J97212 days ago

Hello, I think it’d worthwhile sharing his blood test results here. “Normal” they may appear to your GP, but the good people on this forum might reach a different conclusion!

Mindseye in reply to J97212 days ago

Thanks so much. I have just posted the bloodtest results in this thread.

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Buddy195Administrator12 days ago

So we can offer better advice for your son, can you tell us his blood test results (with ranges in brackets) for:

TSH

FT3

FT4

Plus any antibody and key vitamin tests (ferritin, folate, vitamins D and B12)

If his GP is unable to complete all the above (eg if TSH is within range, some surgeries may not be able to access FT4 and FT3 tests), he could look to do this privately, as many forum members do, for a better picture of his thyroid health:

 thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

Mindseye in reply to Buddy19512 days ago

Many thanks for your reply. I have posted his bloodtests from last jan and this feb. I will look in to getting FT4 and FT3 tests done.

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Buddy195Administrator in reply to Mindseye12 days ago

It’s essential that key nutrients - Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Folate and Ferritin are at optimal levels to support thyroid health, so I would encourage your son to aim for:

Vitamin D (100-150nmol/L) Has this been tested?

Vitamin B12 (Total B12 needs to be at top of range or for Active B12 100 or above)

Folate (at least half way through range)

Ferritin (half way through range)

I successfully raised my folate and B12 using a good B Complex (eg Thorne Basic B). Is your son vegan/ vegetarian as this can be why ferritin is low? We don’t recommend supplanting iron without first doing a full iron panel.  humanbean has great links on raising ferritin, so I will copy her in.

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Mindseye in reply to Buddy19512 days ago

So helpful, thank you.

He's not vegetarian and has a pretty varied diet.

I don't see a result for Vit D is it called something else on blood tests maybe?

His Ferritin is 78 - halfway is 126.5 I'll look at humanbeans links to raising this

Folate seems ok at 9.8 - halfway is 8.5

his B12 is 472 the upper limit of the range is 883

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Buddy195Administrator in reply to Mindseye12 days ago

He could ask GP to test vitamin D levels. Many members, myself included, test privately- then you can have comprehensive thyroid tests, key vitamins and antibody levels in one test.

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DippyDame12 days ago

In a word...Yes!

The word "normal" means nothing!

Medics are fixated on TSH which science proves is not a reliable marker

His symptoms suggest hypothyroidism!

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...

Can you post his lab results please

Meantime this may help

thyroidpatients.ca/2021/07/...

Once we have his labs we will be able to comment further

With correct thyroid medication he should feel well again.

helvellaAdministrator in reply to DippyDame12 days ago

The normal range: it is not normal and it is not a range

helvella.blogspot.com/p/the...

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Mindseye in reply to DippyDame12 days ago

Thank you so much for those links. I have posted the bloodtest results in this thread.

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Mindseye12 days ago

Thanks for the replys everyone. Here's the 1st page of blood tests taken a year apart.

bloodtest results p1 of 3

Mindseye in reply to Mindseye12 days ago

page 2 of 3

bloodtest results p2 of 3

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Mindseye in reply to Mindseye12 days ago

3rd and final page

bloodtest results p3 of3

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DippyDame12 days ago

Unfortunately only TSH tested ( no thyroid hormones) and that tells us very little.

This limited testing is quite usual in the NHS but is causing a lot of problems for patients who are not being correctly diagnosed....or medicated

TSH reflects the overall level of thyroid hormones in the serum ....it does not provide individual detail of FT4 or FT3 levels. Without those it becomes a guessing game!

For a full thyroid evaluation the following are required

TSH, FT4, FT3, vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin and antibodies TPO and Tg

Ferritin and folate both low

No vit D result....request test as this is vital ( my son found his vit D very low when he did a thyroid test recently)

These nutrients play an essential part in thyroid function and T4 to T3 conversion

Buddy has already referred to nutrient levels

You may be able to persuade your GP to request further testing....but doubtful.

Many of us test privately to obtain all labs

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

It should not be like this but I'm afraid thyroid care, as this forum clarifies, is dismal.

Good luck going forward.

We're all in this thyroid debacle together so just ask if you need help....might your son also join the forum?

PixieElv11 days ago

as Dippydame says, your son should have his T4 and T3 tested. He might have secondary hypothyroidism, which means TSH is normal but T3 and T4 are low. NHS very rarely test these

Carlosdoug11 days ago

Hi, your sons symptoms can be found on pernicious anemia site here. I suggest you post again there. His b12 is very low and dropping.

Mindseye in reply to Carlosdoug11 days ago

Many thanks. Pernicious anemia runs in the family. Frustrating that his b12 numbers are seen as normal by the Dr. I'll post on that site as you suggest.

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Charlie-FarleyAdministrator11 days ago

Does this sound familiar? A conversation between me and arTistapple on symptoms.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

FearFracture11 days ago

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism approximately 6 yrs ago, my hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s related, and sadly, it’s only been about 2 months since I learned, from this website, that Hasimoto’s is not the same thing as hypothyroidism. The reason I’m bringing this up is maybe your son had Hashimoto’s but it hasn’t completely triggered hypothyroidism. He could get tested for the antibodies.

I picked up a book from the library’s, Hashimoto’s Protocol by Izabella Wentz. She also wrote Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. The book is about how lifestyle/diet changes can potentially prevent Hashimoto’s from destroying your thyroid.

My mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism caused by Hashimoto’s 25 to 30 yrs ago. She asked her doctor about the chances of her children being effected and all her doctor told her was that there is a genetic link. One by one my siblings got diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was the last to get the dreadful diagnosis. After learning from this website that Hashimoto’s isn’t hypothyroidism and reading Wentz’s book, all I can think is had my mother’s doctor explained things correctly to my mother or if any of my doctors had bothered to explain anything to me, I could have altered my diet years ago and potentially avoided getting hypothyroidism.

Hope you find some answers for your son.