Blood test results

[BallyHi10]

I have Graves' Disease, was diagnosed in April 2022. I started on carbimazole, and by the end of May/beginning of June last year, I was feeling much better.

I started to feel unwell again by September (fatigue, breathlessness, cramp in my feet, muscle aches and pains, heavy eyes, gritty eyes ...). My GP did my blood test in October (I stopped taking anything containing biotin a week beforehand), and my results were TSH 3.75 (0.27 - 4.20) and T4 13.6 (11 - 21.2). No T3 tested as those results are considered normal.

I referred myself back to my private endo, who recommended I reduce my carbimazole to 5 mg four times a week, then test again after 6-8 weeks.

I felt no better after the reduction, and my results in December were TSH 1.58 (same ranges as above) and T4 14.2. Endo recommended I reduce carbimazole again, to 5 mg three times a week. He wants me to stay on carbimazole for a year at least, in the hope of remission. He recommended my TSH should be around 0.5, and then T4 andT3 high enough in the range that I felt well.

I did Monitor my Health blood tests this week - I did vitamins too, but will put those results in a separate post for advice (!) - folate and ferritin were low, B12 and vitamin D were okay. I have, over the last week, been feeling a lot better. I even started to exercise again! I was surprised to find my results were:-

TSH 1.96 (0.27 - 4.2) - ranges slightly different from my local lab

T4 15.9 (12 - 22) - 39% through range

T3 4.3 (3.1 - 6.8) -32.43% through range

My T4 is obviously going up, albeit quite slowly (I'm impatient!). I was surprised that TSH had risen (blood test at around 8 am). As I'm feeling okay, I'm thinking I stay on the carbimazole dosage I'm on now, and see how I go, and retest in 6-8 weeks. Or, I could go back to the Endo? Not sure what to do.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Suggest you stay as you are and retest in 6-8 weeks

Meanwhile improving low vitamins likely to reduce symptoms too

[BallyHi10 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you SlowDragon

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

I think you need to stay on this dose - you could try chopping the 5 mcg i half and take a little AT each drug if this suits you better.

Please go slowly with the exercise and stop well before you think you should as your T3 and T4 levels are low and you maybe liable to ' payback ' through over tiring your body.

From memory I don't think your levels were too high when diagnosed Graves but it does take it's toll throughout the body and as it seems you have some low vitamins and minerals these all need to be maintained at optimal levels for optimal health and well being.

Can't remember if I sent this research paper before so here it comes again ;

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/338...

[BallyHi10 in reply to pennyannie]

Thanks - no I didn't have really high levels when diagnosed, but I felt like I was dying. Am still doing shorter hours at work. And I've not become very underactive, but again, felt dreadful. Endo did say some people are hypersensitive to small fluctuations. Lucky me!

I'm very definitely not doing too much exercise - not doing my twice weekly HIIT sessions just yet 😂 Just a little bit of movement. Still working shorter hours, early to bed, listening to my body.

I'd not seen that article, but my Endo did say similar.

I think I'll get myself a pill cutter - I did wonder about having days when I don't take carbimazole and days when I do, thinking it would probably be better to have a continuous low dose? I tried to cut a tablet in half (they're tiny!) and ended up with two thirds of a tablet and a load of dust 😂

Will post about vitamins for advice separately - not keen on Monitor my Health's stupid graphs! Will need to get screenshotting.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to BallyHi10]

use a sharp craft scalpel to cut tablets

[BallyHi10 in reply to SlowDragon]

Will try that thank you

[pennyannie in reply to BallyHi10]

Ok then - isn't there a printed set of results as well as the big dipper tracker ?

[pennyannie in reply to pennyannie]

You can find all you have written on the forum by taking yourself to your profile page by pressing on the icon - top right - where it says More :

Conversely if you want to read up on someone else just press the icon alongside their name and go to their profile and read their bio, and everything they have ever written on the forum.

[BallyHi10 in reply to pennyannie]

They give the results for vitamins without ranges. The graphs show where you are in the range, but not clearly what the ranges are.

[pennyannie in reply to BallyHi10]

How silly - maybe the ranges are posted on the private blood company's web page somewhere ?

[helvella Administrator in reply to BallyHi10]

Have you tried this?

Go to your results on MMH website.

Click on any result box.

Do Ctrl+P (or Command+P on a Mac). That offers to print the page in a format which includes ranges in text form. Either actually print it, or print as a PDF (if you have that option).

[BallyHi10 in reply to helvella]

I did try that, as I saw it mentioned on here, where a poster was being castigated for not giving the ranges. It just prints the graphs, and then the text bit, which has no ranges. I will email them, but I suspect they think the rather imprecise graphs are enough. I won't use them again for vitamin testing. They give the ranges for the TFT and cholesterol!

[helvella Administrator in reply to BallyHi10]

To illustrate what I think should happen, I've put up this page:

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

I have no vitamin results so it is possible something different happens with them.

[BallyHi10 in reply to helvella]

It doesn't do that for the vitamins, as it doesn't give the ranges

[helvella Administrator in reply to BallyHi10]

Thanks for clarifying.