Some test result

Hi There I had quite a few more test results done with Medichecks my first time... I was interested on the other hormones besides thyroid tsh t4 T3 , plus full iron panel not just ferritin the Adrenals these are just some of the tests I had can any one tell if these look okay Thank You...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Very difficult to read iron results

Ferritin is often raised due to inflammation of Hashimoto’s

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Iron 11.53umol/l range 5.8-34.5 Tibc 48.93 range 45-72 UIBC 37.40 range 24.2-70.1 Transferrin Sat 23.56% Range 20-50 Ferritin 160.00ug/L Range 13-150 any better?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hidden]

So....this shows low iron and high ferritin

Common complication of Hashimoto’s

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

What are your most recent thyroid, folate, vitamin D results

Presumably you have regular B12 injections

Do you supplement daily vitamin B complex as well

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi yes have b12 injections and I take Ingennes super b complex with folate but not had any for 2 weeks prior to these tests

Better

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

So iam low in iron ? Do I need to take iron supplements? I really dont understand why my ferritin all of a sudden keeps rising took me ages to get it to rise when I needed it too I know my iron was flagged as normal with the green flag....

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hidden]

humanbean or SeasideSusie may be able to explain more

A post here about high ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I have very high ferritin (Hashimoto’s) ....but iron mid range. (Iron use to be low) I only improve iron levels by increasing iron rich foods in diet.

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank You for replies maybe someone will come along and advise as far as I'm told that iron is all good and do are my folate n vit d and b12 ferritin high I dont know why I'll have a look at the link

[humanbean]

Iron 11.53umol/l range 5.8-34.5

Tibc 48.93 range 45-72

UIBC 37.40 range 24.2-70.1

Transferrin Sat 23.56% Range 20-50

Ferritin 160.00ug/L Range 13-150

With such very low iron and over the range ferritin your results show what looks to me like a classic case of Anaemia of Chronic Disease (ACD) - there are other names for the same condition e.g. Anaemia of Chronic Inflammation or Anaemia of Inflammatory Response. There are many possible causes of ACD, but the most common one is probably inflammation. But then there are many causes of inflammation too.

Some links to explain what is happening :

irondisorders.org/anemia-of...

See page 8 : web.archive.org/web/2020021...

If you were to take iron supplements now the most likely thing that would happen is that your iron would stay low and your ferritin would just get higher - possibly a lot higher. And this is really not a good idea at all.

Read this link to show some of the problems that can occur with iron supplementing :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I see from one of your other replies that your folate is quite low. I would definitely suggest that you improve your level.

I must admit I get really annoyed about those reference ranges for folate with no upper limit. It suggests that folate is harmless but I don't think having very high levels is good for us (but then low levels of folate aren't good for us either).

I would suggest that you aim to get your folate up to a level of about 20 - 30 if possible. Do not supplement with folic acid, there are much better and safer options. See these links :

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Can you give us a list of the supplements you take and tell us what doses you use, please. And give us an idea of what kind of diet you eat.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Hi There I take Ingennus super b complex with methylfolate 2 a day.. folate in it is 400ug per tablet I also take vit d3 k2 mk7 3000iu 100ug mk7 k2 I'm afraid my diet isnt very good I dont eat hardly any red meat I eat chicken n mainly fish like salmon prawns but I'm a picky eater so my diet isnt that great atm I went down with covid at christmas time so my eating habits have decreased a lot I've never had ferritin rising it was always try to make it rise the Medichecks report from the dr says my iron stores are good and my folate but Ihad a feeling they wernt my folate has dropped from 19 to 8 67ug/L so I know my diet is partly to blame

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I take Ingennus super b complex with methylfolate 2 a day.. folate in it is 400ug per tablet

You could buy an additional folate supplement containing methylfolate (or one labelled 5-MTHF) 1000 mcg. Try taking one a day for a couple of weeks and see how you get on, although I wouldn't suggest taking it every day for very long because there are adverse consequences to folate toxicity.

I take Igennus Super B but I add in a methylfolate 1000 mcg tablet a couple of days a week on top because my folate level seems to fluctuate massively and sometimes goes very low. I've never found out why.

One thing I have read is that high doses of B12 will raise your requirement for folate. The body can't use B12 without folate.

There are two supplements you might find beneficial - vitamin C and selenium.

For vitamin C you can just experiment with dose - it isn't dangerous, as far as I know. Remember that any excess is removed via the urine, so don't take so much that you are just peeing it away. It's a waste of money. But any amount from 1g - 3g (1000mg - 3000mg) is worth trying - but start with 1g and work up if you think it is worth it.

A couple of links on vitamin C and supplements :

lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vit...

lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vit...

For selenium, the dose often recommended is 200mcg per day. I tried that and didn't do well on it at all, but I do okay with 100mcg per day. It is trial and error to find out what helps.

