Advice on blood results please!: I had been... - Thyroid UK

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Advice on blood results please!

Tigghilly profile image
22 Replies

I had been waiting to see an endocrinologist for 7 months after a low cortisol result in August last year. I saw them last week and they said there was nothing wrong with me according to tests and it was probably medication related. Please could I use the knowledge of this forum to look at my blood results and offer advice for next steps...

TSH (0.4-5) - 1.7mlU/L June 2023

Free T4 (9-19) - 10pmol/L June 2023

Cortisol - 380 nmol/L Dec 2023

SST baseline 145 rising to 532 Sept 2023

229 August 2023

B12 (189-883) - 402 Ng/L Aug 2023

Folate (3.1-20) - 6.6 ug/L Aug 2023

Iron (7-26) - 8.9umol/L June 2023

Vitamin D - 24mmol/L Dec 2023

Thank you in advance.

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Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly
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SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

welcome to the forum

No Ft3 or thyroid antibodies tested

Ft4 extremely low

What time of day was thyroid test done

How old are you

Are you on any medication

Are you vegetarian or vegan

Vitamin levels all very poor

Exactly what vitamin supplements are you taking now

suggest you work on improving low vitamin levels

Then get full thyroid and vitamin levels retested in 2-3 months

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested

Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once to see if your hypothyroidism is autoimmune

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 TPO and/or high TG 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.

Significant minority of Hashimoto’s patients only have high TG antibodies (thyroglobulin)

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

Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing

thyroiduk.org/testing/

Medichecks Thyroid plus BOTH TPO and TG antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes BOTH TPO and TG antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/testing/thyro...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

Symptoms of hypothyroidism

thyroiduk.org/signs-and-sym...

Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test

support.medichecks.com/hc/e...

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

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

According to GP my thyroid is absolutely fine and therefore no need for T3 or antibodies to be tested.

Thyroid test was done before 9am. I'm 50 years old (49 when testing done). Not vegetarian or vegan.

At the time of testing I was taking:

Topiramate

Venflaxine

Omazraprole

Cerelle

Naproxen

Was prescribed loading dose of 4000iu vit D daily for three months. No repeat blood test. Told to sit in sunshine with t-shirt.

I'm taking a multivitamin supplement, folate, B12 and have added vit D and K2.

Thank you for your help!

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

So Omeprazole is a PPI prescribed for high stomach acid or alongside other medications to protect stomach lining

PPI will lower stomach acid and results in lower vitamin levels

Why are you prescribed PPI

Low stomach acid can be a common hypothyroid issue

Thousands of posts on here about low stomach acid

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

Web links re low stomach acid and reflux and hypothyroidism

nutritionjersey.com/high-or...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/s...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

How to test your stomach acid levels

healthygut.com/articles/3-t...

meraki-nutrition.co.uk/indi...

huffingtonpost.co.uk/laura-...

lispine.com/blog/10-telling...

Useful post and recipe book

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ppi like Omeprazole will lower vitamin levels

Low magnesium

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/p...

Low B12

webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ne...

pharmacytimes.com/publicati...

PPI and increased risk T2 diabetes

gut.bmj.com/content/early/2...

Iron Deficiency and PPI

medpagetoday.com/resource-c...

futurity.org/anemia-proton-...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

But never assume you have low stomach acid

healthygut.com/4-common-bet...

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Sorry, missed this. I take omazraprole as I was on naproxen. However I had b12 and iron deficiencies before I began taking it. B12 deficiency was diagnosed over 7 years ago and originally had loading dose injections but then nothing.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

B12 deficiency was diagnosed over 7 years ago and originally had loading dose injections but then nothing.

are you vegetarian or vegan

If not ….suggests thyroid been struggling at least 7 years

You should have been advised to take daily B12 by GP…..but NHS only tests and treats deficiencies

Once vitamin levels are back within range, even if languishing right at bottom of range ….it will be ignored

Down to you to test annually and maintain OPTIMAL levels by supplementing

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Definitely not vegetarian or vegan. I will post screenshots of my previous results. Feel free to ignore! I really appreciate your help and support.

Test
Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toTigghilly

Thank you

Test
SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

Is range still 9-19 on Ft4

14 (9-19) = 50% through range

13 = 40% through range

12 = 30% through range

10 = 10% through range

Any Ft4 below 50% should result in increase in TSH to ask thyroid to work harder

That’s not happening

Looking at secondary hypothyroidism and/or autoimmune thyroid disease

Low vitamin levels tend to lower TSH as thyroid needs good vitamin levels to function

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Yes range is still the same. I'll do the test next week and see what comes back... Thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

Was prescribed loading dose of 4000iu vit D daily for three months. No repeat blood test

So retest now

NHS private testing service

vitamindtest.org.uk

How much vitamin D have you been taking daily since this?

No one in U.K. can maintain vitamin D by sunshine between October to April

You will need daily vitamin D every day. Possibly higher dose in winter than summer

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

Multivitamins never recommended on here

Not enough to correct low levels

Most contain iodine too not recommended if autoimmune hypothyroid disease suspected

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Thank you, that's good to know.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Dec 2023

Vitamin D - 24mmol/L

Vitamin D is deficient

Did GP do this test?

