Hi wonderful people. I'm hoping to get some insight on my latest blood test results from Medichecks. My TSH has come back low -- and I've been having hot flashes for the last few weeks (also some heart palpitations and a bit of lightheadedness), so wondering if that's related (note that I'm on 100mcg/day and weigh about 57 kilos). My B12 has also come back high, and the Medichecks doctor recommended reducing my supplement. Would love to hear from you if that's necessary.
I'm a bit disappointed that my T3 isn't higher given that my TSH is so low.
But anyway, here are my results. Would love your thoughts!
CRP HS <0.3 (0 - 5)
Ferritin 62 ug/L (13 - 150)
Folate 12.4 ug/L (>2.9)
Vit D 116 nmol/L (50 - 200)
B12 active 192 pmol/L (25.1 - 165)
TSH .06 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)
Free T3 4.6 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8)
Free Thyroxine 22.8 pmol/l (12-22)
Thyroglobulin antibodies 32.5 IU/mL (0-115)
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies 70 IU/mL (0 - 34)
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Gophe
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Yes. If you mean hours between last taking meds and doing the fingerprick test, it would have been roughly 24 hrs. Maybe 23.
If you mean time between upping my dosage to 100mcg/day and taking the test, that would be over 4 months -- I upped my dose on Dec. 10 and tested Apr. 20.
Good result, it's an inflammation marker so low is good.
Ferritin 62 ug/L (13 - 150)
Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range (82 with that range) although some experts say optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is between 90-110 ng/ml. You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
Don't consider taking an iron supplement unless you do an iron panel, if you already have a decent level of serum iron and a good saturation percentage then taking iron tablets can push your iron level even higher, too much iron is as bad as too little.
Folate 12.4 ug/L (>2.9)
The range is 2.89-14.5 and folate is recommended to be at least half way through. Yours is a good level.
Vit D 116 nmol/L (50 - 200)
The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L.
Your level is within that range.
B12 active 192 pmol/L (25.1 - 165)
Once Active B12 reaches 100 there is no need to supplement with an individual B12 supplement, a good quality B Complex containing methylcobalamin, such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B, is enough. I agree that you don't need your level that high.
TSH .06 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)
Free T3 4.6 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8)
Free Thyroxine 22.8 pmol/l (12-22)
The aim of a treated Hypo patient on Levo only, generally, is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their reference ranges, if that is where you feel well.
Your FT4 is very high compared with your FT3. This could be poor conversion of T4 to T3 but if you took your last dose of Levo too close to having the test then you could have a false high FT4 level. Did you leave 24 hours between last dose of Levo and blood draw? Also, if you take a B Complex, did you leave this off for 7 days before the test, if not it can give false results.
Thyroglobulin antibodies 32.5 IU/mL (0-115)
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies 70 IU/mL (0 - 34)
Raised TPO antibodies confirm Hashi's, did you know you had this?
Thanks, SeasideSusie. I'm not taking a separate B12 supplement; I'm only taking a B complex, and I was off it for about 10 days before the test. So to lower my B12, do I need to quit taking my B complex supplement? I was on the MegaFood one but that's no longer available, so 4 days ago I switched to BioCare (50mcg of B12).
I had about 23 hours between my last levo dose and the test. Do I need to be concerned about the low TSH? I've been feeling well lately, except for the symptoms I mentioned earlier that started about 3-4 weeks ago -- hot flashes, lightheadedness. Well, I've also been feeling very low, but that feeling stopped right about the time I started the BioCare B complex (I noticed I got really down the last time I stopped my B complex for a blood test, too).
If so it's not one that I would use. It has folic acid instead of methylfolate and it has 50mg B6 and for long term use the recommended amount is no more than 10mg. It's basically a B50 and not particularly well balanced.
I had about 23 hours between my last levo dose and the test.
In that case I'd say your conversion of T4 to T3 is poor to need an over range FT4 to produce an FT3 level just 40% through range.
Do I need to be concerned about the low TSH?
No. TSH is useful for diagnosis but once on thyroid hormone replacement it's not particularly useful as it's not a thyroid hormone, FT4 and FT3 are the thyroid hormones which tell us what we need to know.
Thanks, this is really helpful, SeasideSusie. Yes, that's the BioCare product I'm using. Is there a B-complex brand you'd recommend that would fit the profile you've outlined above?
I don't know of one off the top of my head as I use Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B and that would be 400mcg methylcobalamin in the Thorne or 450mcg or 900mcg methylcobalamin in the Igennus depending on whether 1 or 2 tablets are taken.It's just a case of keep on looking until you find a suitable one.
I've found one with 50mcg of B12 and 20mg of B6. It's got Folic Acid, but I could get methylfolate separately and take that as well. Does that sound okay? I don't think I'm going to find one product that ticks all the boxes.
Folate is the converted form of folic acid, so if you get one with folic acid and also take methylfolate then you are doubling up on the amount of Folate. Your Folate level is currently very good so you don't need an excessive amount.
Whole food B Complex supplements seem to fit the bill better. I am not recommending these as I have never taken them, and prices may be better elsewhere, just giving some examples :
Thanks, Scrumbler. I've been working on the Ferritin. It was 18 about a year or so ago, then was up to 48, so 62 is at least trending in the right direction. Hopefully I'll get there eventually.
I'm a bit worried about the idea of taking T3, since I feel like I've heard other folks in this forum running into problems with that. Or maybe I just haven't been reading those posts closely enough. Is it pretty commonly prescribed by endos in the UK?
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Looking for any help interpreting latest test results please. 
Interpreting blood test results help