Did I read that you had had Covid or did I just imagine that? I would guess that severe illness will use up lots of nutrients trying to a) keep you alive and b) for body repair after illness. Whether that would explain the big drop in your folate, I have no idea.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Hi Yes I tested postive 29th Dec I was really surprised I wasn't I'll like some poor people but I was quite unwell and got very run down still am first cold sore in years.... Thank you so much for your advice I'll try eating liver twice a week maybe that will help my iron.. your right about b12 injections maybe that took my folate down as I was self injecting more I thought my b12 would be higher than latestvredults but the labs all work differently with ranges. This fatigued tiredness lack of energy low moods I've always put down to thyroid so I thought I'd try Medichecks and had many tests Ulitimate performance was recommended as it did adrenals and other hormones besides thyroid plus I have never ever had a serum iron panel done only ferritin so I had the works done now it's just understanding it all... but Thank You very helpful!

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I forgot to say...

Referring to selenium supplements there are some that are better than others. SeasideSusie has posted this on the subject :

Everything I have read about selenium says that the best and better absorbed forms are selenium l-selenomethionine and yeast bound selenium, and that selenite and selenate forms should be avoided and they are poorly absorbed.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Hi Any idea what brand to buy folate I'm going to order online

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I'm afraid my choices are constrained by lack of money, so I can't honestly say that what I buy is the best type there is. I just buy a product from Amazon or other supplement sites at a price I can afford which has good reviews and has the following attributes :

1) Dose 1000mcg

2) References 5-MTHF or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate on the label.

Since I don't take them every day a packet of, say, 120 tablets, will last me for ages.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Thank you !

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Sorry to ask more questions if I take 2 Inngennes super b complex a day plus 1000mcg folate a day? Will that be too much? As i will be upping my b12 injections again 200mcg selenium? Vit c 1000 is that okay? Sorry to ask again

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

I could boil this whole post down to one sentence :

When it comes to folate, err on the side of caution and keep your level within range.

---

Take the methylfolate every day for a couple of weeks, then reduce to taking it about once or twice a week.

The problem that arises when researching folate toxicity is that websites often mix up folate and folic acid. They aren't the same thing. Some people can't convert folic acid to folate, and this is a known issue for people with hypothyroidism.

Some cases of high levels of unmetabolized folic acid in the blood have been found in people taking folic acid. Presumably, people who can't convert folic acid to folate very effectively actually have two problems. Firstly they may have high levels of folic acid in the blood and secondly they may have low levels of folate.

I keep meaning to write to a testing company and ask - does your folate test measure folic acid in the blood or folate or the sum of both? But it is on my never ending list of things to do.

A quote from a poor article on the subject - they suggest folic acid and folate are exactly the same thing in the very first sentence, but have an explanation for the folate and hypothyroidism problem further on in the article :

Etiology of Low Folate in Hypothyroidism

In healthy individuals, folic acid is converted to L-methyl folate, which is the biologically active form of the vitamin. Hypothyroidism causes a decrease in the activity of the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, which is responsible for producing L-methyl folate in the liver. Low levels of L-methyl folate result in excess levels of homocysteine. This indirect relationship could be causative in increasing cardiovascular disease risk in people with hypothyroidism.

Source : livestrong.com/article/4309...

But the reference to methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase is a bit of a sleight of hand on the part of the authors - they are actually talking about hypothyroid people having a possible MTHFR problem. I doubt many people know that MTHFR stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. I certainly didn't until I googled for more info just now.

palomahealth.com/learn/mthf...

It is possible that folate is harmless at high levels and I've been confused by reading about people who've taken high doses of folic acid instead of those taking high doses of methylfolate. Since I can't say for sure I would always suggest sticking within the range (if there is a proper range to compare with). Personally, I always hope to get a result which is in the upper half of the range (if there is one).

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Fantastic Thank You..

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hidden]

Jarrow methyl folate is good option.

Available on Amazon

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes I looked at that one you have been very helpful...

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Hidden

I take Ingennus super b complex with methylfolate 2 a day.. folate in it is 400ug per tablet

Sorry to contradict you but it's 200mcg per tablet. The serving size is 2 tablets and it's 400mcg per serving. I use this brand.

I use this brand of Folate to top up:

healthleadsuk.com/folate-l-...

They do 400mcg and 1,000mcg.

If you're going to eat liver make sure it's no more than 200g per week due to its high Vit A content. Chicken livers are mild and have more a bit more iron than lamb's liver (the mildest of the red meat livers). If you like pate the chicken liver would make a nice pate.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Thank you for all the detailed info the report from Medichecks dr a lot all says normal apart from few things like tsh ferritin cholesterol slightly high and my SHBG sex hormone is increased other than that all the bloods I had done which I had a lot plus full blood count included all say normal so I'm tryi g to understand them it's not easy is it..