I have my results back after highlighting my decision to do so on here a few weeks back. I took two panels of tests from different providers: Blue Horizon (test - Premium Gold) and Monitor My Health (MMH), both taken from the same single blood draw at my GP's surgery. Blue Horizon tested the same as MMH and more. The reason for the two tests was simple, to ensure the veracity of both sets: I remember a post on here stating that a GP refused to consider non-NHS results. Should my GP offer a similar excuse, then he would have to consider the plain fact that MMH is the private arm of an NHS laboratory. If the two tests match, then bingo!
The reasons for the tests are threefold:
1. I know something is wrong with my health because of my current issues with post iodine chemotherapy hypothyroidism, or in spite of it. Many of my Graves' (or even Hashimoto's?) symptoms remain despite the iodine chemotherapy and Levothyroxine treatment. Further, I am beginning to see some of the more common and less malevolent manifestations of Graves' or Hashimoto's. I'm fully aware that there could be other causes, especially as my results seem to be within normal parameters, but something's going on.
2. to offer me a wider review of the current state of my body chemistry
3. To make a point to my current doctor and to see whether the new one I'm being offered wants to treat me like a functioning adult, rather than a supine nodding donkey. Enough of that one.
Results. I've tagged on my B12 panel results for interest too as there seems to be some connection when reading between the two Healthunlocked groups. I self-medicate Cyanocobalamin by injection at 1mg a month, a low 'overdose' by any measure; the UK is very conservative when it comes to the use of B12 by responsible adults.
1. First picture attachment: Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold results
2. Blue Horizon Limited Panel B12 results. Tagged onto end of Thyroid results.
3. MMH Thyroid panel. Results in text below in a different format
TSH: 1.4mu/L
T4: 13.7pol/L
T3: 4.9pmol/L
I'm a 61 year old male.
CD
Written by
CyclingDog
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Going through your results in the order that Blue Horizon reports them:
CRP: 6.11 (<5)
Obviously this is over range suggesting inflammation. The fact that your thyroid antibodies are raised could be the cause of this.
Ferritin: 175 (30-400)
On first glance this looks pretty good as ferritin is recommended to be half way through range. However, ferritin can be raised when inflammation or infection is present - CRP is showing inflammation so I suspect that your ferritin is also raised due to inflammation so we don't know exactly what your true ferritin level is.
Magnesium - Testing magnesium is unreliable. About 99% of magnesium is stored in bone, muscles and soft tissues, leaving about 1% in the blood. So testing what's in the blood isn't giving an accurate picture of our magnesium status.
A red cell magnesium test is the better indicator of magnesium status, not the standard serum magnesium test. The red cell test is expensive and requres phlebotomy which is why it's not included in these bundles.
Cortisol - as long as the test was done before 10am then this result sits nicely within the range.
TSH: 1.65 (0.27-4.20)
FT4: 12.6 (12-22)
FT3: 5.08 (3.1-6.8)
Your FT4 is only just in range suggesting hypothyroidism. The body will continue to make T3 as long as possible as this is the active hormone that every cell in our bodies need so it's a life giving hormone and will be the last thing to reduce.
I will add in your Monitor My Health results here and I've added MMH's ranges as well (ranges do differ from lab to lab but MMH do have the same ranges as the private labs although they will very likely differ from your GP's ranges)
TSH: 1.4mu/L (0.27-4.20)
T4: 13.7pol/L (12-22)
T3: 4.9pmol/L (3.1-6.8)
Considering that different platforms will give slightly different results we can consider that these results are on a par with Blue Horizons's - TSH almost the same, slight difference in FT4 and FT3 but this is negligible and acceptable due to the different platforms.
TPO antibodies: 130 (<34)
Tg antibodies: >4,000 (<115)
This shows autoimmune thyroid disease. Your treatment for your Graves disease has obviously made you hypothyroid according to your FT4 result. Normally, without Graves being in the picture, we would say this could suggest Hashimoto's. lt's possible to have Graves and Hashi's running in tandem. I'm not saying you do, just that it's a possibility.
Vit D: 151nmol/L
This is good and at the top of the range recommended by the Vit D Council, Vit D Society and Grassroots Health (100-150nmol/L). It doesn't need to go any higher so if you supplement it's possible that your maintenance dose is a little high and maybe reduce during the summer months as you could be making Vit D naturally from the sun at the moment.
B12 - will be high as you know due to B12 injections.
Folate: We always say it's recommended to be at least half way through range and with that range that would be about 35 plus so you're not too far off. However, I'm not a B12/Folate expert and I see that you've posted about this on the PA forum so they're better placed to make suggestions.
