Hi everyone, I’m new to this group and to having thyroid problems.
I discovered high antibodies in a blood test 6 months ago while investigating what turned out to be premenstrual dysphoric disorder. I have just tested again and they are still high, and my hair has quite drastically started thinning over the past few months. I experience very foggy / short term memory loss, which is a symptom of PMDD but previously only in my luteal phase. It is now occurring throughout my cycle and I wonder is it also a symptom of hypothyroidism or hashimotos?
My GP only tested the two levels below. I asked about testing my T3 and free T4 and was told I haven’t been given a result for those as they came back as normal and the lab would not have sent them unless they were abnormal. This feels an odd response to me and perhaps more like they didn't test those? My iron levels are very low too (not low enough for GP's concern).
I have been prescribed 25mg levothyroxine and been told to check back in 6 months for another blood test.
Should I be asking for any other tests or action to investigate this further?
I recently gave up gluten - is there anything else preventative I could be doing in terms of self care?
Learning about a whole new illness feels overwhelming, having only just begun to get my head around having PMDD which is life altering enough as it is. So any advice would be hugely appreciated!
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c_alex
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GP should have done full iron panel test for anaemia
Have they
Hair loss is frequently linked to low ferritin
Do you have heavy periods?
Low iron and ferritin are very common with Hashimoto’s
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
Ask GP to test vitamin D, folate and B12 levels
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
I have been prescribed 25mg levothyroxine and been told to check back in 6 months for another blood test.
Should I be asking for any other tests or action to investigate this further?
Bloods should be retested 6-8 WEEKS after each dose increase
Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg, so you definitely want to get tested after 6-8 weeks and get dose increased to 50mcg .....and almost certainly will need further increases over coming months
My iron levels are very low too (not low enough for GP's concern).
See/speak to different GP ask for/insist on full iron panel test for anaemia, vitamin D, folate and B12 tested
Have you noticed any improvements on strictly gluten free diet yet?
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking?
The range for my iron was [15.0 - 250.0] it's so frustrating that I'm right at the bottom of the bracket but being within it they don't seem concerned!
I don't have heavy periods very regular/average.
Foodwise I also cut out dairy, sugar and caffeine for PMDD reasons so I'm getting used to all of them at once (!) I am noticing feeling better but also tired with no caffeine or sugar at work. So I suppose tricky to tell at the moment.
The levothyroxine brand is Wockhardt.
The doctor agreed to test my vitamin D and Iron in a couple of weeks so I will check it's the full iron panel and request folate and B12. And discuss sooner re-testing and dose increase.
Thank you for the food advice and article links, and for your help
Illnesses that may cause similar symptoms include anaemia, menopause, and thyroid disease. These tests include a blood test that will be analysed to see the total number of the different types of cells (full blood count), thyroid function tests, and the level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in the blood.
I just realised I didn't say - they did a full blood count test I just wasn't sure if that was a full Iron test. The only thing the GP flagged as abnormal was my antibodies in a separate test.
That's a really interesting thing to look into though as practitioners have been interested by the fact I have no family history of PMDD or have had bad PMS throughout my life, its a new thing over the past couple of years. So far been thinking brought on by stress.
I experience very foggy / short term memory loss, which is a symptom of PMDD but previously only in my luteal phase.
Serum ferritin level 16 ug/L [15.0 - 250.0]
Your Full Blood Count (FBC) results all look excellent. [I'm not including your ferritin results in that statement.] There is no evidence of anaemia that I can see. (But please remember I am not a doctor and have no medical training.)
Your ferritin, ideally would be approx 140 - 200 (ish) with the reference range you've given.
If your serum iron was low it would have adversely affected quite a few of your FBC results, so I'm going to assume that your serum iron is fine and just your ferritin (iron stores) is low.
This assumption could be wrong. To prove it one way or the other you would need an iron panel done. Medichecks does one of these :
It is worth registering with any testing company that you want to do business with because many of them will send out regular emails with their latest special offers.
...
How supplementing iron can go wrong and why people should always be cautious if or when they decide to supplement iron : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Effect of iron supplementation on fatigue in nonanemic menstruating women with low ferritin: a randomized controlled trial : cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/184/11...
When my iron and ferritin were very low it severely affected my ability to think and my memory.
I treated my own low iron and ferritin. Once I got my ferritin to mid-range I discovered that my almost life-long anxiety disappeared and my life-long depression was much reduced.
Improving your ferritin might improve your PMDD, but there are absolutely no guarantees.
I've just re-read your initial post and noticed you wrote this :
I've just realised that you might be confusing ferritin and iron. They are not the same substance.
Ferritin is a measure of your iron stores. But you also have "free" iron in your bloodstream, often referred to as serum iron in blood tests.
Pathogens (bacteria, viruses, yeasts, parasites etc) need iron to live and reproduce. By keeping "spare" iron in ferritin the body prevents pathogens from getting the iron it needs to reproduce.
The body moves iron into ferritin, and takes iron from ferritin when it needs one or the other. It is a process that goes on all the time. The difficulty for us is that we can't determine where iron goes if we supplement. It can increase serum iron, it can increase ferritin, and we can't tell the iron where it should go. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that our bodies can deal with iron correctly and to test regularly so we know what is happening.
Hi there, thank you so much for your reply and all of this information and reading material! It's so incredibly helpful. Yes you are right I mixed up iron and ferritin. Thank you for clarifying.
I'm going to try GP for more tests otherwise one of the links you have provided.
How did you treat your low iron and ferritin yourself?
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