I recently had 2 blood tests done, one with Medichecks and one with NHS . Due to location I did the tests a day apart but both at 9.05am.
Here are my results with medicheck:
TSH- 4.5 (0.27-4.2)
Free T3 - 6.13 (3.1 -6.8)
Free Thyroxine - 13.2 (12-22)
Thyroglobulin Antibody - 280 (less than 115)
(previously 79.5)
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies - 152 (less than 34)
(previously 109)
My result with the NHS:
TSH - 3.6 (0.4-4.9)
I am a bit upset because I was hoping my NHS result would be out of range so they could start treating me instead it was only my medichecks that was out of range which means my endocrinologist doesn't see a problem so wont treat.
I am currently gluten and dairy free, and I have been working on improving my VIT D levels as this is also low as it was when I last checked 3 years ago with Medichecks. When I check my Vit D with my GP its always within range however with Medichecks it is always too low, which is frustrating.
Does anyone have any recommendations as to how else I can reduce my antibodies and why my Vit D levels are not increasing?
Also, not sure if this is to do with my Thyroid but, I also have not had a cold or flu for the last 5 years since I started experiencing hair loss, weight gain, and cold feet and hands. Is this related to my antibodies being high?
Many thanks!
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Annieza
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I use a magnesium spray for my knees every other day and I take Selenium and Vitamin C from Cytoplan. I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can but I'm always constipated so I'm worried I have gut issues but dont know where to get this tested as my GP tells me its just IBS. I also take Omega's as well and take Slippery Elm, although I have only started this one recently.
Huh if taken same time how can there be such a big difference in the TSH? That doesn't make any sense. To be fair though it is ever so slightly out even if the GP had the medicheck one they may have still said the same thing!
Maybe could it be due to a time difference of when medichecks test as that has to be posted off and NHS are quicker and more blood to test? I'm not really sure how it works with them, but it is weird if there is such a difference as I thought they were tested in the same sort of labs. I would contact medichecks and see if they could explain why there is such a difference when taken the same day but a day apart?
Maybe they are using different ranges to the GP for the vitamin D?
Even when the blood is taken at the same time of day, it's not surprising if there are variations in TSH levels. The TSH is produced by the pituitary in accordance with your thyroid hormone levels, which can also vary - especially when you have Hashi's. But, it has nothing to do with the time the test was done.
Does anyone have any recommendations as to how else I can reduce my antibodies and why my Vit D levels are not increasing?
Reducing your antibody levels won't have any effect on your Hashi's, or your hypothyroidism. Antibodies vary all the time, but it is not an indication that your Hashi's is getting worse if they rise. The antibodies tend to be highest just after an autoimmune attack on the thyroid, when they come along to clean up traces of TPO and Tg that have leaked into the blood. They do not do the attacking themselves. So, from that point of view, it doesn't matter how high or how low they are.
How much vit D are you taking? Maybe you're just not taking enough. Are you also taking the cofactors: magnesium and vit K2-MK7?
Hi, sorry for the late reply, I've been struggling with brain fog lately so kept forgetting to respond!
Am I right in thinking that an 'attack' comes from something I ate like gluten or dairy? I thought TPO and TG were the actual antibodies?
I'm taking vitamin D from Cytoplan as recommended by a few of my friends. It is 4000 IU and is combined with K2-mk7 although I'm looking for the spray or a soft gel. I use a magnesium spray for my joints, would that be enough?
There are many theories about what causes immune system attacks on the thyroid, but no actual proof. I should imagine that it could be a number of things. Or nothing at all, the attacks being entirely random. Some people thing the attacks are due to inflammation, and gluten and dairy can cause inflammation in some people. I admit, I have no theories at all. As far as I can see, it's entirely random.
The reason it is often recommended that Hashi's people go gluten-free - and less often dairy-free - is that having Hashi's can make you dairy/gluten-sensitive. So, cutting them out can help with symptoms. I tried both and they did absolutely nothing for me.
Tg and TPO are types of protein found in the cells of the thyroid, necessary for the production of thyroid hormone. They are supposed to stay in the thyroid, but during an immune system attack they can leak into the blood, from the dying cells, where they're not supposed to be. So, the Tg and TPO antibodies come along to clean them up.
I'm taking vitamin D from Cytoplan... I'm looking for the spray or a soft gel.
So, I take it the vit D from Cytoplan is a tablet? If so, do you take it with some form of dietary fat, like a piece of cheese, or a plate of chips? Both vit D and vit K2 are fat soluble, so need to be taken with fat to be absorbed.
Hi Thank you so much! I'm reading so much about this I'm starting to confuse myself...I take my Vit D with my dinner and that usually has fats with it.
The cytoplan Vit D has K2 with it but I have ordered soft gels and the spray.
