Thyroid Blood Calculators - updated

[Decant]

Hi,

I've updated my blood calculator page: thyroid.chingkerrs.online/ based on some of your comments. I will try and address o the other comments when I find some more time.

Changes

* Update the status (colour, %, etc) immediately as you type - 1tuppence

* Reordered thyroid labs to TSH, fT3, fT4 (plz let me know if this is not ideal) - 1tuppence

* Space out results to separate them a bit - helvella

* Improved contrast of orange "out-of-range" input - helvella

* "Clear" button to remove all input values - humanbean

* Folate has a maximum (SlowDragon ) . You can now have any combination of min and max.

I've also made a bunch of stylistic improvements, more to come.

Other responses to your initial feedback: -

1. Should I add TRAb? If so I will need the ranges (Medichecks, or I can leave it blank) - asiatic

2. Request ( GlowCoach ) to be able to compare with previous results. This would be quite a lot of work.

Results now look like this when copied

TSH 0.72 pmol/L (0.27 - 4.20) 11.5%

Free T3 (fT3) 4.49 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 37.6%

Free T4 (fT4) 18.5 pmol/L (12.0 - 22.0) 65.0%

T4:T3 Ratio 4.120  (≤ 9)

Thyroglobulin Antbodies (TgAb) 15 IU/mL (≤ 70.8)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) 9 IU/mL (≤ 121)

Folate - Serum 15.58 ug/L (3.89 - 139) 8.7%

Vitamin B12 (active) 151 nmol/L (37.5 - 150) 100.9%

Vitamin D 143 nmol/L (50.0 - 200.0) 62.0%

Ferritin 142 ug/L (30.0 - 400.0) 30.3%

I hope to keep updating the tool, so please keep any suggestions coming.

[helvella]

Looks good.

But the percentage is looking chopped off!

Percentages chopped off!

[Decant in reply to helvella]

Oh dear! As we programmers say (poor excuse) "it works for me"! Are you on a computer or tablet/phone? What browser and OS are you using? Thx for prompt feedback.

[helvella in reply to Decant]

Firefox on mac Ventura.

[Decant in reply to helvella]

OK, I shall have to look into that, there is a way. I already test Firefox and Chrome on Windows, just not Mac. Thx

[helvella in reply to Decant]

Seems to happen in Safari as well!

Maybe it is a macOS or Ventura issue rather than specific browser?

And, just in case it is relevant, this is on Apple Silicon (M1).

Truncated percentages in Safari

[Decant in reply to helvella]

I have updated it but I have no way of reliably testing it, could you try again please? Thank you so much!

[RedApple in reply to Decant]

Yep, is fine now

corrected

[helvella in reply to RedApple]

Confirm also fine in Firefox on Ventura!

Thank you.

[Decant in reply to RedApple]

Thanks for confirming. 😊

[BB001 in reply to Decant]

I often find that things are cut off because I have my phone set to increase text size to 110%.

[helvella in reply to BB001]

Does rotating your phone to display in landscape help?

[BB001 in reply to helvella]

Not normally. It's as though certain width has been allocated to a column, or space for text, and it isn't changed for the increased font size. NatWest bank is the worst since their latest revamp, I can't even read their menus, ironically it was a great site before they changed it.

Edit: I've just checked and they've re-redesigned their site (again) and have changed it. They must have got a lot of complaints for them to have changed it so quickly.

[RedApple]

Great! I like that it comes up as text in the box below, as well as the graphics.

See similar issue as reported by helvella Also on Mac but using Safari in Monterey

All fine once the browser window is made so narrow that things to drop to next line (hope that makes sense!)

percentages chopped

[Decant in reply to RedApple]

Thank you, I have updated it, would you be so kind as to test it again please?

[humanbean]

Thank you for the Clear button!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

To avoid any confusion, are you going to state on your calculator page that "Min" and "Max" figures can be altered?

Vit D doesn't really need to have a "percentage through range". This is because there are categories for Vit D - Deficiency, Insufficient, Sufficient. Your range of 50-200 is the sufficient "range" but the level recommended by the Vit D Council, Vit D Society and Grassroots Health is 100-150nmol/L so your example of 143 nmol/L (50.0 - 200.0) 62.0% would suggest to people that they aim higher whereas it's actually towards the higher end of the recommended level already. If people start aiming for 200nmol/L they are risking heading towards toxicity.

[Decant in reply to SeasideSusie]

I've added some instructions.

I don't have time right now to fix the Vitamin D. I can remove the min and max inputs for it with a little bit more work. I think that's the best I could do in the short-term. Ideally I'd make it understand the deficient, insufficient, sufficient, etc - but that will take more time than I have. Also, would the bands for deficient, etc always be the same, or does it vary by sex, age, testing laboratory?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Decant]

would the bands for deficient, etc always be the same, or does it vary by sex, age, testing laboratory?

Sex and age make no difference. Lab ranges do vary, probably not very much, I just see them as not particularly useful for Vit D because I know the recommended levels and point these out and how to achieve them rather than say your Vit D level is XX% through range. I respond to test result queries on a daily basis so for me I know most of the recommended levels and only tend to use a calculator when thyroid ranges vary (and they do quite a lot), also ferritin and folate. CRP is always going to be <5 or <10. I do appreciate that knowing percentage through range is useful though for a lot of results.

