1ST PRIVATELY DONE BLOOD TEST

[DarkHorseJen]

Hi all, please would you helpful people have a look at my recent blood results. Everything seems to be in range. Does this mean there is nothing wrong with me thyroid wise!! Thanks for any help or advice offered.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

DarkHorseJen

CRP is good. As an inflammation marker, the lower the better.

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Ferritin: 18.6 (13-150)

This is absolutely dire and confirms iron deficiency according to NICE:

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

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. You can have iron deficiency with or without anaemia.

Symptoms of low ferritin include:

◾Weakness

◾Fatigue

◾Difficulty concentrating

◾Poor work productivity

◾Cold hands and feet

◾Poor short-term memory

◾Difficulty remembering names

◾Dizziness

◾Pounding in the ears

◾Shortness of breath

◾Brittle nails

◾Headaches

◾Restless legs

Symptoms of iron deficiency can mirror or coincide with those in thyroid disease. They include:

◾Persistent fatigue

◾Pale skin

◾Shortness of breath

◾Headaches

◾Dizziness

◾Heart palpitations

◾Dry skin

◾Brittle hair and hair loss

◾Swelling or soreness of the tongue or mouth

◾Restless legs

◾Brittle or ridged nails

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Magnesium - Testing magnesium is unreliable. About 99% of magnesium is stored in bone, muscles and soft tissues, leaving about 1% in the blood. So testing what's in the blood isn't giving an accurate picture of our magnesium status.

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Cortisol seems OK assuming you did your test between 6am-10am.

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Thyroid Function - a normal healthy person would have a TSH no higher than 2, often around 1, with FT4 mid-range-ish.

Your TSH at 3.99 is very close to the top of the range and too high for a normal healthy person.

Your FT4 at 13 (12-22) is just 10% through range and very low for a normal healthy person.

These two results show that you are on your way to hypothyroidism but unfortunately your levels aren't yet bad enough for diagnosis. TSH needs to be over 10 for a diagnosis of Primary Hypothyroidsm, or an over range TSH with below range FT4 should get a diagnosis.

Your body will continue to make as much FT3 as possible as this is the active hormone that every cell in our bodies need.

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Thyroid antibodies are low so those results don't suggest autoimmune thyroid disease (aka Hashimoto's).

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Vit D is on the low side at 66nmol/L. 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.

To reach the recommended level from your current level, you could supplement with 3,500-4,000iu D3 daily.

Retest after 3 months.

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:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

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. 90-100mcg K2-MK7 is enough for up to 10,000iu D3.

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.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

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B12: 415pmol/L = 562pg/ml which is adequate but could be better.

According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:

"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".

"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."

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Folate: 10.7 (8.83-60.8) This is too low. Folate is recommended to be at least half way through range, so that would be about 35+ with that range.

To improve both B12 and folate levels you could supplement with a good quality, bioavailable B Complex. My preference is Thorne Basic B. If you look at different brands then look for the words "bioavailable" or "bioactive" and ensure they contain methylcobalamin (not cyanocobalamin) and methylfolate (not folic acid). Avoid any that contain Vit C as this stops the body from using the B12. Vit C and B12 need to be taken 2 hours apart.

When taking a B Complex we should leave this off for 3-7 days before any blood test because it contains biotin and this gives false results when biotin is used in the testing procedure (which most labs do).

[DarkHorseJen in reply to SeasideSusie]

Wow susie many thanks for your full and comprehensive information. All the results make it seem like you are falling in range it will be interesting to see if my own GP even comments on this blood test. I am always tired, have very fine thin falling out hair, and am very forgetful along with a whole host of other minor symptoms. What do I need to say to my GP to get myself feeling more alive or should I just self prescribe and just buy all the supplements you have listed above. Many thanks again.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to DarkHorseJen]

DarkHorseJen

You really must ensure that your GP does something about your Ferritin level. Don't let him say it's fine because it's within range, quote the NICE statement and ask for an iron panel to confirm. Iron tests should be done after a 12 hour fast (water allowed). List any symptoms from those lists. He should prescribe iron tablets, these should be taken with Vit C to aid absorption and should be taken 2 hours away from any other supplements or medication because iron affects their absorption.

The other vitamins you will need to self supplement, doctors will only prescribe to bring levels into range and yours are low but not deficient.

Don't start all supplements at once, add them in one at a time with 1-2 weeks between adding a new one. That way if you have any adverse reaction you will know what caused it.

As for your thyroid results, I would keep an eye on them. Maybe retest in a couple of months. Do the test no later than 9am with water only before the test. Leave off B Complex (or any supplement containing Biotin) for 3-7 days before the test. You are looking for an over range TSH and/or below range FT4.

[DarkHorseJen in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks susie I will go in armed with these details.

[greygoose]

No, it doesn't mean that at all. Just being in-range is not the same as being optimal. The ranges are so wide that it's where the results fall in the range that counts.

Your ferritin is abysmal! You need a full iron panel to see what's going on there, and why your ferritin is so low.

Magnesium test results are unreliable, so ignore that.

Your TSH is far too high. A euthyroid (normal) TSH is around 1, never over 2, and when it reaches 3 you are technically hypo. Unfortunately, the NHS wants it to get to 10 before they will diagnose. But, if you have symptoms, it's not surprising because you are hypo according to these results. Is this the first thyroid blood test you've had?

Your FT4 is much too low. Euthyroid FT4 is around mid-range.

Your FT3 is a bit better, nearly mid-range, but this often happens when the thyroid is failing. It makes more T3 than T4 to save on time and energy and keep you alive.

Antibodies appear to be negative, but that doesn't mean you don't have Hashi's. You still could have.

Your vit D is on the low-side, would be better around 100.

And, finally, I would want my B12 and folate higher than that - B12 over 550, and folate over mid-range.

So, there's quite a lot wrong, actually.

[DarkHorseJen]

Again many thanks for your help and advice. As I said to seaside susie I would have normally just looked at these and said well that’s that then I’m ok. Which I think is what my GP does as they hardly ever comment on blood tests I’ve had in the past. The last TSH I had done was over 5 years ago so not got anything really to compare it too. However I’m sure my TSH was over 2 back then. I’m assuming that because NHS doesn’t treat thyroid until it’s over 10 then I am wasting my time asking them to do something about it now. I am constantly tired, losing hair and quite forgetful as main symptoms but do tick quite a few of the other anaemic symptoms too. Again many thanks for your advice.