Hope everyone is having a good day and not pouring it down and misty as it is here. Managed to have a telephone consultation with my usual Dr. today that I feel was helpful. My T3 result was done with my last tests and is 4.5 which said in normal range. I only had one thyroid test prior to beginning levo 50mcg and Dr says she would have done two before medicating but says odds are on even if I wasn’t fully hypo this time , more borderline, I most likely would become so in the future . Dr. Is happy with my latest test results and is keeping me on this dose for another six weeks and then testing again as I’ve had such a good response. Other relevant non thyroid results were :-
Vit D, 78.8
Vit B12 , 704 ng/L (197-771) Should I stop supplementing this as seems high?
Serum ferritin , 151 ng/ml (12-233)
Serum folate 4.7 ng/ml (2.4-26.8)
Serum calcium 2.31 mmol/L
I have a lot of other things with figures but don’t know how relevant they are ?
I don’t think zinc or selenium is on there though, should this be tested?
Any knowledge or advice gratefully appreciated (and I will be less active when everything feels as if it’s settled !)
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Benjipuss
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There is no upper limit for B12 - just the reference interval. Most people are not supplementing so that might be reasonable. But there is nothing bad about being higher. And the other limit is that most labs end up saying "greater than 2000" - and don't bother to look further.
High B12 - when NOT supplementing - can indicate various disorders. But it isn't the high B12 that is the issue, it is why it is high that matters.
You could reduce intake, if you wish. But I suggest you only do that if you will get future tests. Otherwise, B12 level could slide without you being aware.
Thank you! I started to take it as a well woman advisor suggested as long covid had given me oddly numb feet , but sensation most only when wearing walking boots and not when wearing sandals or resting! It hasn’t improved since taking it so maybe I don’t need it ? Maybe if I stop it now and ask for it testing again in six weeks when thyroid is redone to see if it has dropped? Though I wouldn’t know what could be a normal drop or not ?
B12 needs to be at good levels for a long time to achieve real positive effects.
B12 is very involved with red blood cell production. But the life of a red blood cell is around 120 days. If you very quickly changed from low to adequate B12, it still takes another four months to replace all your red blood cells!
And that is looking only at one specific way that B12 affects us.
I would not stop it. I just might go to every other day.
You might also find it worth considering something like the Thorne Basic B complex. Something that has B6 in the form of Pyridoxal-5-phosphate.
Your folate, while technically within the reference interval could be a bit higher. Which would also be addressed by that product which has some methylfolate.
Thank you! I just don’t want to cause any further problems by over supplementing. I think I need to change my vit B complex as I’ve just blown up the ingredients list (too small to read otherwise) and have just noticed it has copious added nasties! How on earth did I miss that? What is the advantage of Pyridoxal-5-phosphate , and what is methylfolate made from please?
My T3 result was done with my last tests and is 4.5 which said in normal range.
Yes, I expect it is. But that's not the point. You haven't given the range - which is essential because they vary from lab to lab - but in some ranges that would be low. Can you give us the range, please?
You might not get your doctor to test selenium, but if you can, go for it. It's always good to know.
As for zinc, that would be a very good idea. But, ideally, it should be done at the same time as copper, because the two need to be balanced. And very often, when hypo, we have one too high and therefore the other one too low. It's usually zinc that is low, but best to check before supplementing. Adding more copper to high copper is not a good idea!
Well, to be brutally frank: what would the nurse know about it?!? Answer: probably nothing. 'Well within the range' means nothing if you don't even know what the range is. You need a print-out of these results, otherwise, you're just guessing.
I got some sort of printout from reception, husband collected whilst receptionist typed. It doesn’t actually make much sense in places and couldn’t see t3, selenium or zinc. I had asked for a printout a couple of days before so not sure what happened?! I shall ask dr for printout and hopefully it will make more sense
Really not a good idea to ask the doctor. He won't want to be bothered with that and might get stroppy.
The receptionist typed it??? Not good. So many mistakes could find their way in. Why couldn't she just print-out? That would have been much easier for her and more informative for you.
I know! I’m not sure what happened . My dr is usually lovely (and hope they remain so now I’ve become a “frequent flyer”) so hoping they will print out for me , they said they would ring me about a test I’ve had today so I won’t need to make a special call.
Thank you! Dr did not give range , just said within normal range, but I will ask when I next have another test and try and arrange selenium and zinc if they’ve not been tested already (the printout I’ve got is massive and I’m not sure what everything is ).
Yes, well, good get-out clause, there. He probably prefers you don't know your exact results, because then you can't argue. What you should do is ask at reception for a print-out of your results - it's your legal right to have one. And, there's no reason why you shouldn't ask now for a print-out of your last results, no matter how long ago they were, don't wait until your next blood test.
If you already have a print-out and it's massive, it won't all be relevant to thyroid. The results that interest us are:
TSH
FT4
FT3
TPO antibodies
Tg antibodies
and any nutrients: vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin, zinc, copper, selenium, potassium, sodium, cholesterol, and any other vitamins or minerals they just might have tested.
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 separate B12
Post discussing how biotin can affect test results
After a month of Levothyroxine my results are now:-
serum free t4 level. 15.6
TSH 2.87
Remember all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Thank you. My vit D was 78.8. It had crashed twice over last four years but put that down to long covid. Maybe need look at folate ! I think only B12 was tested. Is low serum folate B9?
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