Do my Vitamin/Mineral test results look OK?

[PebblesPatch]

Hiya, I have posted this elsewhere but I think it was lost, so I think it is worth me posting as a new thread. I have Hypothyroidism and my doctor is happy because my TSH is in range, however I’m not happy. I still have hypothyroid symptoms; fatigue, aches and pains, weight gain, brain fog… My most recent thyroid test (home test end November), showed these results:

TSH 2.58 mu/L (normal range 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)

FT4 17.5 pmol/L (normal range 12 - 22 pmol/L)

FT3 4.3 pmol/L (normal range 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)

Most on here argued that I am underdosed with Levothyroxine. My doc refused to increase this and instead ran a series of tests. I was happy to have these tests as others on here also suggested that it is important to get my vit/minerals optimal. I think these vit/mineral results look OK, I just want confirmation of this from you very helpful people first. I am hoping that I can say to my doctor that these results look OK, therefore my symptoms must be down to my inadequate Levothyroxine dose. I will be sharing the articles others have linked to here to support my argument. But do you think these results look OK? I supplement Vitamin D, Iron, magnesium, selenium, K2, Vit C by the way, oh and I’m gluten free.

Vitamin D 142nmol/L

Serum ferritin 88ug/L (30-470)

Serum folate 9.8 ug/L (2.5-19.5)

Serum Potassium 3.8 mmol/L (3.5-5.3)

Oh yes and there were these results, I guess these are not so good;

HbA1c 39 mmol/mol Next to this one it states ‘high risk of diabetes mellitus’ (I was diagnosed as prediabetic at the same time as being diagnosed as Hypothyroid 2 years ago and I later came out of this zone). I think this result is linked to my increased weight resulting from my poorly managed Hypothyroidism.

Serum Vitamin B12 1299 ng/L (180- 900) This is the second time I have returned an elevated B12 result. I’m not sure what this means?!

I would be grateful for your input on these vit/mineral results.

Thank you

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Are you currently taking any multivitamins or vitamin B complex or B12?

Or have B12 injections

Or taken any B vitamins in last year?

If no to all these then you need to investigate high B12

Getting homocysteine tested

Was this thyroid test done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test?

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand

[PebblesPatch in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm not currently taking Vitamin B12 supplements though I did briefly last year.

My thyroid test was done in the morning after I took my Levo and my breakfast.

I take 75mcg of Levo.

I always take the brand Eltroxin.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to PebblesPatch]

So that explains high B12

You might want to start a vitamin B complex to raise low folate and keep all B vitamins in balance

Thorne basic B complex

But remember to stop taking vitamin B complex a week before ALL BLOOD TESTS as contains biotin

[PebblesPatch in reply to SlowDragon]

OK thanks. Doesn't vitamin B Complex contain vitamin B12 though?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to PebblesPatch]

You should see B12 levels drop when adding vitamin B complex

To use B12 you need good levels of other B vitamins

[PebblesPatch in reply to SlowDragon]

So it doesn't matter if I end up taking additional B12 with this combination?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to PebblesPatch]

Should be fine

B12 is water soluble and you pee out excess

[PebblesPatch in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok thanks

🙏

[SlowDragon Administrator]

See from previous posts you are only on 75mcg

Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking - is it Teva?

TSH should be under 2 as absolute maximum

gponline.com/endocrinology-...

Replacement therapy with levothyroxine should be initiated in all patients to achieve a TSH level of 0.5-2.0pmol/L.

[PebblesPatch in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm on Eltroxin. Yes I will try again to get my doctor to raise my Levothyroxine amount.

Thanks

[humanbean]

Vitamin D 142nmol/L

Serum ferritin 88ug/L (30-470) - 13% of the way through the range

Serum folate 9.8 ug/L (2.5-19.5) - 43% of the way through the range

Serum Potassium 3.8 mmol/L (3.5-5.3) 16.7% of the way through the range

Serum Vitamin B12 1299 ng/L (180- 900)

Vitamin D - this result is fine (although I don't think you should raise it any higher).

Ferritin - Optimal levels for many people are mid-range or a little bit over i.e. approx 250 - 330 (ish), so your result is quite low. But I have to admit I've never seen a reference range with a top of range as high as you've given. Any suggested optimal level should always be related to the reference range supplied with a test. You say that you take iron supplements but what are they, how much iron does each dose contain, and how many doses do you take a day?

Folate - Optimal is upper half of the range i.e. 11 - 19.5 You could find out which foods contain folate and introduce more of them to your diet. Since you are pretty close to optimal I think that supplementation would be over the top.

Potassium - This has a major impact on the heart. I would suggest incorporating some more potassium-rich foods into your diet. Messing with potassium is potentially dangerous, so sticking to food to improve it is the best way to go.

Vitamin B12 - Have you supplemented vitamin B12 in the last 2 or 3 years? B12 is stored in the liver, so if you did supplement you could end up with a large store to explain the level you have. However, there are some reasons for a high level of B12 that aren't so good. If the liver is damaged it can start leaking B12 into the blood stream. There are other causes of high B12 that you can read about here :

academic.oup.com/qjmed/arti...

[PebblesPatch in reply to humanbean]

Great, thanks for that analysis.

I currently take Ferrous Fumerate. I was on 2 x 210 mg a day but I have now added in a third tablet since seeing these results.

I'm going to increase my folate and potassium with lots of mung beans.

I briefly supplemented B12 last year, I have since stopped this.

Thanks for your feedback.

[humanbean in reply to PebblesPatch]

Okay. You should definitely consider taking 3 ferrous fumarate 210mg as the maximum dose of iron that anyone should take. And take them four hours away from any thyroid hormones because iron blocks absorption of lots of meds, hormones and supplements. The only exception to this is that taking vitamin C with iron helps the body to absorb the iron.

[PebblesPatch in reply to humanbean]

Thanks! I always take iron at least 4 hours after Levo. Usually I take it with vit C.

[PebblesPatch]

Just thought I would post some positive feedback about my current situation. I linked some of the articles some have posted here to try to get my doctor to increase my Levothyroxine and to my astonishment (and after further consultation with her colleagues), she agreed to raise it by 25mcg to 100mcg daily! This was a hard won battle. I am just hoping that this is enough to alleviate my symptoms because I have no chance getting her to increase it again. Still I'm happy today. Big thanks to everyone on here for your help.

🙏