Me again ... following replies to my Propranolol question, I have dug out a full blood panel done in 2019 for something (possibly?) not thyroid related, I had an unexplained series of angioedema episodes.
No cause found and hasn't recurred, but I was tested for some of the things people mentioned from my other post, wondering what you think of the results as I know nothing, as they say:
Ferritin: 31 (15-300)
Folate: 10.6 (4.6-18.7)
B12: 412 (480-700)
No cortisol unfortunately, as I'm interested in SlowDragon 's idea, what do you do if you do have a cortisol imbalance?
So much experience in this group.
Written by
fairydogmother
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I did think the ferritin was on the low side but NHS considers anything in range as acceptable so I doubt my GP would follow up. I will look up private iron panel testing, thank you.
Nothing in the 2019 panel was out of range except glucose, they jumped on that. I pointed out that I'd eaten a nice, thick bacon butty an hour before the blood draw on account of nobody saying they were testing glucose and that might just conceivably account for raised glucose. They said once the lab had flagged a result they were bound to follow up and made me have a fasting test which was a real pain, 40 mins drive through rush-hour traffic on an empty stomach. Unsurprisingly came back normal. They also did hba1c that came back normal.
I had VitD tested in Dec last year in connection with my teeth, came back as 105 (76-250) marked 'optimally replete' and my GP advised sticking with my usual 1000IU VitD.
I did have urticaria (hives?) on my neck with the facial angioedema, fiendishly itchy while the angioedema was red and sore. Over a 4-month period I had about 6 episodes each lasting about 10 days, then completely disappeared. GP prescribed industrial-strength antihistamines which did nothing, and said helpfully 'often we don't find a cause'. Have written it off so long as it doesn't come back.
No, never had Graves AB tested, endo said it wasn't necessary as I had 'all the signs' and GP has accepted endo's opinion. Reluctant to do a private AB test as Medichecks need a venous blood sample and I don't like anyone other than my GP/surgery nurses sticking needles in me. Also I have had eye disease which seems conclusive.
Thank you for your advice, while the current postal strikes are on I will use the time to research private iron testing and order as soon as there's a chance of getting delivery.
Quite a number of Hashimoto’s patients also get TED
Have you had ultrasound scan of thyroid
High thyroid levels could be a hot nodule
Usually Graves patients have high ferritin levels
any obvious reason for low iron?
Are you vegetarian or vegan
Pre or post menopause
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
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
Wow, I don't know how to thank you, lots of reading which is fine by me. No thyroid scan done, GP just accepts endo's opinion.
I did think the ferritin was on the low side but know from experience that anything inside ranges will not get attention. Same as thyroid hormones, anything inside ranges and you're 'normal' even when scraping the low end of range.
I do eat prunes, apricots, pumpkin seeds and VERY dark chocolate (I could have put the flags out when I read about chocolate!) and daily OJ. Liver pate is a very good idea, I love that. On my next shopping list!
Not vegan or vegetarian, and well post-menopausal (72 next year), I've taken HRT since before Graves diagnosis and staying on for life to protect my bones & CV system, the two big risks in my family group. I had osteopaenia at 53 which improved after the first 5 years of HRT, my mum was crippled with osteoporosis and died from a coronary, all the rest had cardiovascular disease and were on high BP meds much younger than I am now. I am not (yet).
Will order the Medichecks iron panel as soon as the postal strikes have stabilised, they are asking for no samples to be sent till after 1 Dec.
I'm away on holiday in a couple of weeks with a super-lightweight new laptop in my hand luggage, you've given me lots of holiday reading ... 👍
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Improving T4 to T3 conversion 
Poor conversion from T4 to T3
NDT to T4 plus T3 conversion
T4/T3 conversion question please 
