Please help decipher my blood test results, many thanks

[AceKingQueen]

Hi,

Please could you help decipher my latest blood test readings recently completed by medichecks, I value your opinions regarding this, I have a phone appt with my Doc on Thurs.

Thank you 😊

TSH

Range 0.27 - 4.2

Result 0.24 mu/l

FREE T3

Range 3.1 - 6.8

Result 5.01 pmol/l

FREE THYROXINE

Range 12 - 22

Result 19 pmol/l

AUTOIMMUNITY

Thyroglobulin

Range <115

Result 15.3 iu/ml

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies

Range <34

Result 52.3 iu/ml

Again I really appreciate your responses.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

AceKingQueen

You know you have Hashi's and those results are looking quite good with TSH nice and low, FT4 is 70% through range and FT3 is 51.62% through range.

Did you do the test as we advise :

* No later than 9am

* Nothing to eat or drink except water before the test

* Last dose of Levo 24 hours before the test

* No B Complex or Biotin supplement for 3-7 days before the test.

What thyroid meds are you currently taking?

How do you feel?

[AceKingQueen in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi, good morning, thank you for your reply.Yes I followed all the advice, I'm aware of the hashis but it is new to me this year my last thyroid peroxidase result was 74.9 this time 52.3, I'm still learning about it all.

I think I feel fine, it's difficult to judge because I'm menopausal and have just been diagnosed with high blood pressure so other factors in the mix so I'm not sure what's normal anymore!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to AceKingQueen]

AceKingQueen

Antibody levels fluctuate so you will often find differences, but there's no need to test them again, you have Hashi's, it wont go away so there's just no need for retesting (unless they're part of the test bundle anyway, just don't pay extra for them).

It might be a good idea to test nutrient leels - Vit D, B12, Folate, Ferritin - as these all need to be optimal for thyroid hormone to work properly and good conversion of T4 to T3, particularly ferritin.

Do you take any supplements at all? Or medication? Remember to leave at least 2 hours between taking Levo and anything else, some need 4 hours.

[AceKingQueen in reply to SeasideSusie]

I asked had vitamin levels checked the results of those are:FOLATE

Range >3.89

Result 4.49

VIT B12 ACTIVE

Range 37.5 - 188

Result 78.7 pmol/l

VIT D

Range 50 -200

Result 43 nmol/l

FERRITIN

Range 13 -150

Result 134 ug/l

CRP HS

Range 0 - 5

Result 1.23 mg/l

I've bought a vitamin d spray to help address that result.

I'm on 100mg of thyroxine last time I had tests I was on 75mg and they were increased after those results.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to AceKingQueen]

AceKingQueen

Most of those need improving.

FOLATE: 4.49 (>3.89)

The actual range is 3.89-19.45 and folate should be at least half way through it's range, so you can see yours is very low.

VIT B12 ACTIVE: 78.7 (37.5 - 188)

Active B12 below 70 suggests testing for B12 deficiency, you are a little way above that but with that range I would be looking for a level over 100.

If those were my results I would supplement with B12 sublingual lozenges - one bottle only - along with a good quality B Complex to keep all the B vitamins balanced and should also raise folate level. Once the bottle of B12 is finished then just carry on with the B Complex.

My choice of supplements would be

B12 - just one bottle - Cytoplan - cytoplan.co.uk/vitamin-b12-...

B Complex - 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).

VIT D: 43nmol/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 5,000iu D3 daily.

Retest after 3 months.

Once you've reached the recomended 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...

FERRITIN: 134 (13-150)

This seems to be a good level. Do you supplement?

Ferritin can be raised when there is infection or inflammation but your CRP (which is an inflammation marker) isn't raised so this could be your normal ferritin level.

CRP HS: 1.23 (0-5)

As this is an inflammation marker then the lower the level the better. This isn't too bad.

[AceKingQueen in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for all the advice and info, I don't take any supplements at the moment apart from the vit D spray which I've just bought. Appreciate your help 😊

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to AceKingQueen]

How much Vit D are you taking? You really need 5,000iu daily and I think the sprays are 1,000iu for each spray.

Don't forget the cofactors I mentioned above - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7.

[AceKingQueen in reply to SeasideSusie]

I bought one called better you and it's D3000, I wasn't really sure what I was doing so will definitely address it now along with your other suggestions, thanks 😃

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to AceKingQueen]

Is it this one

betteryou.com/products/vita...

If so then 1 spray = 3,000iu so if I had your current level I'd take 2 sprays daily and retest in 3 months.

[AceKingQueen in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes that's the one!You're a star, thank you