I have just got my blood results back and I am wanting to know what you all think and if you have any suggestions on how to improve. I don't understand my antibodies results and why my LDL is so high.
Active B12 - 39 pmol/L (Normal Range 38 - 188)
Corrected Calcium - 2.18 mmol/L (Normal Range 2.05 - 2.55)
HDL - 1.91 mmol/L (Normal Range 1.16 - 1.68)
LDL - 3.5 mmol/L (Normal Range 0 - 3)
Total Cholesterol 5.8 mmol/L (Normal Range 0 - 5)
Triglycerides 0.93 mmol/L (Normal Range 0.84 - 1.94)
Thyroglobulin Antibodies - 297 IU/mL (Normal Range 0 - 115)
Thank you. My Vitamin D is low. I got it tested a few months ago and it was very low so I didn't retest it this time but will do next month.
For Ferritin, I had requested this to be checked but the provider, Forth, told me that they were unable to get a reading as the sample took too long to deliver which I thought was strange.
I am not a Vegetarian or Vegan. I eat chicken and fish maybe once or twice a week.
Also do you think the LDL is worrying or is this normal for those with hypothyroidism?
No. It isn't. High cholesterol levels are never anything to worry about. It's a symptom, not a disease. And yours is only very slightly high, anyway. And that's because of your low FT3.
High cholesterol does not cause heart attacks or strokes, as doctors would have you believe - because they want to prescribe statins. It's low cholesterol that is more likely to do that. And no-one has yet figured out a way to raise cholesterol if it's naturally too low. So, forget cholesterol and concentrate on raising your FT3 and your other nutrients.
Good question. Well, T4 (levo) is supposed to convert to T3. But, judging by your blood test results, you are a poor converter. The could be due to low nutrient levels, so first step is to optimise those. But it could also be due to many other things over which you have no control.
So, if optimising nutrients doesn't help, then the other option is to obtain T3 and take that along side your levo. This can be problematic because it's very hard to get it on the NHS. And you would have to see and endo and 'prove' you need it. But, if that fails, you could buy your own on-line without a prescription. Many of us do that.
Some nutrient levels can take a long time to raise - iron and vit D especially. With B vits it's quicker. But, I would leave at least six weeks, like for thyroid.
With T3 I'm afraid you have to take what you can get. You rarely get a choice. But, I've tried most of them and find them much of a muchness. Although I did find it difficult to get the right dose with Thybon Henning. In any case, we're all different and have to find what suits us as an individual, never mind what suits everyone else.
If you have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), treatment may be delayed until this problem is treated. This is because having an underactive thyroid can lead to an increased cholesterol level, and treating hypothyroidism may cause your cholesterol level to decrease, without the need for statins. Statins are also more likely to cause muscle damage in people with an underactive thyroid.
Thank you. I prefer to have finger prick tests instead of in arm blood tests like at the GP. I had my Ferritin levels last checked in December 2023 and they were low, I went to the GP about it and they did a full panel and told me I was fine.
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
Test early morning, only water to drink between waking and test. Avoid high iron rich dinner night before test
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
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.
Thank you for your incredible patience while you have been awaiting the outcome of our ferritin reference range review. We conducted this with Inuvi lab, which has now changed the reference ranges to the following:
Females 18 ≤ age < 40. 30 to 180
Females 40 ≤ age < 50. 30 to 207
Females 50 ≤ age < 60. 30 to 264l
Females Age ≥ 60. 30 to 332
Males 18 ≤ age < 40 30 to 442
Males Age ≥ 40 30 to 518
The lower limits of 30 are by the NICE threshold of <30 for iron deficiency. Our review of Medichecks data has determined the upper limits. This retrospective study used a large dataset of blood test results from 25,425 healthy participants aged 18 to 97 over seven years. This is the most extensive study on ferritin reference ranges, and we hope to achieve journal publication so that these ranges can be applied more widely.
With serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a separate B12 supplement
A week later add a separate vitamin B Complex
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
Thorne Basic B recommended vitamin B complex that contains folate, but they are large capsules. (You can tip powder out if can’t swallow capsule) Thorne can be difficult to find at reasonable price, should be around £20-£25. iherb.com often have in stock. Or try ebay
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
Post discussing how biotin can affect test results
I don’t eat a lot of gluten and I did try gluten free along with a dairy free diet a few months back and didn’t really see much of a difference to be honest but do you think a gluten sensitivity would have an effect on my nutrient levels? If so, I would definitely try going off it again!
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