What exactly was prescribed ?

GP should have prescribed LOADING dose of 300,000iu over 6-8 weeks

That’s 5000iu daily for 8 weeks

Or

7000iu daily for 6 weeks

And IMPORTANTLY retest vitamin D at end of prescription

has this happened?

NHS Guidelines on dose vitamin D required

ouh.nhs.uk/osteoporosis/use...

GP will often only prescribe to bring vitamin D levels to 50nmol.

Some areas will prescribe to bring levels to 75nmol or even 80nmol

leedsformulary.nhs.uk/docs/...

GP should advise on self supplementing if over 50nmol, but under 75nmol (but they rarely do)

mm.wirral.nhs.uk/document_u...

But improving to around 80nmol or 100nmol by self supplementing may be better

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/218...

vitamindsociety.org/pdf/Vit...

Once you Improve level, very likely you will need on going maintenance dose to keep it there.

Test twice yearly when supplementing

Can test via NHS private testing service

vitamindtest.org.uk

Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You is very effective as it avoids poor gut function.

There’s a version made that also contains vitamin K2 Mk7.

One spray = 1000iu

amazon.co.uk/BetterYou-Dlux...

It’s trial and error what dose we need, with thyroid issues we frequently need higher dose than average

Vitamin D and thyroid disease

grassrootshealth.net/blog/t...

Vitamin D may prevent Autoimmune disease

newscientist.com/article/23...

Web links about taking important cofactors - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7

Magnesium best taken in the afternoon or evening, but must be four hours away from levothyroxine

betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

livescience.com/61866-magne...

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

Recipe ideas

bbc.co.uk/food/articles/mag...

Interesting article by Dr Malcolm Kendrick on magnesium

drmalcolmkendrick.org/categ...

Vitamin K2 mk7

betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...

healthline.com/nutrition/vi...

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

June 2023

Iron (7-26) - 8.9umol/L

Iron extremely low

No ferritin result

You need FULL iron panel test including ferritin

Request GP do so or test privately

Any obvious reason for low iron…..eg heavy periods or vegetarian or vegan

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

Test early morning, only water to drink between waking and test. Avoid high iron rich dinner night before test

Stop iron supplements 5-7 days before testing

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

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

Great replies from @FallingInReverse

re ferritin and Three arrows

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu......

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...

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...

Iron deficiency without anaemia

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ferritin over 100 to alleviate symptoms

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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...

Really interesting talk on YouTube, link in reply by Humanbean discussing both iron deficiency and towards end how inflammation can also be an issue

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Inflammation affecting ferritin

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Updated reference ranges for top of ferritin range depending upon age

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Only add one supplement at a time. Wait at least 10-14 days to assess before adding another

Aug 2023

B12 (189-883) - 402 Ng/L

Folate (3.1-20) - 6.6 ug/L

Low B12 symptoms

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

methyl-life.com/blogs/defic...

NICE guidelines on B12 and testing

healthunlocked.com/redirect...

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

Highly effective B12 drops

natureprovides.com/products...

Or

B12 sublingual lozenges

uk.iherb.com/pr/jarrow-form...

cytoplan.co.uk/shop-by-prod...

B12 range in U.K. is too wide

Interesting that in this research B12 below 400 is considered inadequate

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Low folate

supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid)

This can help keep all B vitamins in balance and will help improve B12 levels too

Difference between folate and folic acid

healthline.com/nutrition/fo...

B vitamins best taken after breakfast

Igennus B complex popular option. Nice small tablets. Most people only find they need one per day. But a few people find it’s not high enough dose

Post discussing different B complex

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

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

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

2-3 months after adding last vitamin supplement look at getting FULL thyroid and vitamin levels tested via Medichecks or BH

Come back with new post once you get results

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Thank you for all the information, that's really useful!

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

I had been waiting to see an endocrinologist for 7 months after a low cortisol result in August last year.

Pity you didn’t join here and get FULL thyroid retest just BEFORE consultation

Most endocrinologists are diabetic specialists and useless for thyroid

Once you get vitamin levels improved and full thyroid including thyroid antibodies you may wish to see thyroid specialist endocrinologist

Here’s link for how to request Thyroid U.K.list of private Doctors emailed to you, but within the email a link to download list of recommended thyroid specialist endocrinologists

Ideally choose an endocrinologist to see privately initially and who also does NHS consultations

thyroiduk.org/contact-us/ge...

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

Thank you for this. I have been taking supplements for over a year now. Ordered a full thyroid and vitamin test last night and was planning on doing it next week... Can I post the results? I know you said 2-3 months but I've already been taking the supplements.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

Yes good plan

Only do testing early Monday or Tuesday morning

Stop any supplements that contain Biotin 5-7 days before testing

Other supplements (like vitamin D) carry on, just take as normal day before test, but not on morning of test)

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toTigghilly

which test is it you ordered?

Tigghilly profile image
Tigghilly in reply toSlowDragon

The gold Blue Horizon thyroid.

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