My latest blood results, please advise - Thyroid UK

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My latest blood results, please advise

ChoH profile image
ChoH
7 Replies

I recently did some blood tests and my results are as follows :

Estimated average glucose : 5.9mmol/L (normal range <7.5)

Total cholesterol : 5.64 mmol/L (normal range <5.0 mmol/L)

Triglycerides : 1.42 mmol/L (normal range <1.7mmol/L)

HDL : 1.87mmol/L (normal range : >1.2mmol/L)

LDL : 2.73mmol/L (normal range : <3.0mmol/L)

Vitamin B12 : 391 pmol/L (145 - 569)

TSH : 1.29 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.20)

Free T4: 15.8 pmol/L (12.0 - 22.0)

Free T3 : 3.2pmol/L (2.0 to 7.0)

Thyroglobulin : 17.2 ug/L (3.5 - 77.0)

Anti-thyroglobulin Ab : 219 H (<115)

MCHC : 32.0L (32.7 - 34.9)

MPV : 11.6 H (7.3 - 11.3)

I have been taking Euthyrox 0.05mg daily since April. I did my blood test first thing in the morning without having taken my Euthyrox that day. My thyroid hormone levels seemed to have stabilized and are within normal ranges, but my thyroid antibodies are still high. My triglycerides, LDL and HDL are within the normal range, but my total cholesterol is still quite high. I am quite worried that my thyroid antibodies and total cholesterol are still high. I’m generally quite fit and healthy. Symptoms that I experience are feeling very cold, I haven’t gained any weight with my Hashimotos/hypothyroidism condition. I was having issues with my menstrual cycle previously but that seems to be better now. I generally feel quite well. I am vegetarian. Not sure what to do about my total cholesterol, and how to improve my thyroid antibodies, any advice ? Dr days I should continue taking the euthyrox 0.05mg daily.

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fuchsia-pink profile image
fuchsia-pink

Your high thyroid antibodies show that the reason you are hypo is Hashimoto's or Hashi's. This is by far the biggest cause and nothing in itself to worry about. It can't be cured and your antibodies will just go up and down as they feel like, so please don't worry about trying to "improve" them. Think of them like an irregular tide going in and out in the background. greygoose does a really good summary of Hashi's so am tagging her. She's also more knowledgeable than me on cholesterol.

As regards your thyroid blood results, I'd suggest you need a dose increase. TSH is still quite high and free T4 is only 38% through range with free T3 (that's a very wide lab range!) even lower at 20%. Most of us need both of these to be at least 2/3 through range to feel properly well

One last thing about Hashi's - many people, even if not coeliac, find it helpful to go (strictly) gluten-free and/or dairy-free, so may be worth a try x

ChoH profile image
ChoH in reply to fuchsia-pink

Thank you for your advice. Will speak to the dr about the dose increase

naryshkin profile image
naryshkin

A dose increase should lower TSH and improve T4 and T3. My sister went gluten-free and after 3 months she saw a huge improvement in her antibodies, from 2000+ to 200. Going on contraception helped with the inflammation and antibody count.

You might want to look at your blood count and iron profile more closely. An elevated MPV means that your blood platelets are larger than average and could be released into the blood stream quickly after production, so they're young. It could be linked to low Vitamin D, thyroid disease, smoking, metabolic disorders, high altitudes and so on.

Low MCHC could be indicative of anaemia, low haemoglobin in those red blood cells. Could be caused by anaemia, pregnancy, blood loss, poor gut absorption of iron, poor intake of nutritional iron. Definitely worth checking with the GP to find the root cause (could also be diet). Ask your GP for a full blood count and an advanced iron profile.

Are you on contraception? If something for you, could help you balance your levels until you're well enough to go off it.

Can't comment on the rest tho.

ChoH profile image
ChoH in reply to naryshkin

We did do a full blood count, and iron, folate and vitamin d levels were also checked, all were within normal range. Only my MCHC and MPV were out of range. I do take iron tablets as well as the dr did advise me to take. I am on hormonal contraception as well. I don’t smoke, I do have a very sensitive stomach so I don’t eat consume much dairy, besides for cheese once a week. And I also don’t have much gluten products besides for bread which is also maybe once a week. Thank you for your advice will speak yo the dr about the dose increase

naryshkin profile image
naryshkin in reply to ChoH

Happy to help! Seems like you're on track. It could be a matter of absorption. Depending on how long you've been on levo and how sensitive your gut is/has been, it will take a while until the gut is able to fully absorb everything you eat and drink. I've come a long way but still have some issues (6 months into treatment) but seeing how my sister has fared, it's promising to see that these issues resolve over time.

If your GP is unwilling to raise the dose, you can refer them to NICE guidelines

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/hypo...

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Your cholesterol is high because your FT3 is so low. The cholesterol in itself is nothing to worry about - it's a symptom, not a disease, despite what your doctor may tell you. But, you do need to worry about being under-medicated with a low FT3. Low T3 is what causes symptoms. Do not agree to taking statins for the high cholesterol, they could just make things worse for many reasons, and you do not need them. You just need a higher dose of thyroid hormone.

