Blood tests are back! - Total confusion!!! - Thyroid UK

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Blood tests are back! - Total confusion!!!

OudMood profile image
21 Replies

Some test results are back! - But I’m not sure if any are interesting at all!

Before I start.. I am NOT on any Thyroid medication.

Reference:

⬆️ = Has gone up since previous test

⬇️ = Has gone down since previous test

❗️ = outside of range

[..] = previous results in Dec 2020 as requested (same reference values as current test)

Results:

Vit D 71 (30-200) ⬆️- [27] taking 4,000iu a day

Serum B12 681 (191 - 663) ⬆️❗️[556]

Folate 8.7 (3.9 - 26.8) ⬆️ [2.7] supplementing

Ferritin 66.7 (30 - 400) ⬆️❗️[62]

Total Cholesterol 4.8 (1.5 - 5.2) ⬇️ [5.3 Dec, 4.1 Mar]

Triglycerides 1.26 (0 - 2.26) ⬇️ [2.19]

HDL 0.97 (1.15-1.68) ⬇️❗️[1.09]

LDL 3.3 (0 - 3) ⬆️❗️[3.2]

Non-HDL 3.8 (none) ⬇️ [4.2]

Alkaline phosphate 63 (30 - 130) ⬇️ [89]

Inorganic phosphate 1.89 (0.8 - 1.5) ⬆️❗️[1.26]

ALT 10 (0 - 33) ⬆️ [6 Mar]

Differential White cell count ⬆️ (overall all values have increased Monocytes and promyelocyte last number or top range)

Hba1c 45 (0-41) ⬇️⬇️⬇️✅ [69 Mar]

Platelet 416 (150 - 400) ⬆️❗️[386]

Plasma ACTH “No Result” [n/a]

NT-proBNP 17 (0 - 400) [n/a]

Cortisol CGH 166 (171 - 536) ❗️[n/a]

TSH 4.94 (0.27 - 4.2) ⬇️❗️[5.63 Mar]

FT4 15.8 (12 - 22) ⬆️ [16 in Mar, 14.3 Dec]

FT3 - waiting ? [n/a]

TPO - waiting [33 in Jan 2019]

TG - waiting [n/a]

I’ll be updating the post as new results come in..

But these are throwing me off.. it’s like everything is not where I expected it to be??

My TSH has decreased and FT4 increased ??🤦🏼‍♀️

I’m starting to feel like I’m imagining things I swear.

I also feel like the GP will think I’m lying 😥😥😥

(The only thing I could think of that may have helped to lower TSH is… I do cupping and in the past 6 weeks I’ve done treatment on myself twice and i just realised the points I did are for the thyroid.. and that explains why they were extremely dark purple 🙊 - I kinda wish I hadn’t.. so the GP could have seen the bad blood test results 😂)

The cholesterol thing is a bit weird.. I know it’s possibly a hypo symptom.. but the overall level has gone down (good) but the HDL has worsened and it’s weird because I eat a lot of good fat and not so much rubbish as I’m doing Keto. (I eat lots of avocados, coconut oil, peanut/almond butter, salmon, mackerel, eggs etc)

I’m also confused as to why my B12 is elevated (it was historically 781, 815, 556 and now 681 - Same ref ranges).

Also elevated platelets and white cells may indicate autoimmune response..

Do the above tell you anything? 🤔

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OudMood profile image
OudMood
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21 Replies
Lalatoot profile image
Lalatoot

Keto diet is not recommended for hypo folks as it impairs the conversion of t4 to t3. The main reason why carbs affect thyroid function so directly is because insulin is needed for the conversion of the inactive T4 hormone into the active T3 hormone, and insulin is generally quite low on very low carbohydrate diets.

chriskresser.com/is-a-low-c...

OudMood profile image
OudMood in reply toLalatoot

thanks.Unfortunately I have Type 1 diabetes and I have really bad insulin resistance..

before i was taking around 180u of insulin a day and after moving to keto, my insulin needs dropped in half!

The insulin wasn't for food either.. it was to maintain background control.

I'm also still on a lot of exogenous insulin regardless due to the insulin resistance.. so should be not so bad, I hope.

Unfortunately, If I go back on carbs my Hba1C will go through the roof again... and that may be even worse... 😑😒

Is there a way to improve the conversion, do you know?

Unfortunately, it seems that what is good for diabetes, is not good for pcos or thyroid, what is good for thhyroid and pcos is not good for diabetes and so on 😭

and the intersection to make everyone happy is just air, water and sleep! 😂😂😂

Jazzw profile image
Jazzw in reply toOudMood

While keto isn’t recommended by some for hypothyroidism, others aren’t quite so anti. Because it seems to work for a good many people with hypothyroidism, absence of insulin or not. I think it’s a suck it and see situation. I’ve looked into this recently and the consensus seems to be that strict keto might cause issues but introducing slightly more carbs (in the form of vegetables) can make all the difference.

Like you say, you’ve still got some exogenous insulin coming in, so maybe it’s less of an issue. I think in your situation I wouldn’t want to increase my carbs too much either.

My diet is lowish carb these days—not what’s described as “keto” (which is generally considered to be no more than 20g carb per day). I probably have somewhere between 30-40g per day, sometimes up to 50g, so stay in ketosis most of the time. But—I do take NDT so again, maybe the fact that I have some T3 coming in without the need for my liver to convert T4 to T3 is what makes the difference for me personally. I just don’t feel well on a higher carb diet these days and my weight is now very very slowly coming down.

I don’t think the drop in your TSH is statistically significant—though it’s frustrating from a “getting a diagnosis” point of view that it isn’t higher. It does fluctuate quite a bit even in those with normal thyroid function. But yours is elevated and indicative of a struggling thyroid.

