I’ve had a full thyroid blood test with medicheck and I’m so glad I did.
I am currently taking 125mg thyroxine daily.
Here are my results-
TSH 18.6 mU/L. (Normal 0.27- 4.2)
Free T3 3.35pmol/L (Normal 3.1-6.8)
Free Thyroxine 12pmol/L (Normal 12-22)
Vitamins-
Folate serum 3.35ug/L (Normal >3.89)
Vitamin B12 - Active 29.8pmol/L (Normal 37.5-188)
Vitamin D 26.5nmol/L (Normal 50-200)
Iron -
Ferritin 28.3ug/L. (Normal 13-150)
I understand from the breakdown that I need lots of vitamins and that my thyroid is still under active but how bad are the results and what info do I need to take to my dr?
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Rpoy82
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I understand from the breakdown that I need lots of vitamins and that my thyroid is still under active. Is everything else ok?
There's only thyroid and vitamins there, so not sure what else you're referring to 😊
Can we assume that you take your Levo as we always advise so that nothing affects it's absorption, i.e. on an empty stomach, one hour before or two hours after food? With water only, and water only for one hour each side? No other medication or supplements taken at the same time, they should be at least 2 hours away from Levo?
Your thyroid results show that you are very hypothyroid. You need to speak to your GP about these. There must be a reason why 125mcg Levo is not working.
What were your thyroid antibody results? I'm wondering if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's).
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You also need to discuss the following with your GP:
Folate serum 3.35ug/L (Normal >3.89)
Below range. Suggestive of possible folate deficiency. See:
◦Serum folate of less than 7 nanomol/L (3 micrograms/L) is used as a guide to indicate folate deficiency.
◦However, there is an indeterminate zone with folate levels of 7–10 nanomol/L (3–4.5 micrograms/L), so low folate should be interpreted as suggestive of deficiency and not diagnostic.
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Vitamin B12 - Active 29.8pmol/L (Normal 37.5-188)
Below range. Active B12 below 70 suggests testing for B12 deficiency according to Viapath at St Thomas' Hospital:
If you do have any then list them to discuss with your GP and ask for testing for B12 deficiency and Pernicious Anaemia. Do not take any B12 supplements or folic acid/folate/B Complex supplements before further testing of B12 as this will mask signs of B12 deficiency and skew results.
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Vitamin D 26.5nmol/L (Normal 50-200)
In some areas Vit D deficiency is diagnosed when level is below 30nmol/L and in some areas it's below 25. Whichever it is in your area this is so near to deficiency that it can't be ignored and I would hope that your GP follows the treatment protocol for deficiency:
"Treat for vitamin D deficiency if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are less than 25 nmol/L.
For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU]) given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenance treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000 IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders.
* Several treatment regimens are available, including 50,000 IU once a week for 6 weeks (300,000 IU in total), 20,000 IU twice a week for 7 weeks (280,000 IU in total), or 4000 IU daily for 10 weeks (280,000 IU in total)."
If your GP offers 800iu or 1,600iu this wont be enough. Come back and tell us what your GP says and what he prescribes.
The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L, with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health mentioning a study which recommends over 125nmol/L. This sort of level should be your aim, regardless of your GP possibly saying that >50 is enough.
Once you've reached the recommended level then a maintenance dose will be needed to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. This can be done with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:
Doctors don't know, because they're not taught much about nutrients, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3. You will have to buy these yourself.
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.
For D3 I like Doctor's Best D3 softgels, they are an oil based very small softgel which contains just two ingredients - D3 and extra virgin olive oil, a good quality, nice clean supplement which is budget friendly. Some people like BetterYou oral spray but this contains a lot of excipients and works out more expensive.
For Vit K2-MK7 I like Vitabay or Vegavero brands which contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid.
Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form, and large doses of D3 can induce depletion of magnesium. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking magnesium as tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.
In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.
Your GP should do an iron panel to confirm iron deficiency and a full blood count to see if you have anaemia.
If you are prescribed iron tablets these should be taken with Vit C to aid absorption and help prevent constipation. Iron should be taken 4 hours away from any thyroid medication and 2 hours away from any other medication and supplements.
Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.
Please make an urgent appointment with your GP, show him these results. He may wish to do his own tests as some don't accept private tests. Please come back and tell us what your GP says and is going to do.
Seaside Susie - that is exactly what I wanted some more detailed info and explanations to clarify everything for me. You’ve helped me a lot and given me lots to look at. It’s funny you said about pernicious anemia because I’ve asked the dr to test me for this before as my dad and Nan both have it and they wouldn’t do any additional testing and just said that my previous blood test that showed low folate and low iron didn’t show anything to show pernicious anemia (that test was over 18 months ago).I’ve basically been feeling completely awful for so long now I was getting desperate and trying to find reasons why I’m so tired and uncomfortable all the time I’m glad I now have more information.
Also, yes I’m taking the medication as you’ve advised every morning I set my alarm 30 minutes early take my medication with water and then get up 30 minutes later and don’t have anything else to drink or eat for another 30 minutes. I haven’t got any results for my antibodies and I’m not sure who would test them?
So those results are well within range and are negative for autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashi's). However, it is possible to have Hashi's without positive antibodies so I wouldn't necessarily rule it out. Plus, of course, antibodies do fluctuate so another test could show raised antibodies.
Your dire nutrient levels are quite typical of a Hashi's patient, Hashi's can cause gut/absorption problems leading to low nutrient levels and deficiencies.
Also there is the familial connection with autoimmune disease - your dad's and nan's PA which really should prompt your GP to test you for PA.
I gave you the link to signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency, also check the symptoms of low ferritin and iron deficiency:
Thank you so much for all your help and information. I definitely feel more prepared and knowledgeable now and will go to my drs prepared.This group has some wonderful people in x
I don’t know if I’m telling you something you already know but you can download a printable copy of your results. Just click on the icon at the top right of your results page..
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Can someone help me understand my blood results please.
Blood Test Results, can someone please help.
Please can someone help me understand my blood results?
Can someone help with my blood results please?
please can someone help me with my iron results.. struggling x
