GP has signed me off as all ok, not all vits tested but here’s the results this year. Pituitary hormones tested too, growth hormone is low but I’m told that’s normal, cortisol is 1 befow normal for time of day so doc not worried and good cholesterol really high but again no concerns from doc
Symptoms| low energy, weak, carpal/ulner tunnel, radius fracture, palpitations, sensitivity to cold, bruise easily, headaches, poor concentration and memory, constipation, weight loss
I’ll get my iron up, just wondering where to go next, shall I get some more comprehensive blood tests privately? Should I just take a break from figuring this stuff out if everything is looking normal to GP? Am I barking up the wrong tree with thyroid/pituitary stuff 😩
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Happytiredbunny
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Your TSH isn't telling you anything about your thyroid status, you need FT4 and FT3 testing for that.
Your Ferritin level is dire, if it was less than 30 then NICE considers this to be iron deficiency. I would push for an iron panel which includes serum iron, total iron binding capacity, saturation percentage plus ferritin, and this will show if you have iron deficiency. I'd also get a full blood count to see if you have anaemia. You shouldn't self supplement iron unless these are done, you need to know if your other levels are good enough, supplementing when they are means that you will push them too high and too much iron is as bad as too little. Regular monitoring is necessary when supplementing iron.
As your ferritin level is so poor I'd check B12, Folate and Vit D too.
ah I was quite happy with my ferritin! It’s the highest it’s been in about 7 years!! Lol the GP wouldn’t test t3/4 because they were normal in august and only really tested my TSH to put my mind at ease and as that’s normal he’s not concerned. Full bloods are attached and all normal there so again he’s not concerned at all. I’ve not been diagnosed with anything so no more tests and no referral from GP.
I can get the things you mentioned tested online and then go from there I suppose. I’m toying with seeing a private GP but I just don’t know what to do for the best and if actually I just need to accept that there isn’t anything wrong!
I was quite happy with my ferritin! It’s the highest it’s been in about 7 years!!
In that case I certainly would push for full iron panel, it seems as though it's been a problem for a very long time. Your FBC doesn't suggest anaemia but you need to check for iron deficiency which should have been checked before if your ferritin was less than 30 in the past.
In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency can significantly lower circulating levels of both T4 and T3 and can reduce conversion of T4 to T3.
In August your FT4 was 28% through range and your FT3 was 48.39% through range. So although your conversion appeared good your FT4 was very low in range. A normal healthy person with no thyroid problem would generally have TSH no higher than 2, often around 1, with FT4 around mid-range-ish.
that’s great thank you so much! I’ll keep my focus on iron , get it tested privately and then go back to the GP to see if need ferrous fumerate. My ferritin was 6 in 2013, 4 months of ferrous fumerate got it up to 55, 6 months later back to 28 which I was told is normal and 2 years ago it was 17 which again was ‘ normal’ and they didn’t treat it! My body doesn’t seem to like iron! The only change this year is that I’m on stimulant medication for adhd, so I guess my brain isn’t draining my iron stores so much now I have some help 😂😂😅
My ferritin was 6 in 2013, 4 months of ferrous fumerate got it up to 55, 6 months later back to 28 which I was told is normal and 2 years ago it was 17 which again was ‘ normal’ and they didn’t treat it!
This is where doctors go wrong. You were given iron to raise your ferritin back in 2013, it got up to 55 which is, of course, much better but your GP decided that it was fine at that level (whereas we always say the recommended level is half way through range) so your ferrous fumerate was stopped.
What should have happened is that you shouldn't have stopped the iron supplements altogether but should have been put on a maintenance dose and monitored. Because your FF was stopped your ferritin level plummeted and because it was still within range your GP was satisfied even though it was still below the level where NICE considers to be iron deficiency. Because nothing was done your level fell even further and your GP didn't pick up on this because again it was likely to be in range but it must have been very close to the bottom of the range and should have set alarm bells ring ing with your GP.
GPs have little to no training in nutrition and believe that anywhere within the range is fine whereas we need optimal levels.
Your track record with iron suggests you have a problem, your levels need monitoring and it looks like you may need regular iron supplements to keep your levels up. Are you vegetarian or vegan and little iron in your diet?
no, always had light periods but mid cycle bleeding, worse when on contraceptives. I eat a lot of meat and try to get iron through veg ect always taken a multivitamin. I have the same problem with my boys ferritin too, really low but not quite out of the normal range! It’s so difficult to push these things without sounding like a hypochondriac! My 7 year olds ferritin was 10 in august (range 10-205) and a couple weeks ago improved to 13!! All is’normal’! A bit more difficult to do private blood tests on kids 😅😬
they're super tall for their age, super slim, both had tummy probs from early on, I cut dairy out and slowly introduced under dietician, I’m terrible with putting foods to symptoms! Plus kids don’t really tell me symptoms, they just get grumpy! They get headaches and tiredness, bruise really easy, mouth ulcers, do you know much about attached bruising? This is from being picked up under arms…just pressure! Prone to illness, had covid, scarlet fever, strep throat!
Does is make a difference if you have it? I was tested for coeliac a few years back, stool came back borderline so they retested and told me to go on a probiotic and restrict diet and it all calmed down 😂😅
strike that, the blood test was 0.2 which was super low! And that was at the same time as the faecal being borderline so must have been unrelated that it then reduced!
You guys deserve a medal with all the knowledge you have!! I have had digestive issues off and on over the years, biochemist put me on sugar and yeast free diet due to Candida overgrowth a few years back! I’ve tried lots of different avenues to help general health! Really trying to get to the bottom of things, more for the kids because they seem to be following in my footsteps!
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones
Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron
Who told you that? And why is it 'normal'? 'Normal' for what? That sounds like a fob-off from a doctor who has no idea what he's talking about, to me. Low HGH will make you feel terrible!
good cholesterol really high but again no concerns from doc
There's no such thing as good and bad cholesterol. There's only cholesterol. And if it's high, that more than likel means you have low T3.
Should I just take a break from figuring this stuff out if everything is looking normal to GP?
But, there's no such thing as 'normal'. There's only what make you feel well. And givien your list of symptoms I'm guessing that your thyroid hormones - T4 and especially T3 - are low. Low HGH and high cholesterol are symptoms of low T3.
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