( exhaustion, felling as if I’m trembling inside, fatigue, and just a general feeling of being unwell)
I couldn’t get my GP to test my thyroid as I only did it in January and he said it was too soon as it was normal last time. He wouldn’t retest any vitamins either as again they were tested in January.
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So I did thyroid test with Monitor my Health and this is what came back today
Overall comment20/04/2023Your results indicate you may have a mild form of overactive thyroid known as subclinical-hyperthyroidism. This normally does not need treating at this stage, but indicates you should have your thyroid hormone levels checked regularly in the future. We recommend repeating this test in 3 to 6 months. This interpretation is based on the assumption you do not have a pre-existing thyroid condition and/or receiving thyroid treatment.
TRIODOTHYRONINE20/04/20234.2 pmol/LFT3 levels normal (normal range 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)THYROXINE20/04/202318.4 pmol/LFT4 levels normal (normal range 12 - 22 pmol/L)THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE20/04/20230.05 mu/LTSH levels low (normal range 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)
The test was done with no Levo 24h before, no Biotin a week before. I take 100mcg of Levothyroxine a day
Rather than do a copy/paste job which loses all formatting and is very difficult to read, it helps responders so much if you can edit to re-format and show one test with results per line rather than all running into each other without any separation. This is the best and clearest way to show results
FT3: 4.2 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)
FT4: 18.4 pmol/L (12 - 22 pmol/L)
TSH: 0.05 mu/L (0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)
MMH are saying subclinical hypERthyroidism because they are making the same mistake as most doctors do - by looking purely at the TSH result and ignoring the actual thyroid hormone results (FT4 and FT3). TSH is not a thyroid hormone, it's a signal from the pituitary.
You can clearly see that your FT4 and FT3 are well within range - FT4 is 64% and FT3 is a measly 29.73% through their ranges. This actually shows that you may benefit from an increase in your dose of Levo and your conversion of T4 to T3 is rather poor. Poor conversion can be the result of low nutrient levels.
This also was my last bloods from GP in January
Ferritin: 50 ug/L [13.0 - 150.0]
Ferritin is low, I've read that the optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is 90-110ug/L. Before considering supplementing with iron it's important to do a full iron panel to include
serum iron
saturation percentage
total iron binding capacity
ferritin
If you have good serum iron and saturation then taking iron tablets would push these too high and could cause iron overload. For low ferritin with normal iron levels you could try raising ferritin by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
Yes the GP test I mucked up a bit as I had upped my Levo from 100 every night up to 150 every other day. I had done this for around a month I think before I had my GP blood test done and I hadn’t stopped my Biotin beforehand either.
But this time I’m back to 100 every morning now and have been since the GP bloods were done as I went back down cause I felt so lousy. But still feel lousy. My heart rate is still quite high too as I thought this would go down after lowering my dose.
It’s so hard just getting to speak to a doctor let alone get them to take bloods, I just get no sense out of him at all.
Do you think I should try to up my dose to 125 a day now and see how I feel.? If so is it normal for it to make you feel rubbish for a bit? I’m just so confused.
If GP wont do iron panel I would suggest doing Medichecks Home Iron Test.
Apologies for missing unit of measurement for B12, I see now it is ng/L. This is recommended to be an absolute minimum of 550 but even better around 900-1,000. A good quality bioavailable B Complex containing methylcobalamin and methylfolate will help, eg Thorne Basic B or Yipmai Liposomal B Complex from Amazon.
You didn't say if you were taking folic acid or a folate supplement, if so you no longer need it and the B Complex will maintain a good level.
Get Vit D tested privately if necessary with this NHS lab who offer a home dried blood spot test to the general public
Post result for advice on supplementing if necessary.
If it was me I'd try an extra 12.5mcg Levo for now, optimising nutrients should help Levo work better so you don't want to overshoot. Retest 8 weeks after increase.
I was taking Thorne basic B complex but when I told my GP he said to stop immediately my Serum folate level was way above the recommended range and it was the supplement that was doing it. I was also taking ( Which my GP told me to) ferrous sulfate 200mg three times a day, but again GP said to stop taking now as it’s height enough. I’ve got loads of boxes of the ferrous sulfate left maybe I should start taking again and the Thorne Basic B? And I’ll start tomorrow taking an extra 12.5mcg of Levo. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.x
You would benefit from the B Complex where your B12 is concerned, your level is not low enough to warrant a separate B12 supplement but even if you did take one you'd need a B Complex to balance all the B vitamins. B vits are water soluble so excess should be excreted.
As GP was prescribing ferrous sulfate then he should have been monitoring your levels regularly with an iron panel, was he doing this and have you got any results? I would want that done before restarting iron.
Yes in January I had upped my dose from 100mg a night to 150 every other night and I didn’t stop my biotin before either, so that test was a bit mucked up. Thus tine though I’ve been back to just 100mg a day now and have been since the GP blood test was done.
Doctor won’t test vitamin D he said “ I’m 100% sure you’ve nothing to worry about”
It’s so frustrating with the surgery now, can’t even get a telephone consultation it’s maddening.
Do you know why it was 100 / 150mg. Usually it’s 25mcg per day or every other day. Some split pills to take the same every day. Although sticking with same brand good & alternating each day is fine as levo is storage hormone.
Next steps test vitamin D work on optimising nutrients.
A-F recommendations for blood testing.
A - Always check what’s being tested & collect test results with reference range.
B - Biotin - cease 3 days before draw to avoid possible test interference
C - Consistent unchanged dose - minimum 6 weeks previously
D - Delay replacement dose on day of test (until after blood draw
E - Early morning appointment. (Book as close to 09.00 as possible)
F - Fast overnight. This can have a slight impact. Drink lots of water
hi yes, gp told me to up my Levo to 125mcg a night but only do boxes of 50 so take an extra 50 every other night. I’m definitely going to up my game with optimising my nutrient levels, and I’ll get a private vitamin D test. Thank you for all your help x
I'm not surprised you feel under par with those results....and until medics learn how to correctly evaluate lab results this nonsense will continue and patients will suffer.
One of my sons did an MMH test a few months ago and the comments were rubbish. He was told his results were good when in fact they showed a text book example of a failing thyroid!!
So long as FT3 remains in range you will not be overmedicated...and yours is miserably low meaning there is plenty room to increase your dose.
Your T4 to T3 conversion isn't great....first you need to optimise vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin to support thyroid function.
Hopefully that will help raise FT3
Have you had thyroid antibodies TPO and Tg tested to check for thyroid autoimmune disease/ Hashimoto's?
Follow SeasideSusie's advice re essential nutrients
exhaustion, felling as if I’m trembling inside, fatigue, and just a general feeling of being unwell
This might be caused by adrenal problems, with you having either too little or too much cortisol. The symptoms of low and high cortisol can overlap so it is essential to test your levels rather than rely on symptom lists.
Adrenal problems are common in people with thyroid disease.
Yes I alway take the same brand and am totally gluten free now. No really noticed and reduced symptoms to be honest. And I don’t really have much dairy so I might try going completely dairy free too.
No vitamin D test as doctor said “ I’m 100% sure you’ve nothing to worry about “ is so maddening
But thank you for your advice I’ll see how dairy free goes. X
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