Got my results. Need someone to break it down

[nessac93]

Can someone tell me what my results mean please

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

nessac93

B12 is on the low side at 461pg/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."

Folate is low at 4.4, it would be better in double figures.

You can improve both B12 and Folate by supplementing with a good B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B, both contain the bioavailable forms of the vitamins.

Ferritin is high, do you supplement or did you eat high iron food in the 7 days befor the test (eg liver, liver pate, black pudding)? If not then raised ferritin can be a sign of inflammation or infection. If you don't think it's this then maybe discuss this result with your GP.

CRP is in range but near the top of the range. Again this is an inflammation marker but I imagine it would have to be over range for your GP to be concerned.

As for your thyroid results, a normal healthy person would have a TSH level less than 2 with FT4 probably around mid-range. Your FT4 is 34% through range which may be where it's fine for you, and you are currently making a good amount of FT3 which is 68% through range. So those thyroid results are considered euthyroid (normal).

Thyroid antibodies are nice and low so don't suggest autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's).

Vit D is too low at 62nmol/L. The Vit D Council/Vit D Society recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L so to achieve that level from your current level it would be a good idea to supplement with 4,000iu D3 daily along with it's important cofactors.

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 if taking tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.

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 if taking tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

afibbers.org/magnesium.html

Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, 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 an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

Reverse T3 is within range but it's not a useful test anyway. If it was high then there are many, many reasons for high rT3, only one of which is related to the thyroid and it would be indicated by a high FT4 and low FT3 if it was thyroid related.

[nessac93 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hiya just curiosity where you said my body could indicate infection. I had a cold around the time of the blood test. I remember around the test I was struggling with energy and had a lingering cough so would this flag up as a red herring then?

Just a bit confused because I personally felt I had symptoms of an under active thyroid and my aunt and grandmother had hyperthyroidism (gran had graves disease and aunt just had her thyroid removed)

Edit: also I stopped supplementing 2 weeks before the test.. I was taking b12, vitamin C and silica (due to nail damage). I hadn't eaten any iron rich foods leading up to the blood test

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nessac93]

I had a cold around the time of the blood test. I remember around the test I was struggling with energy and had a lingering cough so would this flag up as a red herring then?

That may be the reason for the raised ferritin and why the CRP is near the top of the range. Also testing thyroid when you have an infection isn't a good idea, best to wait a few weeks to get back to normal.

also I stopped supplementing 2 weeks before the test.. I was taking b12, vitamin C and silica (due to nail damage).

The only supplements you need to stop before testing are Biotin or B Complex containg Biotin (because if biotin is used in the testing procedure then it can give false results, most labs do use biotin). If testing iron then iron supplements (and iron rich foods) should be left off for 7 days before testing. Everything else can be continued but taken after the test on the day.

Just a bit confused because I personally felt I had symptoms of an under active thyroid and my aunt and grandmother had hyperthyroidism (gran had graves disease and aunt just had her thyroid removed)

If I were you I would work on my Vit D, B12 and folate. Supplement for say 3-4 months then retest (I forgot to mention in my previous reply that when supplementing with Vit D we should check our levels twice a year). Don't bother with reverse T3, just go for either Blue Horizon Thyroid PLUS ELEVEN or Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT and follow the advice for testing we always give here:

* Book the first appointment of the morning, or with private tests at home no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. If we are looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, or looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction then we need TSH to be as high as possible.

* Fast overnight - have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before but delay breakfast on the day of the test and drink water only until after the blood draw. Eating may lower TSH, caffeine containing drinks affect TSH.

* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw. Adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.

* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it can give false results.

These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.

[nessac93 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I had a blood test done around 11th November. I wasn't happy with the results hence why I did the blue horizon one since I wanted to see t3 levels. Even then the CRP was at 4 mg/L on a range of 0-5 but because everything was in its ranges I got told nothing else was needed.

Back then as well my TSH level was 1.03 mu/L range 0.3-5

And free T4 was 10.6 pmol/L range 7.9-16

I guess this has just confused me completely as when I look at my symptoms - weight gain (struggle to lose it), sensitive to cold, I'm tired and always yawning, severe bloating , dry skin, tight muscles I thought there would be indication of under active thyroid

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to nessac93]

Suggest you improve vitamins and retest in 2-3 months

You might consider trying strictly gluten free diet too

20% of Hashimoto's patients never have raised antibodies

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[nessac93 in reply to SlowDragon]

I've done strictly gluten free before. Personally felt no different :/

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to nessac93]

Good that you have already tried it. Helps many, but not everyone