I self-medicate Cyanocobalamin by injection at 1mg a month, a low 'overdose' by any measure;
It would be worth your while to experiment with injecting methylcobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin to see if it makes any difference to how you feel. Reasons for this are given in this link :
I can see that your folate level is well in the range given - it is 36% of the way through the range. But despite that I am surprised at how high it is - most of us struggle to get folate up to a good level. Do you take any supplements that contain folic acid?
Folic acid should be avoided by everyone. It was only developed in 1943, no human had ever taken it before then, and not everyone can covert it into the active form of folate which is
L-Methylfolate.
If people take folic acid, but can't actually convert it into a usable form then blood levels of folate can look very good - because it is unmetabolised folic acid, rather than a form of folate that the body can use.
For info on folate and folic acid see these links :
Thanks for the response SlowDragon. Test taken at 08:50, roughly 24 hrs after last dose of Levo.
I have a strict gluten free diet after diagnosis of food-related IBS 10 or so years ago. IBS symptoms largely disappeared after my removal of wheat from diet. Never tested for celiac.
Levo dose is 125mcg 4 days/week; 150 mcg 3 days/week. GP refused to consider any increase because of potential for thyrotoxicosis. New pharmacy issues Mercury brand for 25mcg tablets. The rest are Accord. No noticeable difference since this, though whatever illness I have has become worse since move last year.
In the majority of patients 50-100 μg thyroxine can be used as the starting dose. Alterations in dose are achieved by using 25-50 μg increments and adequacy of the new dose can be confirmed by repeat measurement of TSH after 2-3 months.
The majority of patients will be clinically euthyroid with a ‘normal’ TSH and having thyroxine replacement in the range 75-150 μg/day (1.6ug/Kg on average).
The recommended approach is to titrate thyroxine therapy against the TSH concentration whilst assessing clinical well-being. The target is a serum TSH within the reference range.
……The primary target of thyroxine replacement therapy is to make the patient feel well and to achieve a serum TSH that is within the reference range. The corresponding FT4 will be within or slightly above its reference range.
The minimum period to achieve stable concentrations after a change in dose of thyroxine is two months and thyroid function tests should not normally be requested before this period has elapsed.
Thanks, another new doctor, new possibilities. 125kg and ballooning. I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been and partly because of this, my mobility has decreased. But mostly because of fatigue I’d say. I used to cycle 20 miles daily and walk miles, only a couple of years back.
Thank you all for your informative replies. I'm most concerned about a possible infection as highlighted by a couple of you and indicated by several specific and combined results. On the basis of all replies and indicators, should I be referred to an endocrinologist to have another look? I was discharged a couple of years ago, not long after the iodine chemo.
On the basis of all replies and indicators, should I be referred to an endocrinologist to have another look?
You can ask and GP can refer, but there's no guarantee that an endo will accept the referral - your thyroid results are in range and that might be the stumbling block, in range results = GP can deal with treatment.
I'm most concerned about a possible infection as highlighted by a couple of you
If you're referring to the CRP then I'm pretty sure this is raised due to the autoimmune aspect (causing inflammation), it's possible that you may know if you have an infection as there's usually some symptoms. Did you have a full blood count and did any of the white cell count point to infection?
All bloods are here. Is the infection likely to be related only to my endocrine/autoimmune system, or could they be indicative of another, possible underlying infection?
It's been explained that CRP is an inflammation marker and inflammation can be caused by many things - autoimmune conditions being one, and my CRP is never very low due me having lung disease. So CRP will be raised when inflammation is present, also ferritin can be raised when inflammation is present.
Yes, infection can cause inflammation but if you had an infection - cold, flu, Covid, urine or any other viral or bacterial infection, I think you'd be having symptoms and you'd have been off to the GP and they'd have done a full blood count which would show whether or not you had an infection.
With your level of antibodies confirming autoimmune thyroid disease and this being a source of inflammation, I've said that it's most likely your inflammation markers are raised due to the autoimmune aspect of your condition.
Thyroid antibodies develop when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid cells and tissues. This leads to inflammation, tissue damage or disrupted thyroid function. These antibodies cause autoimmune thyroid disorders, such as Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Again thanks Seaside Susie. I don’t go to the doctor if I have a cold or flu; I don’t know many folk who do. And were I to do so, I may be given short shrift from most clinicians and would be unlikely to be offered bloods.
This summer is unusual for me as I have had repeated colds, as well as COVID. From autumn to spring, I usually have one cold or mild infection after the other. That is my norm. However the way I feel now (albeit with a cold) is far from the norm as I am almost perpetually fatigued (similar to that with a cold or otter infection) and my mobility is becoming increasingly impaired. This has been going on since COVID and very likely before. I force myself to be mobile and none of this comes easy to me. Never has, even as a child of normal weight. Yet, I have managed hike mountains and cycle thousands of miles over time. The only things I’ve had to go on are the diagnosed B12 and thyroid conditions, themselves a maximum of 12 years old. Every day is a struggle!
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