My friend who has no thyroid condition had her bloods checked recently. She has cold hands, feet and nose all the time. Lack of energy. She also lives with insomnia. Her blood results look pretty low to me and her TSH a bit high. What would you say?
T4 14.5 (range 12-22) 25% through
T3 4.2 (range 3.1-6.8) 30% through
TSH 1.80 (range 0.27-4.2) 41% through
She did this private test at 9am before food. Her GP will only test TSH. She takes Ferris Fumerate 210mcg for low ferritin. And also takes Vit D spray to lift her low level vit D. Both vitamins are now optimal. Her folate and B12 are ok and don’t need supplements. Her GP won’t test antibodies as her TSH is within range. She also has a history of high cholesterol always above 6 as high as 6.7 Her GP insists it’s ok even when all her cholesterol blood results say abnormal
Your thoughts please. Thank you.
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Hi. She is post menopause aged 64. Not sure if she’s had oestrogen and progesterone tested. She’s had her TSH tested a few times in the recent past each time it’s been around 2.5 on an NHS result (0.35-5.50 range). They won’t check T4 or T3 so she did a Monitor My Health thyroid check this week to check. Just thought her T4 and T3 look pretty low for a euthyroid person.
HiShe’s been working on her ferritin and vit D for years now. She is a vegetarian and I believe she doesn’t eat enough. She’s 5’10” and weighs 9st 5lbs. Always watching her figure. I think she needs to eat more. No breakfast and a tiny lunch but does have a normal dinner. This could be the reason for a sluggish/low blood test maybe. Could be why she doesn’t sleep well as all her food intake is mainly after 6pm. Just my observations.
Not sure about her B12 and folate figures but I don’t think they’ll be very good either. From memory I think they are just within range. Her GP won’t help basically with anything.
She did take B12 for a while but it went way over at 2100. She decided to do the thyroid test to see what her levels are and see if there’s any connection with her terrible sleepless nights. Her cholesterol is way too high and her eye sight is getting worse. She has pains in her neck and shoulders too. It’s so difficult trying to get a Dr to help in anyway it seems.
I think maybe she could improve her diet for starters.
Folate and ferritin at least half way through range
Vitamin D at least over 80nmol
Obviously it’s extremely difficult on vegetarian diet to maintain good iron/ferritin
All vegetarian’s need to take daily B12
Suggest she starts on a daily vitamin B complex
supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid) may be beneficial. This can help keep all B vitamins in balance and will help improve B12 levels too
Thorne Basic B or Jarrow B Right are recommended options that contains folate, but both are large capsules. (You can tip powder out if can’t swallow capsule)
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
If she has serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a B12 supplement as well as a B Complex (to balance all the B vitamins) initially for first 2-4 months, then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
The present review of the literature regarding B12 status among vegetarians shows that the rates of B12 depletion and deficiency are high. It is, therefore, recommended that health professionals alert vegetarians about the risk of developing subnormal B12 status. Vegetarians should also take preventive measures to ensure adequate intake of this vitamin, including the regular intake of B12 supplements to prevent deficiency. Considering the low absorption rate of B12 from supplements, a dose of at least 250 μg should be ingested for the best results.3
Retest full thyroid and vitamin levels after 6-8 weeks
Thank you so much for the very informative details. I’ll speak to her about starting a B complex regimen. It’s such a struggle for her not sleeping hardly night after night for months on end. I’d be dead without my sleep.
I used to be cold all the time (but I ate plenty!) and what helped me was massively improving my iron and ferritin. It didn't actually affect my body temperature (which was always low) - I just felt warmer.
Thank you. She takes Ferris Fumerate 210mcg daily. She complains about cold hands and feet a lot. I think she needs more food and more vitamins. Our bodies need to be nourished and looked after I tell her 🙄. Years of dieting and not eating decent food can take its toll. Maybe her thyroid is sluggish to try and keep her body going with the minimal amount of food/energy it has. It doesn’t get much food so it’s conserving energy. A bit like being in starvation mode.
Ferrous fumarate 210mg contains 69mg pure iron per tablet. Just for future reference the maximum dose of the tablets is one tablet, three times a day. See the BNF here, for details of the therapeutic dose :
Thank you. She takes one a day currently. I also need to take one a day or my levels drop. I’m a vegetarian which poses vitamin problems. Thank you so much for your help today. I really appreciate it👍
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