I had my thyroid function checked and below are the results, I'm just wondering what you would interpret from them and what recommendations you would give?
Inflammation
CRP HS 0.17 mg/L (Range: < 5)
Iron Status
Ferritin 350 ug/L (Range: 30 - 400)
Vitamins
Folate - Serum 6.64 ug/L (Range: > 3.89)
Vitamin B12 - Active 47.600 pmol/L (Range: > 37.5)
Apart from Vitamin D and B12 being on the low side does everything else look ok? The lab report recommended I have a methylmalonic acid blood test - I guess that's to confirm if I have a B12 deficiency or not.
First question has to be - are you diagnosed with a thyroid condition and on any thyroid meds? Interpretation of your thyroid results depends on that information.
CRP HS 0.17 mg/L (Range: < 5)
This is an excellent result.
Ferritin 350 ug/L (Range: 30 - 400)
Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range. Yours is on the high side, and this is the range for males so I presume you are male. Do you supplement or did you eat iron rich food such as liver, liver pate, black pudding in the week before the test?
Folate - Serum 6.64 ug/L (Range: > 3.89)
On the low side. The range is actually something like 3.89-19.45 and folate should be at least half way through range so that would be about 12+ with that range.
Vitamin B12 - Active 47.600 pmol/L (Range: > 37.5)
The lab report recommended I have a methylmalonic acid blood test - I guess that's to confirm if I have a B12 deficiency or not.
This result is very low and an Active B12 result below 70 suggests testing for B12 deficiency, as your lab report says. You should not take B12 or folic acid/folate before further testing as this will mask B12 deficiency. You may need B12 injections so you need to test before doing anything else.
Vitamin D X 44.1 nmol/L (Range: 50 - 175)
3x tablets of 5000iu D3 bigvits.co.uk/product/vitam...
The Vit D Council/Vit D Society recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L.
You don't need 15,000iu D3 daily, to reach the recommended level from your current level the Vit D Council would recommend 5,000iu D3 daily. The amount you propose taking is even more than the loading doses a GP would prescribe for severe Vit D deficiency.
TSH 3.41 mIU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)
Free T3 5.72 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8)
Free Thyroxine 17.800 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22)
Can't interpret these accurately until we know if you have a diagnosis and on thyroid meds.
Thanks for your reply, I'm not on any thyroid meds and haven't been diagnosed however my mum has hashimotos and my dad has macrocytic anemia hence why I had my thyroid checked.
Never supplemented with iron or eaten liver or pate so not sure why that was on the high side.
I know B12 needs folate to work so I'm guessing I should get some folic acid supplements? Are there any that you'd recommend as I have heard folic acid isn't the best form?
With everything going on at the moment I don't see the point in trying to get to see a GP and trying to convince them I need a B12 defficiency test, from what I've read even if I did get tested the B12 injections they give are never enough hence why I've already started supplementing with B12 tablets to try and help. If I get my blood tested in 6-8 months time it should give me useful information as to if supplements are helping or not.
I'll cut back on the D3 doses, been taking the B12 sublingual tablets for a month now.
With everything going on at the moment I don't see the point in trying to get to see a GP and trying to convince them I need a B12 defficiency test, from what I've read even if I did get tested the B12 injections they give are never enough hence why I've already started supplementing with B12 tablets to try and help.
The problem is you need to know why you are B12 deficient. I'm not a B12 expert but my understanding is if the cause is Pernicious Anaemia then you wont be able to absorb B12 from oral supplements which is why B12 injections are given. You should really look into this.
I know B12 needs folate to work so I'm guessing I should get some folic acid supplements? Are there any that you'd recommend as I have heard folic acid isn't the best form?
Methylfolate is said to be the better form. But your folate level is not deficient, just low so a separate folate supplement isn't necessarily the answer. When taking B12 we need a B Complex which keeps all the B vitamins in balance. A good, bioavailable B Complex will contain methylfolate and an amount of 400mcg in the B Complex should be enough to raise low folate. I like Thorne Basic B.
my dad has macrocytic anemia
Macrocytic anaemia can be caused by lack of B12 and folate (it can also be caused by hypothyroidism) so it looks like this could possibly be tied in with your B12 deficiency.
If your B12 doesn't improve with supplements then you should be looking into pernicious anaemia.
Whether or not you take all this on board and how you proceed is entirely up to you.
TSH 3.41 mIU/L (Range: 0.27 - 4.2)
Free T3 5.72 pmol/L (Range: 3.1 - 6.8)
Free Thyroxine 17.800 pmol/L (Range: 12 - 22)
A normal healthy person would have a TSH of no more than 2, more often nearer 1, with FT4 around mid-range. In some countries hypothyroidism is diagnosed when TSH reaches 3 but in the UK even though it can be over range it has to reach 10 before primary hypothyroidism is diagnosed. So your TSH is quite high in range and your FT4 is 58% through range. You could very well be on the way to hypothyroidism and it would be worth retesting in, say, 3 months to see if there is any change. Also, as your mother has Hashi's, keep an eye on your antibody levels. Because they fluctuate you may see a difference when they're retested. If you have an over range TSH (but not reached 10) with raised antibodies, then this suggests Hashi's and an enlightened doctor may start you on Levo.
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