Hi, yeh I thought it was really weird too...I was hoping for both to be high so my endocrinologist would take me seriously so these results will make them fob me even more.I tried to recreate the same conditions for both in terms of what I ate the night before and what time I went to bed but still there was a big difference...
Your T3 is a really good level even if your t4 is on the low side - not sure taking Levo will make you feel better as you could quickly go over range on T3. Better to focus for now on getting vitamins optimised perhaps. I often find a variation in tests between Medichecks and nhs.
Thanks for your reply, sorry for responding to you late, my brain fog is awful!I'm confused about my T3 as I thought it was converted from T4, so if my T4 is low, how is it being converted so well into T3?
I think you're right, I will focus on my vitamins as I'm really tired of trying to get the NHS docs to take me seriously
"I'm confused about my T3 as I thought it was converted from T4, so if my T4 is low, how is it being converted so well into T3? "
It does make sense.. i'll try and explain
The T3 we get comes from 2 sources:
A little T3 is made directly in the thyroid (along with T4)
Most T3 is converted from T4 by the cells in various parts of the body.
These sources of T3 do not operate at a fixed rate. The rate of production from the thyroid, AND the rate of conversion from T4 are infinitely variable, in response to complex influences , including the TSH level.
(This is due to things called deiodinases ,these do the 'conversion' by removing one iodine atom from T4, to make T3 )
There are 3 deiodinases doing slightly different jobs , but put simply~ TSH makes the deiodiases work more efficiently , so when you have higher TSH you get more T3 from conversion and more T3 produced by the thyroid.
(and when you have very, very low TSH, you get less T3 from conversion and less T3 from the thyroid)
The purpose of this is TSH enhancement is when the pituitary senses you are low on stores of T4, the TSH goes up , stimulating some extra T3 (which works immediately, unlike T4) to keep everything in your body working,
If there is no problem with they thyroid, then the T4 production will catch up again (also stimulated by the higher TSH)
And then when there is enough T4 and T3, the TSH will lower again , and you would go back to your normal rate of T3 production from the thyroid and conversion.
But if there is a problem with the thyroid and it is struggling to make enough T4 in response to the request from TSH , then we see result like yours ...
Low fT4 ~ causing:
High TSH ~ which in turn is causing:
High fT3 ~in a desperate attempt to keep you functioning despite the low availability of T4 to convert to T3.
Hope that makes some sort of sense. I probably should have had a cup of coffee before trying to write it .....
You sound subclinical. TSH is rising and your body is converting more FT4 to FT3 in an effect to retain wellbeing, and it is unlikely you will be prescribed Levothyroxine until thyroid hormones drop further & TSH rises.
Conventional medicine doesn’t recognise the havoc Hashi plays with the body outside of the thyroid gland and just waits until enough gland has been destroyed when Levothyroxine can replace missing hormones.
Both of your antibody levels are raised as the result of the thyroid attack by the immune system and you are doing right trying to reducing antibodies which when coupled with symptoms are a good indicator of what is going on.
You are gluten & diary free which members find helpful. Also optimising iron and nutrients becomes all important, and supplementing selenium which has been proven to help reduce TPOAb’s. Raising Vit D will also help as is an immune modulator and Vit C is good at reducing inflammation. Think of an excess of antibodies as inflammation which can be very damaging and even alter the physiology of thyroid function and other body systems.
Interesting you haven't suffered a cold in the last five years of attacks and presumably because WBC's are riding high. A good read on understanding the progression of Hashimotos is 'The Root Cause' by Izabella Wentz.
Hi, thanks so much for your response, that's really helpful.
'Interesting you haven't suffered a cold in the last five years of attacks and presumably because WBC's are riding high'.
Do you know what I could read to better understand what you have said above? What do you mean by my WBC riding high?
My last full blood count showed that my Immunglobulin IGE was 734 (range 2-214). My Mean cell HB was 26.3 (27-30), mean cell Hb concn was 314 (317-340) and my monocytes were 0.46 (0.00 -0.39)
Do these results have anything to do with my immune system and why I don't get sick do you think?
I know you might not be an expert but if you could point me in the right direction that would be great.
You asked if the absence of a cold was related to elevated thyroid antibodies.
I replied it’s more likely the result of elevated WBC’s involved with the autoimmune attack. These levels can stay high for several years until it becomes unsustainable and/or the thyroid gland is completely destroyed.
Re your results simply put, red blood cells transport oxygen, white blood cells are involved in destroying pathogens, etc.
Under range mean cell HB indicates insufficient haemoglobin & possible (early onset) anemia as does MCHC. However these readings would need to be considered in respect of symptoms and other lab results such as iron.
Monocytes are a type of white blood cell & elevate in the presence of infections. Equally could be raised after being caught up in the whole immune response to the autoimmunity, although it is lymphocytes that infiltrate the thyroid gland & destroy tissue.
IgE allergy antibodies are commonly high in people with autoimmune conditions, even in the presence of non-obvious allergy.
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