OudMood profile image
OudMood in reply toJazzw

Thank you Jazzw!I was honestly hoping to see a reply like yours! phew..😅

First of all.. you really can still be considered Keto as long as you stay in ketosis.

I have to say I feel very poor when I do eat carbs and much prefer either a higher protein or higher fat diet.

I do eat quite a bit of vegetables to be fair and thats where my carbs come from.

I do try to stay within 20-25g a day and to be fair unfortunately some days I need to force-feed myself as I'm just not really hungry 😩

I'll see what my GP thinks this week and take it from there... I hope they can still diagnose as lately I've been a zombie and I am really struggling..

And my professional and personal life are really taking a hit. To make it worse I'm in a position where I need to give 200% of myself and I just can't.

But they say you can't pour from an empty cup.. don't they!

Jazzw profile image
Jazzw in reply toOudMood

:) I’ve been doing low carb on and off since long before it was called “keto” or “Low Carb High Fat”. An old idea got hijacked and rebranded, presumably to get away from all the bad press that poor Dr Atkins really didn’t deserve….

You’ve definitely got a lot going on there, so here’s hoping you have a sensible doctor. I’d be surprised if your TPO levels didn’t come back positive and that should help with convincing him/her that a trial of Levo wouldn’t go amiss.

I’ve just had a look at that Chris Kresser article again. I’ve not seen anywhere else in my reading (apart from the places where he’s been quoted) that insulin is a factor in T4-T3 conversion. Not saying he’s wrong, but it’s strange that I haven’t seen it elsewhere.

OudMood profile image
OudMood in reply toJazzw

You’ve definitely got a lot going on there, so here’s hoping you have a sensible doctor.I definitely do! 😂😭

I hope my doc will help me out! 🤞

If not honestly I'll try to artificially raise my TSH and test then so they can't fob me off

😂😂😂 Although I don't think that's possible 😅

Not saying he’s wrong, but it’s strange that I haven’t seen it elsewhere.

That's interesting!

Well... I think that honestly I'd rather have a good blood sugar control and maybe manage the conversion issue in an exogenous way. As unfortunately there's no other way of improving my diabetes otherwise... and that can be much more serious than anything...

Thank you again! :)

Josephineinamachine profile image
Josephineinamachine in reply toOudMood

I stick to a low carb diet as well. I find sugar very inflammatory and it makes me feel unwell - I get very hot and puffy!. Low carb makes me feel on an even keel, but then I’ve been on this ‘diet’ for years (I don’t use it to lose weight but to just manage it).

jgelliss profile image
jgelliss in reply toJosephineinamachine

I have the same experiences as yourself. I feel that sugar makes me more hungry and very fatigued. I get this reactions with anything with gluten and dairy too.

Josephineinamachine profile image
Josephineinamachine in reply tojgelliss

I can’t eat yogurt - even plain. I think it’s the lactose which I think turns to sugar in the body?. I was drinking loads of soya milk (on advice from my GP for menopause) 😳 obviously stopped that now. Now drink Hemp milk which is okay - but it does taste of hemp 🤔 I’ve been gluten free for years because I’m intolerant and had the same thing with that when I used to eat it. I do eat berries as they’re good for fibre and don’t spike sugar levels. I wonder if spiking sugar levels can lead to big dips which makes the hunger come? And also the tired?

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toJosephineinamachine

Lactose is a sugar. Also known as milk sugar.

The enzyme lactase is required to digest lactose.

Lactose digestion from yogurt: mechanism and relevance

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/246...

jgelliss profile image
jgelliss in reply toJosephineinamachine

You might want to try Almond Milk Yogurt. That might be more acceptable for your system.

Josephineinamachine profile image
Josephineinamachine in reply tojgelliss

I haven’t tried that…I use coconut yogurt but think I might prefer almond. Thank you! 😊

BrynGlas profile image
BrynGlas in reply toLalatoot

I have never heard that before! I haven't eaten carbs (except for vegetables) for a long time and I occasionally have flaxseed flatbreads which I make myself.

But I am doing gluten free too, so what now??????

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

As you have type 1 diabetes and PCOS it’s highly likely that cause is autoimmune thyroid disease

OudMood profile image
OudMood in reply toSlowDragon

Yep, that's really what I have been thinking all along to be fair. Just looking to get a diagnosis now..

Any suggestions on how to make the GP more likely to do a scan of my Thyroid?

I have a feeling the lab is not about to test TGab and that my TPOab will come back in range again 😒

But a scan may reveal existing damage...

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toOudMood

Cost of private ultrasound £150

vista-health.co.uk/services...

With two results with TSH over range you should be offered trial on levothyroxine

High TG antibodies can be due to Type 1 diabetes

healthline.com/health/antit...

My B12 was also elevated at my last test. Both GP and Endo dismissed it as a problem 😊 BUT I would query it yourself to put your mind at rest.

JAmanda profile image
JAmanda

You are slightly hypothyroid so likely you’d feel better on meds.

Miffie profile image
Miffie

Have you discussed with your GP your double diabetes situation? I know you had not heard of it previously. At the present time in your shoes Id be pushing for that to be dealt with before trying to get a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. TheGP may well be more on the ball re hypothyroidism once you query treatment for your double diabetes.Are you under the care of an endo? If so push them for thyroid testing. If not tell GP that with double diabetes and no proper care you need a referral.

Ari3 profile image
Ari3

Hi there ,

Regards cupping …I’m doing dry cupping every two weeks and acupuncture does it help with thyroid or did cupping help you with results did it lower anything ?

SweeTea92 profile image
SweeTea92

Going by TSH alone. It is way too high. Indicative of hypothyroid. Should be closer to 1.

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