I would be grateful for any guidance on the following results -especially why T3 and TSH have gone down -and what would help. Also the relevance of the other tests- specifically the low ferritin and high B12 I am a beginner at all this & so any help would be much appreciated. Many thanksEvelyn
Are you taking any supplements or eating/drinking fortified food?
I wouldn't say ferritin is particularly low. Optimal is said to be 90-100 for best use of thyroid hormone so you're not far off that. I think the range they have given you includes males which is higher.
It would be better if you had an active Vit B12 test rather than the total one you had done. Sometimes a high vit B12 can be a paradoxical B12 deficiency. iomcworld.org/articles/para...
Your TSH has dropped because your body has more thyroid hormone in it. Thats just how it happens. On NDT one would expect a below range or suppressed TSH due to the T3 content in it.
Free T3 (fT3) 3.77 pmol/L (3.74 - 6.11) 1.3%
Free T3 (fT3) 3.2 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 2.7%
Remember that you have had bloods done using different labs and that they use different ranges. If you work out the % through range it has gone up a tiny bit.
When you are getting bloods taken you need to be careful of when you last take your NDT. Its recommended to leave 8-12 hours for T3 although T4 should be longer. This would show your stable blood level. Obviously with NDT the hormones are both in each tablet so you need to find a happy medium probably of 12 hours taking last NDT before test.
When did you last take your NDT before this test?
See diagram below of what your FT3 blood level looks like after a dose of T3 (not NDT but will be similar).
Very many thanks for your long and detailed reply- it is very helpful and is much appreciated.
I stopped the Armour the day before the test, but can’t remember if I took my mid afternoon dose. Then had the test done at 8 the next morning
Yes I take a variety of supplements, including D/Bs/and B12 injections- could that be the reason for the very high B12 result. The article you sent was exceedingly interesting- I wonder if my new thyroid doctor would do an active B12 test.
Finally the one result I omitted was that in Feb my Rev T3 was 0.33 ( 0.12-0.35). Not repeated by doctor. What is the significance of this please and what could I do to lower it? Would it be a good idea to ask the doctor to repeat it next time- or not?
Thank you very much again for your earlier reply- it has greatly put my mind at rest re what is going on- so I am very grateful for your help
When you next test, be sure to delay your mid afternoon dose to leave 8-12 hours before the blood draw. Otherwise your results will show a false low which is what has happened in your current test.
B12 injections will certainly cause a high B12 result and is nothing to be concerned about.
If you're on B12 injections then theres no point in testing B12 at all, even active B12. Its probably very good.
There are a multitude of reasons as to why reverse T3 could be high or low, most of them have nothing to do with the thyroid and so its not even recommended to get the test anymore.
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