I understand from your previous post that you are not diagnosed with a thyroid condition and take no thyroid medication.
TSH- 5.09 ulU/ml (0.35-4.95)
A normal healthy person generally has a TSH of no more than 2, often nearer 1.
T3 Total- 0.87 ng/ml (0.35-1.93)
T4- Total- 5.88 ug/dL (4.87-11.72)
Unfortunately Total T4 and Total T3 are not helpful tests. They measure the total amount of hormone - both bound and unbound (free). It's the unbound/free test that tells us what amount of hormone is available for the cells to use. However, both Total T4/T3 are low in their ranges which suggests that the unbound/free amount could be low too and a normal healthy person would have a Free T4 around mid-range-ish.
Your TSH is over range and telling us that you have an underactive thyroid.
Are you supplementing? This is within the "sufficient" range but the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health both recommend a level of 40-60ng/ml so if you are supplementing you might want to drop the dose down a bit.
Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 55.36% through range so not too bad but could go a bit higher
Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 33.10% so a bit low
Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC): Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is low in range
Unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC): This test measures how much transferrin isn’t attached to iron and unfortunately I don't have any useful information about this
Ferritin: Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation - yours is right at the bottom of the range
Your ferritin is extremely low and will be causing you some problems, eg
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
However, your serum iron and transferrin, although could be a bit better, do not suggest iron deficiency. When results are like this it's often suggested to try and raise ferritin level through diet but it may be a good idea to discuss your iron panel with your doctor and see what he suggests to do about raising your ferritin level. Also discuss your over range TSH because it suggests that you need a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and a prescription for levothyroxine.
However, I didn't understand the Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC). What does this sentence mean - Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron? Should I not take supplements to increase it? I am currently taking injections for B12 deficiency every other day.
Could you pls suggest me the foods I should include more in my diet to increase my ferritin levels?
The problem with iron is that you can take iron supplements in the hope of raising ferritin, but it surprises (and annoys) you by raising serum iron instead. This is also very likely to happen if you tried to increase TIBC. You might find something in your iron and iron-related results that is changing when you don't want it to.
Unfortunately, I don't know any way of telling the body "I want the iron in my ferritin!" The body will do whatever it wants.
TIBC - Total Iron Binding Capacity - this link may be helpful in describing what it does. Click on all the plus signs for further info :
However, I didn't understand the Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC). What does this sentence mean - Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron? Should I not take supplements to increase it?
No, you don't want a high TIBC.
"Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additonal iron" means that your body doesn't want more iron. So low in range is better, high in range would indicate that you would benefit from supplementing with iron.
Could you pls suggest me the foods I should include more in my diet to increase my ferritin levels?
You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
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