vitamins etc and thyroid function

[Alwayssearching]

hi guys, just trying to get my head around Vitamins etc. My son is 20 and has just had his TSH come in at 4.5 ( above range with medichecks)… I’m so reluctant to think he may need treatment for thyroid now as I feel sorry for him I guess and am trying to understand whether optimum levels of vits/iron etc could improve this score and make his TSH come down and he could feel better just by improving those ( T3 and T4 normal at present) or when you talk about optimum vit levels etc is that just for when taking levo /NDT to make sure it absorbs well? Does this question make sense? !

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Did you test his antibodies? I would recommend that.

Has he been ill with a virus recently as that can affect TSH?

Is he symptomatic for hypo?

Improving vitamins usually raises TSH BUT yes may help him feel a bit better. Did you test them, if so what were the results?

If someone is in the early stages of hypo it is still recommended to raise vitamin levels as these on their own cause multiple symptoms. It can also help raise TSH to get a diagnosis.

[Alwayssearching in reply to Jaydee1507]

thanks I didn’t get his antibodies tested no but I did get the vits etc which I’ve attached now below.. are they visible to you? If you have any suggestions based on those do let me know and next time I’ll def get antibodies done - thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Getting vitamins tested and at optimal levels is important for anyone. Not just when on replacement thyroid hormones

If he has low vitamin levels improving these can help reduce symptoms too

Did you get vitamin levels checked at this test …..or thyroid antibodies?

[Alwayssearching in reply to SlowDragon]

thanks so much.. I’ve attached the photos of the results further down.. are you able to view them? Do let me know if not.. many thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

TSH come in at 4.5 ( above range with medichecks)

( T3 and T4 normal at present)

"Normal" only means one thing, ie that it is somewhere within range and it's where within the range that is important. So what are his full results/ranges from this test, and did he do the test no later than 9am with nothing to eat or drink except water?

[Alwayssearching in reply to SeasideSusie]

thanks a lot.. I’ve attached the results now below .. are you able to check them? Thanks so much, j

[Alwayssearching]

thanks all. I’ve been waiting for the rest of the results before replying. The test was done at 10 am ( he goes to bed late as he’s a student!) by medichecks. I’m also attaching his vitamin levels etc. His creatinine Kinase is high. The others not too bad but maybe we need to give him more B12… so my question is what would you do with a 20 yr student in this situation ( he is working hard at uni, suffers from being of low mood).. should we up his B12 and then re test or send him to a GP to get some levothyroxine at this point. Thanks so much - I think it’s marvellous how hard you admins work for us all. It’s much appreciated.

Pic

[Alwayssearching]

and here is the vits etc

Pic

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Alwayssearching]

The ferritin range is what's normally used for females. Was the test done in his name, did they know he's male? Male range goes quite a lot higher.

[Alwayssearching in reply to SeasideSusie]

no I did it in my name!! Oh I’m so daft. I didn’t realise. Crikey. I’ll google male ranges then thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Alwayssearching]

There are no universal ranges, they vary from lab to lab and even within the NHS. Google can't give you Medichecks range.

[Alwayssearching in reply to SeasideSusie]

ah ok. Thanks.

[Alwayssearching in reply to SeasideSusie]

I assume you think he could have better ferritin though? Thanks susie

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Alwayssearching]

B12 could be slightly higher and ferritin

Is he vegetarian or vegan?

What vitamin supplements is he taking

Vitamin D is good

no folate test?

No thyroid antibodies tested?

[Alwayssearching in reply to SlowDragon]

he’s recently started a multi vit and vit d.. no folate tested no. Or antibiodies but I’ll do that next time… thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Alwayssearching]

Generally ferritin is suggested to be half way through range although I have also read that for males a good level is 130ug/l.

[Alwayssearching in reply to SeasideSusie]

thanks for that.

[humanbean]

The creatine kinase is worryingly high. For information on it read the following :

labtestsonline.org.uk/tests...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creat...

For someone who is only 20 this might be explained if your son does brutal gym workouts that are damaging his muscles. (There are several other causes e.g. taking statins or heart attacks.)

If it is the gym workouts then your son is putting himself at risk of having rhabdomyolysis which is a very serious condition that shows severe damage to the kidneys and can destroy them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabd...

Another factor is that the lab reference ranges are for a woman of your age, not for a man of 20 who likely has much more muscle than you. You could email medichecks and tell them what you did and ask if the test results could be transferred to a new account made for your son, and ask if the ranges could be changed for the appropriate ones for him. If they can't do that could they just give you the appropriate reference ranges for the tests your son did so you could look at the results yourself and see if the CK is as high as it appears when the correct range is used. Medichecks must be used to this happening. I'm sure you aren't the first person who has sent in test samples for a family member of a different age group and gender. Of course, many people won't even realise that anything is wrong with the ranges.

I'm wondering what prompted the test for CK to be done.

I think it would be worth your son seeing a doctor and discussing the result.

I think the Medichecks reference range for ferritin in men might be about 30 - 400. If I'm right (which you would need to check for yourself) then your son's ferritin result isn't great. I would suggest that a result of mid-range or a little bit over could be optimal for men. So, perhaps a result of about 215 would be worth aiming for. It is unusual for a man to have low ferritin results. Has he bled a lot recently? E.g. has he lost blood in his urine? Had an accident?

I would also say his B12 level is rather low. The absolute minimum for good health is roughly 70+ but ideally it would be 100+.

[Alwayssearching in reply to humanbean]

many thanks for all this info. I think you’re right and I will admit what I’ve done and see if they can help. I am worried by the CK result although the doctor reporting on them didn’t seem too bothered and that’s him thinking I’m a woman!! I know he has a bad back and often aches and he goes to the gym.. he’s doing physio for his back at the moment. I’ll do what you say and keep an eye. They only tested CK as it was part of the ‘health and lifestyle’ package I bought.. thanks for your advice