[Decant in reply to SeasideSusie]

Would it be useful for you to be and to select from preset ranges, that you outlined I think on my first version? This would allow you to more easily support us - I imagine you spend hours most days helping us. So you'd select a preset (e.g. "Medichecks, xyz lab") which would update all the ranges, then just type the test result values in.

You admins could create a pinned post asking members to use my calculator when posting their results - remove that task from your shoulders.

Does a percentage from one lab's range have the same meaning as the same percentage from another labs different range? I mean does 25% fT3 always mean the same thing, for example?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Decant]

Would it be useful for you to be and to select from preset ranges, that you outlined I think on my first version?

Not for me personally because one never knows when they might change or the testing companies start to use a new lab, eg Medichecks recently started using INUVI as well as Eurofins and, occasionally, TDL. Then, of course, there are GP ranges which differ not only from the private labs but vary between NHS labs. I'm happy to input the range that comes with the result members give us.

Does a percentage from one lab's range have the same meaning as the same percentage from another labs different range? I mean does 25% fT3 always mean the same thing, for example?

Yes, 25% through Medichecks range has the same meaning as 25% through the GP range, for example, this is why it's so important that we know the range, we can work out the percentage and compare results that way if ranges are different.

[Decant in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks. I shall remove the ranges so or starts from a blank state every time - easier for you and also less likely for others to use the wrong ranges.

I'm starting to see that there are different uses that we members may want

1. Admins like you who we trying to help people, who want to format results in a standard way and also ad-hoc percentages

2. Members wanting to post results in the standard format to make your lives easier.

3. Members wanting to track their results over time, see trends, effect of medication changes, etc.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Brilliant…..but also cutting off percentage …..working on an iPad

Can you add CRP too ?

Usually tested via Medichecks or Blue horizon

Medichecks CRP range is 0-5

Photo of calculator

[Decant in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi. I have updated it to fix the clipping - can you please try again as I don't have any Apple devices? Could you also see if the Copy button works please as I've made a fix there too? Thank you

I can add CRP and any other markers, but I need to do some paid work now. I'm also getting a little cautious as (per SeasideSusie comment on Vit D) that not everything is a simple range. I don't want to cause any issues, so is CRP ok as a simple range?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Decant]

Yes percentage is perfect visibility now

Copy works brilliantly too

TSH 0.30 pmol/L (0.27 - 4.20) 0.8%

Free T4 (fT4) 19.8 pmol/L (12.0 - 22.0) 78.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 5.8 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 73.0%

T4:T3 Ratio 3.414  (≤ 4)

Thyroglobulin Antbodies (TgAb) 340 IU/mL (≤ 115)

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) 82 IU/mL (≤ 34)

Folate - Serum 19 ug/L (3.89 - 20.53) 90.8%

Vitamin B12 (active) 149 nmol/L (37.5 - 150) 99.1%

Vitamin D 106 nmol/L (50.0 - 200.0) 37.3%

Ferritin 207 ug/L (30.0 - 400.0) 47.8%

CRP ….yes simple range fine

It’s an inflammation marker

It’s helpful….because if CRP is above range….ferritin could be falsely high due to inflammation

Thank you so much

It’s really extremely helpful 👏👏👏👏

[1tuppence]

Thanks again for all your work Decant. Sorry, I obviously didn't explain myself very well re the T4 and T3 results.

Being used to the order used in this forum, I'm used to seeing the order of the blood results as being

TSH

T4

T3

My mind is a visual one, and that's the order it expects to see.

[Decant in reply to 1tuppence]

Done, please try again.

[1tuppence in reply to Decant]

For me, that's perfect

Thank you so much.

[asiatic]

My TRAb is given in IU/L. No range is ever given. Not sure what this means so maybe just leave it blank. Thanks for your work on this.

[Decant in reply to asiatic]

I think I need to take a pause before adding more blood markers as I am starting to worry that what I add may be misleading if I get it wrong. It's also getting very busy. I'll look at it again tonight.

I'm thinking I need some easy way for people to add both the common markers and the less common ones. I don't know how to do that at the moment.

I suppose I'm thinking a newbie would just be having TSH and fT4 measured and the many rows of other markers might be overwhelming. What do you think?

[Decant in reply to asiatic]

Also, the page is mostly about calculating the percentages and T4:T3 ratio; without a TRAb range what value is it providing you? Is it to get TRAb alongside the other blood markers so you can copy them into a HealthUnlocked post?

[asiatic in reply to Decant]

Just wanted to keep all results together and look out for trends. Eg. With Graves, TRAb is said to be inversely proportional to TSH. If TSH is starting to come up within range it might indicate TRAb is decreasing and patient is nearing remission. Don't worry if it is difficult to add as it isn't often measured

[Decant in reply to asiatic]

Showing trends would be cool but would require a lot of work to record previous tests and graph them. Something I'd like to do, but I doubt I have the time, now I'm back to work after surgery!

