Test results advice?

[lauriegraham]

hello.

I have just had a medichecks thyroid and cortisol test.

I have an endo appt later this week.

Cortisol is out of wack for sure as I think are the others. any thoughts gratefully received

CRP 1 (0-5) (phew)

FERRITIN 71 (30 - 400 R)

FOLATE -16.4 (2.9 -16.98)

VITAMIN B12 - 163 (25.1 - 165)

VITAMIN D 70 ....50 - 200 R

TSH 0.98 (0.27 - 4.2)

FREE T3 3.8 (3.1 - 6.8)

FREE THYROXINE 17.1 (12-22)

THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES 12.9 (0-115)

THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 12.4 (0 - 34)

Cortisol 4 pt saliva

waking 13.8 (6-21)

midday 12.2 ( 1.5 -7.6\)

mid afternoon 1.9 ( 0-5.5)

bedtime 6.2 ( 0-2) (I had done a jhot yoga class 3 hours before but it was off last time i did it too)

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

High cortisol is likely triggered by your under replaced thyroid hormones... your adrenals are trying to keep things functioning

Your other levels all look good, except Vit D could do with a little increase to get you over 100 (seasonal addition to cover the winter months)

So your fT4 is low and your conversion rate is poor... you could do with an increase in T4 but likely need some T3 to balance things up

TSH .98 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2) 18.1%

Free T4 (fT4) 17.1 pmol/L (12 - 22) 51.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 3.8 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 18.9%

T4:T3 Ratio 4.500 

[lauriegraham in reply to TiggerMe]

Thanks so much. Very helpful

I suspect my cortisol is the sequelae of a lifetime of stress and trauma, I am 66 now. Could it be the other way around, that stress turns off thyroid functioning, sensing danger and turning down energy production? Not sure one can easily measure but I suspect I have survived on high adrenaline to compensate?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to lauriegraham]

Could possibly be true in your case as your thyroid issue doesn't seem to be auto immune related?

[lauriegraham in reply to TiggerMe]

would anyone on here who knows about cortisol and adrenals have any thoughts about next steps and want to say to the not very sympathetic NHS endo? ?

[TiggerMe Ambassador in reply to lauriegraham]

Unlikely to get much help from your NHS Endo with this I'm afraid, you could try a private one or a functional medicine practitioner... here are a few useful sites

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Adrenal...

paulrobinsonthyroid.com/t3-...

hormonerestoration.com/Cort...

static1.squarespace.com/sta...

[lauriegraham in reply to TiggerMe]

thanks

[Hedgeree]

Hi lauriegraham,

Just wondered if you follow a plant based diet?

My thyroid problems aren't autoimmune either and I beleive that my low and then below range FT4 is due to my eating a vegan diet over many years.

It took some time before I was prescribed hormones but my FT4 levels are very slowly creeping up and are now within range.

Sorry can't help with cortisol or adrenals other than I've found adrenal cocktails to be very helpful.

[lauriegraham in reply to Hedgeree]

thanks. no not vegan .. adrenal cocktails, do you mean thgings like adrenal cortex supplements?

[Hedgeree in reply to lauriegraham]

No. If you search on the forum or possibly better doing a search on the web you'll find recipes for them. They are mainly orange juice, coconut water and salt. There are many variations but I find them helpful to support the adrenals.

[lauriegraham in reply to Hedgeree]

Thanks so much

[Mixteca]

Is that an active B12 result in pmol/L? Next step is to do a 24 hr urine test for cortisol. My 9am cortisol test was high and this was clearer in the urine test. Years of chronic stress harms the body, I'm living with the consequences of that now. High cortisol over a long period can cause Cushing's disease.

cortisolmatters.com/pdfs/en...

cortisolmatters.com/about-h...

[lauriegraham in reply to Mixteca]

On top of the 4 point saliva one? Thanks

[Mixteca in reply to lauriegraham]

As well as, yes. Not had that test myself. See links I added to post. DST tests to do too.

I had low sodium back in April and thought cortisol might be low so I had tests done.