thyoid hormone levels. To see if there's any change to them.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Then did you mean 'am I still hypo'? Rather than 'do I still have Hashi's'? Not the same thing. But I think you're better placed to answer that question that I, because being hypo is more about how you feel, rather than lab results.

in reply togreygoose

I don't have a diagnosis of hyper or hypo. Just seems like a mixture of both

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

You have Hashi's. It is a mixture of both.

Here is a quick run-down on how Hashi's works:

OK, so Hashi's is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks and slowly destroys the thyroid.

After every attack, the dying cells release their stock of thyroid hormone into the blood stream, causing the levels of the Frees to shoot up - FT4 to around 30 something, FT3 around 11/12 - and the TSH therefore drops to suppressed.

There is no knowing how long these high levels will persist, but eventually, they will drop by themselves as the excess hormone is used up or excreted, and not only will you become hypo again, but slightly more hypo than before, because there is now less thyroid to make hormone.

Therefore, it's very important that your doctor does not reduce your prescription, because you’re going to need it again! If you start to feel over-medicated at that point - some do, some don't - the best thing is to stop levo for a few days, then, when you feel hypo again, start taking it again. It's very important to know one's body, and how it reacts.

There is no cure for Hashi's - which is probably one of the reasons that doctors ignore it - apart from the fact that they know nothing about it, of course!

However, between the 'hyper' swing, and the descent back into hypothyroidism, there can be a phase - quite a long one, sometimes - of normality, where the person is neither hypo nor 'hyper'. This is where people sometimes start talking of having 'cured' their Hashi's, by whatever means. But, it doesn't last. Eventually, you will go hypo again.

But, there are things the patient can do for him/herself to help them feel a bit better.

a) adopt a 100% gluten-free diet. Hashi's people are often sensitive to gluten, even if they don't have Coeliac disease, so stopping it can make them feel much better. Worth a try. Some say that going gluten-free will reduce antibodies – I’ve never seen conclusive proof of that, but, you should be aware that even if you get rid of the antibodies, you will still have Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease.

b) take selenium. This is not only reputed to reduce antibodies, but can also help with conversion of T4 to T3 - something that Hashi's people often find difficult.

c) the best way to even out the swings from hypo to 'hyper' (often called Hashi's Flares, but that doesn't really sum up the way it works) is to keep the TSH suppressed. This is difficult because doctors are terrified by a suppressed TSH, for various false reasons, and because they don't understand the workings of Hashi's. But, TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (a pituitary hormone) - tries to stimulate the thyroid to make more hormone, but it also stimulates the immune system to attack. So, the less gland activity there is, the less immune system activity there will be, meaning less attacks, gland destruction slowed down and less swinging from hypo to hyper and back.

in reply togreygoose

Hi thanks greygoose but i am not on any thyroid hormone just now as my levels are within range. I just don't know how long i can cope like this for. The heat is driving me round the bend. It's constant now. Fans on day and night. Nothing to do with the weather. Just my body.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

I know, I didn't say you were on any thyroid hormone, it's just a general explanation of how Hashi's works. Ignore the bit about the thyroid hormone.

in reply togreygoose

OK. No problem. I have been gluten free and taking selenium for a month now. No difference yet.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

1 month is not nearly enough to see a difference. It should be at least three months. :)

in reply togreygoose

I know. I just hoped i would feel a slight improvement after a month

ling profile image
ling in reply togreygoose

Wonderful sharing

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toling

Thank you. :)

smwdorset profile image
smwdorset in reply togreygoose

This is really helpful thank you. May I ask if it’s possible to have Hashimoto but not to have raised level of antibodies? I ask because when I had half my thyroid removed because of a v suspicious growth ( which turned out to be benign ) the pathology report said that the tissue showed signs of lymphocytic thyroiditis. Also I have become gluten sensitive about six months ago - terrible cramps and bloating - which a gluten free diet seems more or less to have resolved ( though still left with constipation). The hashi antibody tests are normal but it is odd. As you will see above my TSH is raised and my FT4 gradually dropping through still technically within range so I am now on 50mcg of levytjyroxine. But if I do have Hashi maybe I should be doing more like taking selenium??

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tosmwdorset

It's perfectly possible to have Hashi's without ever having raised antibodies, yes.

Selenium will help if you have a conversion problem, but I don't think it would do anything for the Hashi's itself.

smwdorset profile image
smwdorset in reply togreygoose

Quick query - I read that too much selenium is dangerous - can one test for levels of that - I can’t see it in the medichecks list of tests?

Btw which medichecks test do most people use - is reverse T3 necessary because it seems to add a lot of cost

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply tosmwdorset

Yes, you don't want too much selenium. If you are taking selenium for poor conversion, it's better to take a break from it, from time to time. You can test for it, yes, but I don't know where.

rT3 is a waste of time and money. It will not add any useful information. It will tell you if you have high rT3, but it won't tell you why, and there are many, many reasons - most of them non-thyroidal. If your FT4 is right up the top of the range, and your FT3 below mid-range, you will know your conversion is poor and that your rT3 is going to be high. That is the only thyroid-related reason for high rT3 and you don't need a test to tell you that. And the solution is to reduce your levo and add in some T3.

MiniMum97 profile image
MiniMum97 in reply togreygoose

I concur with GG. I have hypo and Graves so have experienced both. I have poor temp regulation when hypo so can feel too cold and way too hot. When Graves was active I didn’t feel too hot all the time, just had hot flushes which would last for say 10 mins and then go. Literally had to stick myself in the fridge. V different from the too hot when hypo which is more general and long lasting and not as hot. I gain weight when hypo but also gained weight when hyper (typical!). I was starving all the time when hyper and eating huge amounts which probably didn’t help!

in reply toMiniMum97

Hi i'm not sure if i have graves as never had those antibodies tested. The heat isn't a hot flush as it's constant. I used to switch between feeling cold and heat on a daily basis but now it's just the heat. Fatigue is awful now too. I just know somethings not right and need help now

MiniMum97 profile image
MiniMum97 in reply to

Sorry I wasn’t suggesting you had Graves, just commenting on the fact that the symptoms of hypo and hyper can be similar and that it’s possible to feel hot when hypo and gain weight when hyper.

in reply toMiniMum97

Sorry. Misread your post. It's all so confusing with symptoms relating to hyper and hypo. I thought I waa mire hypo last year. Freezing all summer with hot water bottles and heated blankets. Now it's the heat. Would much prefer being too.cold.though.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

You probably were more hypo last summer, that's what I was trying to explain, how it fluctuates with Hashi's. And you do have Hashi's because your Hashi's antibodies are high. At the moment, you're neither hypo nor hyper, you're pretty much euthyroid, but that could change at any time.

Unfortunately, doctors are not interested in antibodies - as I explained. They want a high TSH to diagnose hypo and a low TSH to diagnose hyper. They do not understand the in-betweens.

in reply togreygoose

Thank you for explaining. I know antibodies can be elevated for years befure any change in thyroid hormone. It's just now much fun at the moment.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

No, I don't suppose it is. :(

in reply togreygoose

Once I get my results next week. I will post them.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Good idea. :)

in reply togreygoose

This one is only TSH FREE T4 free T3 T4 and the tpo and tg antibodies. Not the vitamins too unfortunately.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

You know, there's really no point in retesting the antibodies. Once you've had a high result, that shows you have Hashi's, and Hashi's doesn't go away. Antibodies fluctuate, but that doesn't have any bearing on the fact that you have Hashi's.

in reply togreygoose

I realise that now but i ordered it about a month ago. Have just order the vitamins and minerals test so will post when i get that

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