Hello everyone, I wrote a few weeks ago about my mum's predicament, feeling so utterly exhausted and the amount of weight she has put on. I have some of her blood test results, and due to the 2 results that are above range they are repeating some of the tests.
Unfortunately I only have her T3 (or fortunately as they were good to agree to it), I've asked them to look to see if her TFT has been overlooked.
I can see her T3 is dire so that may explain her exhaustion and big weight gain, plus she seems very oedematous in her face to me, much more than last year. Hoping they'll find her T4 and TSH results for me next week so I can take a look at those too, and post them here. She also gets very bad cramps in her calves - do any of these results explain this?
Why would her ferritin be above range?
Is her B12 too low?
Anyone know why her platelets would be a little high?
Serum ferritin 192 (13.0 - 150) - above range
Serum folate 2.8 (2.1 - 26.8)
Serum B12 266 (197 - 771)
Vit D 66.1 (>50)
HbA1c 39 (25 - 41)
Free T3 3.2 (3.1 - 6.8)
Platelets 436 (150 - 410) - above range
My mum doesn't take any supplements at the moment. Does her Vit D need to be higher? Does she need supplements to get all her Vit D, folate and B12 levels up or does she need more thyroxine?
Any pointers would be very helpful, thank you.
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Pinkpetite
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classic hypo results from where I’m sitting even without TSH and t4, did they test antibodies? She may be auto immune. Raised ferritin can indicate inflammation needs looking at. D round 100 will feel better. (Go for D3 with K2 2000iu and test again in 3 months, NHS won’t give it but it does help) I found Thorne Basic B Complex the best for being B12 and folate up. She’ll benefit from trying gluten and dairy free but might want to test for coeliac first. That helps the gut absorb the good stuff. Cramp can be resolved with magnesium which helps with D absorption so try Magnesium Glycinate if bowels are normal/sensitive or Magnesium Citrate if regularly constipated. Only do one thing at a time, 2 weeks between each new thing including diet. Start with B Complex. Note Biotin in it affects thyroid blood test results so stop for a few days before testing. I take a separate B12 and folate on those days otherwise my fingers tingle. Photo of our D3 +K2 collection and magnesium all off Amazon 🌱
iHerb are based in the US, with warehouses in other countries equally far from UK. I ordered from them once by mistake (brain fog) and my package took weeks to arrive.
it seems to come quite quickly for me and they were on Amazon for a while, someone is also distributing via eBay same stuff all sealed. I’ve tried others but they don’t work. I’ve also lobbied Solgar to copy the formula that went high up for review internally but I haven’t heard back. I had a London parcel take 5 weeks in March I think things are a bit better now 🌱
If you order from uk.iherb.com/ (that is, the special UK sub-site), your basket will show UK VAT. There should be nothing to pay over what the basket and delivery show.
However, there is a limit to the value of a single order:
Due to customs regulations, the amount of "Subtotal" can not exceed £115.32 per order.
I do not know how long they take to deliver but, when I have used them in the past, they have been reasonable - not next day, but not weeks!
Thank you for your reply, I will get my mum on those supplements. I know she won't go gluten and dairy free, she is nearly 87 and quite resistant to change her diet. The want to repeat the FBC and ferritin in 3 weeks time so I'll have to be careful with the B complex, maybe best to wait till after the second blood test. Do you recommend waiting 2 weeks between each new thing so you can see the effect?
another observation for you, my swelling especially face didn’t improve for over 12 months, got worse before better, but 5 months into low dose T3 it’s finally on the move. But everything else has to be tip top before T3 otherwise it doesn’t work. Takes patience 🌱
Also wanted to add that I doubt my mum will get T3 now at her age, 87, and wouldn't be able to cope with all the monitoring necessary. I'm hoping the GP will increase her thyroxine and if not, I'll get her seen by a private endo - if I can find one that really does listen and act accordingly.
Thank you for your replies, just got the time to go through them properly this morning. I'm hoping to get her TSH and T4 results tomorrow, but clearly going by the T3 things are not looking good. My mum has been on thyroxine for 40years, she was diagnosed when I was young. My daughter too is hypothyroid plus my aunt and cousin - so it runs in the female side of the family. Probably Hashimotos yes. I will try and get the GP to test her antibodies but, if I remember rightly, they won't show up properly as she's been on thyroxine too long? I will ask for the pernicious anaemia test and add in vit D straightaway.
Does it matter which magnesium glycinate I get her? Is there a certain dose she will need? Her diet is not great as she has dementia, tends to nibble sweet things and not have a big appetite for meals.
With serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a separate B12 supplement and add a separate vitamin B Complex after a week
Then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), you may be able to reduce then stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
If Vegetarian or vegan likely to need ongoing separate B12 few times a week
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
In week before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg) and continue separate B12 until levels high enough to slowly reduce then possibly stop B12
Thanks, do you know how long it takes to get the B12 up? She does have a lot of tingling in her right hand, due to a nasty shoulder fracture which wasn't repaired properly - I'm hoping the B vitamins help this a little, and perhaps the magnesium - any thoughts?
Also wanted to ask re the Higher Nature Thyroid Support Formula which tested positive for me - whether it would be any good for my mum? It has tyrosine in it which I think helps with motivation and I wondered if it would possibly help her, or is this one to stay away from? It has iodine in it too.
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