Before supplementing with more T3, should IRON be adjusted?

[bessygo]

Below are my new Thyroid and Iron Results. I have been supplementing with 15 mg Liquid Iron as Ferric Pyrophosphate every day and 18 mg of Ferrochel Iron Bisglycinate18 mg every other day for the past year to raise Ferritin levels because of front hair loss.

However, my latest tests show no improvement, with my Total Iron being even lower. I eat organically, not much meat, but lots of veggies, beans, some chicken, turkey, fish, etc. and barely any gluten even though I do not have celiac disease nor any digestion issues. I am 65 years old and have had Hashimotos most of my life, but don't have horrible symptoms. I also don't have anemic symptoms, but think I am headed down that road when I see my Iron levels.

I take .64 mcg Synthroid (Lexvothyroxine ) and 2.5 mcg T3 (Liothyronine).

I fasted prior to my labs according to instructions on this forum, did not take either my Synthroid nor T3 though I usually take my T3 at 6 a.m. so it was probably barely in my system. I also stopped my Iron supplementation about 4 days prior to blood labs.

I know my T3 levels are a bit low, but since my Iron is out of whack, should I adjust my Iron supplementation first? I live in the U.S. My primary care dr. doesn't have a clue about iron/thyroid and my Endocrinologist doesn't focus on that either. Neither wants to advise me on iron so I was advised by a functional dr about supplementing with iron but she is not an expert on this either, so I am a bit lost. Any advise would be appreciated.

Want to be armed with knowledge before seeing Endo Dr. next week.

Thyroglobulin Antibodies 3 (range Less than 1)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies 76 (range Less than 1)

TSH 1.99 ( .40-4.50)

Total T4 8.0 (5.1-11.9)

Free T4 1.3 (.8-1.8)

Free T3 2.5 (2.3-4.2)

Total T3 80 (76-181)

Vitamin D, 25-OH 72 (30-100)

B12 620 (200 - 1100)

Ferritin 35 (16-288)

Folate (RBC) 772 (>280)

Total Iron 45 (45-160) scary low

Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) 353 (250-450)

% Saturation 13% (16-45%) scary low

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

bessygo

I fasted prior to my labs according to instructions on this forum, did not take either my Synthroid nor T3 though I usually take my T3 at 6 a.m. so it was probably barely in my system. I also stopped my Iron supplementation about 4 days prior to blood labs.

Lsst dose of Synthroid should be 24 hours before test, last dose of T3 should be 8-12 hours before test. If you left different time gap then your results aren't a true reflection of your hormone levels.

All nutrients need to be optimal for thyroid hormone to work properly, so you definitely need to improve your ferritin/iron levels.

Vit D is OK but higher than the level recommended by the Vit D Council/Vit D Society which is 40-50ng/ml.

B12 is OK but that's a Total B12 test and the Active B12 test is better if you can get it. Active B12 is what is available to the cells, we can have a good Total B12 but a poor Active B12 level.

Folate is extremely high - are you supplementing?

[bessygo in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for your speedy reply.

Yes, I should have taken my T3 8 hours prior to my test, but for once I slept through the night...I am usually awake from 2am on, so that is when I take my T3. Therefore, I doubt my Endo will touch my T3 dosage.

As I said, I didn't take my Synthroid 24 hours prior to my blood test.

My Folate was NOT a serum test.

They took a RBC Folate instead, by mistake. But I see the range is 140-628, so it is high.

The only Folate I get is 400 mcg DFE (240 mcg folic acid) in my multi-vitamin which is sourced from plant, natural ingredients.

I'm not sure what type of B12 I took but it is the one I always get. It was 968 last year. The range is 200-1100, I am now at 620.

I will try to find out about getting an Active B12 test next time. I order these tests myself so I am limited to what is offered.

My vitamin D 25-OH range on my labs says 30 - 100. I am at 72.

Is 40-50 the recommended range for Vitamin D? I do supplement, since I don't go out in the sun everyday since I have severe glaucoma and the sun hurts my eyes.

Thanks!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to bessygo]

The only Folate I get is 400 mcg DFE (240 mcg folic acid) in my multi-vitamin which is sourced from plant, natural ingredients.

Multivitamins aren't recommended for a variety of reasons.:

They usually don't contain enough of anything to help raise low levels.

They usually contain the cheapest, least absorbable and wrong form of active ingredients.

They tend to contain things we should be tested for first and only supplement if found to be deficient, eg iron, calcium, iodine, Vit D.

If they contain iron then that affects the absorption of everything else, iron should be taken 2 hours away from any other supplements.

Also, with your folate level that high, you don't really need to supplement at the moment, you need to leave it off and retest in about 3-4 months.

I'm not sure what type of B12 I took but it is the one I always get. It was 968 last year. The range is 200-1100, I am now at 620.

That test is a Total B12 test which measures B12 both bound to proteins and unbound (free/active) B12. It's really only the Active B12 that is a useful result and the Total B12 test doesn't give the amounts of bound and unbound separately.

My vitamin D 25-OH range on my labs says 30 - 100. I am at 72.

Is 40-50 the recommended range for Vitamin D?

It's the average of the levels recommended by the Vit D Council/Vit D Society, as mentioned above. The Vit D Council recommends 50ng/ml and the Vit D Society recommends 40-60ng/ml (I made a type when I put 40-50, it should have read 40-60). Yours is OK though and some people prefer it slightly above the recommended level, you would be looking a heading towards toxicity over 100ng/ml.

[jimh111]

You take so little L-T3 that it will make a negligle difference to how you feel or your blood test results. Your results suggest you are a little undermedicated and hypothyroidism seems to keep ferritin levels down. It's not clear what you are trying to achieve as you don't have hypo sysmptoms. I would seek to increase your levothyroxine dose provided it does not drive up your pulse. This might improve your ferritin levels (which are OK and near average for the population).

Do you have symptoms that concern you are are you focussing on the numbers? It's more important to treat symptoms than numbers.

[bessygo in reply to jimh111]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I was told that Ferritin should be at least 40 (my Ferritin has been stuck between 26 - 38) to stop frontal hair loss and since my total Iron and Saturation are low, and since I don't eat a lot of red meat, I am trying to avoid full blown anemia.

I started supplementing with small dosages of Iron last June but levels of Iron have gotten worse.

I figured it would be best to straighten out Iron rather than mess with my Thyroid meds.

My only hypo symptoms are cold hands/feet (which can be related to Iron levels), lowish body temperature, hair loss, nocturnal blood pressure dipping, horrible insomnia and lack of appetite, yet don't lose weight though I'm not overweight (both are psychological as well as stress related). I only sleep about 4 hours a night, yet I'm hyper and never take naps. Mostly due to stress, PTSD, etc.

I guess I should be thankful I don't have full blown symptoms!

[jimh111 in reply to bessygo]

Your ferritin is around the level where a large section of the population is and they don't have frontal hair loss. There are claims about ferritin and hair loss, all originating from 'studies' done by shampoo companies. Your thyroid levels are a little low so increase them if you can.