Cholesterol is made in the liver, and it is made for a very good reason: we need it. Cell walls are made of cholesterol, as are sex hormones and the brain is partially made of it. Reduce cholesterol to the rediculous levels the-powers-that-be would have us believe is 'normal' will adversely affect all of those things. Plus, taking statins reduces our energy levels by blocking the production of the enzyme Q10 in the cells, and can cause a whole lot of other problems including hot flushes.

High cholesterol levels are not the life-or-death problem that doctors make them out to be. It does not cause heart attacks or strokes. The reason cholesterol is found in the arteries of heart attacks victims is that it is natures sticking plaster. Inflammation damages arteries and the cholesterol comes along to cover up the wound while it heals. When it's healed, the cholesterol is absorbed by the artery walls - which are made of cholesterol anyway. It is the inflammation that causes the dammage, not the cholesterol. People would probably be better off taking high doses of vit C than statins. Or, better still, optimise their FT3.

The problem is not the liver making excess cholesterol. The problem is that when T3 levels are low, the body cannot process and excrete cholesterol efficiently, and it tends to build up in the blood. Raise the FT3 and the cholesterol should drop. Cholesterol is not going to kill you, but the statins just might!

As fuschia-pink says, the antibodies are an indication that you have Hashi's. Hashi's is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks and slowly destroys the thyroid. It is diagnosed by testing Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) antibodies and Thyroglobulin (Tg) antibodies.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the TPO/Tg antibodies themselves that attack the thyroid. It's lymphocytes from the immune system that do the attacking.

When lymphocytes infiltrate the thyroid gland, mistakenly taking it for a foreign bacteria invader, they damage the thyroid gland and release thyroid peroxidase &/or thyroglobulin into the blood stream. These don't belong outside of the thyroid gland so antibodies are developed to mop them up.

The antibodies are a result of the attack on the thyroid gland, the antibodies don't cause the attack.

After every immune system attack on the thyroid, the dying cells release their stock of thyroid hormone into the blood stream, causing the levels of the Frees to shoot up - FT4 to around 30 something, FT3 around 11/12 - and the TSH therefore drops to suppressed.

There is no knowing how long these high levels will persist, but eventually, they will drop by themselves as the excess hormone is used up or excreted, and not only will you become hypo again, but slightly more hypo than before, because there is now less thyroid to make hormone.

(NB: A Hashi's 'hyper' swing is not true hyperthyroidism in that your thyroid is over-producing thyroid hormone. It's physically impossible to 'go hyper' if you are basically hypo. The thyroid cannot regenerate itself to the point of over production of hormones - or even normal production. Very few doctors appear to know that.)

Therefore, it's very important that your doctor does not reduce your prescription, because you’re going to need it again! If you start to feel over-medicated at that point - some do, some don't - the best thing is to stop levo for a few days, then, when you feel hypo again, start taking it again. It's very important to know one's body, and how it reacts.

There is no cure for Hashi's - which is probably one of the reasons that doctors ignore it - apart from the fact that they know nothing about it, of course!

However, between the 'hyper' swing, and the descent back into hypothyroidism, there can be a phase - quite a long one, sometimes - of normality, where the person is neither hypo nor 'hyper'. This is where people sometimes start talking of having 'cured' their Hashi's, by whatever means. But, it doesn't last. Eventually, you will go hypo again.

But, there are things the patient can try for him/herself to help them feel a bit better:

a) adopt a 100% gluten-free diet. Hashi's people are often sensitive to gluten, even if they don't have Coeliac disease, so stopping it can make them feel much better. Worth a try. Some say that going gluten-free will reduce antibodies – I’ve never seen conclusive proof of that, but, you should be aware that even if you were to get rid of the antibodies completely, you would still have Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease. It is not the TPO/Tg antibodies that do the attacking.

b) take selenium. This is not only reputed to reduce antibodies, but can also help with conversion of T4 to T3 - something that Hashi's people often find difficult.

c) the best way to even out the swings from hypo to 'hyper' (often called Hashi's Flares, but that doesn't really sum up the way it works) is to keep the TSH suppressed. This is difficult because doctors are terrified of a suppressed TSH, for various false reasons, and because they don't understand the workings of Hashi's. But, TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (a pituitary hormone) - tries to stimulate the thyroid to make more hormone, which also stimulates the immune system to attack. So, the less gland activity there is, the less immune system activity there will be, meaning less attacks, gland destruction slowed down and less swinging from hypo to hyper and back.

ChoH profile image
ChoH

Totally agree with you, definitely do not want to take statins at all. They have such bad side effects.

Do you think it’s a good idea for me to take Co-enzyme Q10?

My initial dr did reduce my prescription after I was taking alternating doses of the euthyrox 0.1mg and 0.05mg because my thyroid hormones went too high, I was then switched to 0.025mg Euthyrox, the hormones became too low, and now I’m switched to the 0.05mg which seems to have stabilized the hormones compared to before.

I also feel drs seem to ignore hashis, I haven’t received any advice on it besides getting my hypothyroidism treated with Euthyrox. I have done scans, X-rays and sonars - I do have a bit of thyroid nodules on my thyroid gland, but gland itself is still normal in side, I don’t have any goiters or swelling.

Ok thank you, will try the gluten free diet, I hardly consume any dairy as well as I feel dairy upsets my stomach, besides for cheese.

Will try the selenium supplement, what dose of selenium do you recommend as a safe daily dose ?

Thank you for your detailed advice, highly appreciated.

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