[asiatic in reply to Decant]

Perhaps we'll have to wait till you retire. 😁 Thanks for your work so far

[Imaaan]

Wanted to cheer you on and say great job. Thank you

[Decant in reply to Imaaan]

That's kind, thank you 👍😀 I am happy to keep working on it, it's not a problem at all.

[GlowCoach Administrator]

It's come along beautifully. No worries at all about the comparison with previous results. Can't be expected to do everything and I had no idea on time scale to put that in. It's great as is. ❤️

[Sallina]

Many thanks 😊

[Decant]

I've updated it again with

1. Removed default ranges. The ranges were Medichecks ranges using Eurofins lab and could cause confusion as there are so many different companies and labs in use -  SeasideSusie

2. Added CRP -  SlowDragon

3. Layout for small phones is more compact (and fixed spacing).

Narrow screenshot

[Poniesrfun]

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you!

Patti in AZ

[Decant]

You are very welcome ☺️

[SpringFairy]

I briefly saw your very first comment Decant & have only just returned to your progress.

It's fantastic! ⭐I have ADHD & very poor cognition, but this is laid out nice & clearly, so easy for me to use. I showed it to another geek, who was really impressed 👍

Thanks for doing this & thanks to everyone with working brains who fed back the tweaks along the way.

[Decant in reply to SpringFairy]

Aww shucks 😊 thanks so much, out really is my pleasure. I enjoyed doing something using my skills that's actually useful to people (most of my work is hidden away).

I was DX'd with ADHD in April this year aged 55! Not on meds yet (lots of procrastinating). Are you on meds? My psych raised a concern that ADHD meds might interfere. I think that's BS. Naughtily I've taken one of my son's Concerta today and I'm having a really productive day - quite back to my old self. It could be my thyroid levels optimising though.

Thanks again. More changes to come and please to give feedback on features!

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

oh my wow, this is awesome!

My heart sings with geeky joy 🦋💚🦋

Thank you thank you for the hours and hours of effort and care theat went into creating this free to use tool that help us all.

👏👏👏

[Decant in reply to Regenallotment]

You're very very welcome. I've enjoyed making it and seeing you good people getting benefit!

[allgaeu-123]

This is a helpful graphical representation. It would be great if you could change the laboratory units. so that you do not have to convert them.

[helvella in reply to allgaeu-123]

Change units from what to what?

Most (possibly all) are in the standard units used in the UK.

[allgaeu-123]

Often it is in ng/ml but should be entered in PG/ml. It is not changeable in the units.

[helvella in reply to allgaeu-123]

What substance?

[allgaeu-123]

For example, ferritin is often given in ng/ml at the laboratories and ft4 in ng/l and folate ng/ml. Here the units are different from laboratory to laboratory, so it is a little complicated to use the great computer. But perhaps this is only happening in Germany. That's why I thought if the units were exchangeable / adjustable then that would be great.

[helvella in reply to allgaeu-123]

Ah right! Your profile doesn't give your location.

In the UK, most labs use the same units (most of the time) - even though their reference intervals vary. Sometimes they use what seem different units - e.g. per ml rather than per L - but even then, the numbers would be the same.

Where it is just a pico-unit rather than nano-unit - just dividing by 1000 works.

Where it is a molar quantity rather than mass, that is a problem!

Maybe Decant will see a way forward?

[Decant in reply to helvella]

Allowing units to be changed, AND allowing conversion from 1 unit to another is something I'd like to address, so it can be useful for everyone.

I might start with a simple converter, but that isn't so easy as "mol" units are based on the "molecular weight" of the compound - thyroxine has a different molecular weight than (say) vitamin D. So I need to take the molecular weight into account when converting pmol/L => pg/L for example. A fun project, but not something I can rush into.

helvella SeasideSusie RedApple - I think the results (as pasted into HealthUnlocked) should always be in the same units (probably SI units) to make your jobs easuer (so you don't need to convert them)? I could allow entry to be in US unit (e.g.) and then convert them for the results into SI units. It might be worth including both the value+units as entered and converted-value+SI-units. Thoughts?

[helvella in reply to Decant]

Your thoughts are pretty much what I have thought.

I can't understand why health hasn't gone for molar measurements for everything to which they can sensibly apply!

(I'd even argue for medicine doses to be molar but appreciate that is a big, big step!)

[Dandelions]

This is great Decant. Nice job.

[TorcHouse]

Fantastically useful. Thanks very much.

[1tuppence]

Just to let you know, Decant, I've found your calculator perfect to use. It gives me exactly what I need to see, and is simple and straightforward to use. Very grateful.

[Decant in reply to 1tuppence]

Thank you, you're most welcome!

[BB001]

Thank you so much. This is great.

Would it seem too ungrateful to ask if it can be modified to include fT3 ÷ fT4 calculation so that it can be used in conjuction with Midgley et al's research: 'variation in the biochemical response to l-thyroxine therapy and relationship with peripheral thyroid hormone conversion efficiency ' to see whether one is a 'poor converter' of T4 to T3?