Medichecks blood results, advice needed please.

[Ste1]

Hi all, I have recently had blood tests done via Medichecks, blood drawn at 07.00am and last dose of Levothyroxine 22 hrs earlier, in hindsight I know it should have been 24 hrs earlier. I have been supplementing with B12 and folate for approx 4 months as advised by GP and following previous advice on this forum. My main concerning symptoms at the moment is resting bradycardia and occasional ectopic heart beats, pie crust tongue, which is sometimes sore and dry skin. I can see that Vitamin D needs addressing. But are my bloods showing that I may need to review my levothyroxine daily dosage of 125mg or any changes to vitamin supplementing Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Vitamin D needs improving

How much vitamin D were you taking

Aiming to improve to at least around 80nmol and around 100nmol maybe better

What’s the B12 result…..can’t read it

Are you currently taking any vitamin B complex or B12

Ft4 is 80% through range

Ft3 only 30% through range

Helpful calculator for working out percentage through range

thyroid.dopiaza.org

Improving low vitamin levels can help improve conversion of Ft4 to Ft3

[Ste1 in reply to SlowDragon]

SD thank you for your reply, apologies the picture is not very clear, results below:

CRP 0.37 mg/l, Range 0 to 5

Ferritin 250 ug/l, Range 30 to 400

Folate >19.8 ug/l, Range >3.89

B12 Active 86.1pmol/L, Range 37.5 to 188.

Vit D 45.1 nmol/L, Range 50 to 200

TSH 0.29 mU/L, Range 0.27 to 4.2

FT3 4.19 pmol/L, Range 3.1 to 6.8

FT4 20 pmol/L, Range 12 to 22

Thyroglobulin Antibodies 11.3 IU/ml, Range <115

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies <9 IU/ml, Range <34.

Not currently taking Vit D.

Have been taking B12 Cyanocobalamin 1mg as prescribed by GP.

Thank you.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Ste1

in hindsight I know it should have been 24 hrs earlier

Don't worry about that, 2 hours wont make any real difference

Assume definitely no B Complex or supplement containing biotin?

Results hard to see because they're so small, better to zoom in on results only and leave out superfluous space and information.

I think:

TSH: 0.29 (0.27-4.20)

FT3: 4.19 (3.1-6.8)

FT4: 20 (12-22)

This shows FT4 80% through range and FT3 only 29.46% through range so they are unbalanced and show poor conversion of T4 to T3.

Your Vit D isn't good, needs to be around the 100-150nmol/L level but I don't think this will play a major part in poor conversion as your other nutrients aren't too bad. Possibly consider adding T3 to your Levo, maybe reducing Levo slightly if adding T3.

Vit D looking at supplementing 5,000iu D3 daily along with important cofactors - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7.

Once you've reached the recommended level (100-150nmol/L) 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.

If looking for a combined D3/K2 supplement, this one has 3,000iu D3 and 50mcg K2-MK7. The company has told me the K2-MK7 is the Trans form

natureprovides.com/collecti...

It may also be available on Amazon

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...

[Ste1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

SS many thanks for your reply. I have provided an update with clearer results to SD. I will take on board your advice re the Vit D and Magnesium. With regards to my symptoms the resting Bradycardia and Ectopic heartbeats are these typically indicative of poor conversion FT3?

Thankyou

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Ste1]

Ste1

Don't forget the Vit K2-MK7 with the D3.

Have been taking B12 Cyanocobalamin 1mg as prescribed by GP.

I would want Active B12 over 100. Your GP wont test Active B12, they only do Total B12.

With regards to my symptoms the resting Bradycardia and Ectopic heartbeats are these typically indicative of poor conversion FT3?

Impossible for me to say I'm afraid, people have those symptoms for other reasons so I don't know if it's connected or not.l

[Ste1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

SS, Vit K2-MK7 with the D3 noted. Thanks again for your help.