help with results

[Auntyp62]

Can you give my your opinion of my daughter thyroid results please. They were done by a gynaecologist she has been seeing for a gynae problem who has said there is no problem with them. But If I had the T4 and T3 results I would be flat on my back.

TSH…….1.73 Range0.27 to 4.2

T4………..11.8 Range 12 to 22

T3………….3.9 Range3.1 to6.8

She sleeps a lot, hair loss and very heavy periods. She has been told she is not anemic but results were low, would that make a difference to the T4 and T3

Many thanks for the great support on here

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

Yes to the blood loss and thyroid function. If my experience with fibroids and iron deficiency without anaemia is anything to go by. She needs a full iron count done, then post again, make sure it includes ferritin. Common for low ferritin with normal haemoglobin.

Once you have the results if it shows up low ferritin a course of heam iron supplements, or liver twice a week are what worked for me. Once that’s up the FT4 and FT3 might follow, mine did and sent me over range.

I took 3 Arrows Heme Iron Repair from the US for 2 months and ferritin went up to 140. Now taking a lower strength alternative. But definitely blood test first don’t supplement until you know the levels.

Is she Veggie? Vegan?

🌱

[Auntyp62 in reply to Regenallotment]

Thank you, you have confirmed my thoughts. She already takes a supplement with iron but will get stronger ones instead. Her ferritin was 24.56 with a range of 13 to 150 so there is room for improvement. We will retest in 6 to 8 weeks and see if any improvement. Not veggie or. Vegan. Thank you for your reply

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Auntyp62]

Need to aim for ferritin at least over 70

Heavy periods are classic sign of being hypothyroid and will lead to low iron and ferritin

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

Serum ferritin level is the biochemical test, which most reliably correlates with relative total body iron stores. In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron

Medichecks iron panel test

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet

Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption

List of iron rich foods

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

An article that explains why Low ferritin and low thyroid levels are often linked

preventmiscarriage.com/iron...

irondisorders.org/too-littl...

davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...

Great in-depth article on low ferritin

oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Posts discussing Three Arrows as very effective supplement

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron patches

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...

Post discussing just how long it can take to raise low ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron and thyroid link

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Excellent article on iron and thyroid

cambridge.org/core/journals...

Posts discussing why important to do full iron panel test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Good iron but low ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Chicken livers if iron is good, but ferritin low

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Shellfish and Mussels are excellent source of iron

healthline.com/nutrition/he...

Ferritin over 100 to alleviate symptoms

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Great research article discussing similar…..ferritin over 100 often necessary

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Low Iron implicated in hypothyroidism

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ferritin range on Medichecks

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Inflammation affecting ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

We have received further information the lab about ferritin reference ranges. They confirm that they are sex dependent up to the age of 60, then beyond the age of 60 the reference range is the same for both sexes: 

Males 16-60: 30-400 ug/L

Female's: 16-60: 30-150

Both >60: 30-650 

The lower limit of 30 ug/L is in accordance with the updated NICE guidance and the upper limits are in accordance with guidance from the Association of Clinical Biochemists. ‘

[SlowDragon Administrator]

also test vitamin D, folate and B12

And BOTH TPO and TG thyroid antibodies

For full Thyroid evaluation she needs TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested

both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once

Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum

About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s

Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis.

Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.

Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease

20% of autoimmune thyroid patients never have high thyroid antibodies and ultrasound scan of thyroid can get diagnosis

In U.K. medics hardly ever refer to autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto’s (or Ord’s thyroiditis)

Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options and money off codes

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

Symptoms of hypothyroidism

thyroiduk.org/wp-content/up...

Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra

[seveneleven]

What sort of time of day was the test done? If morning (when TSH is highest), might be worth looking into central hypothyroidism (problem with pituitary rather than thyroid itself), as TSH is quite low, where it usually would be at least 2 or more with those T4 and T3 results. But as others have said, low iron and ferritin will likely be contributing to low T4 and T3, so good to get that sorted.