I posted here a while ago after having a dose of Levo increased but was still feeling unwell. I now have my most recent results after requesting vitamin and celiac testing and would like some help with them if possible.
Woman, 39. 10 months post partum. For context, I am still experiencing extreme symptoms which I assumed were caused by my Hashimotos diagnosis (July 2024). I am quite disappointed in the results because they have all come back 'normal' but I still feel unwell.
I will list results below; there are quite a few and I've included the ranges:
TSH: 2.5mu/l (0.27 - 4.2)
Serum Ferritin: 29ug/l (10.0 - 300.0)
Serum 25-Hydroxy Vit D3: 58.0 nmol/l (50nmol sufficient for population).
B12: 429ng/l (180 - 1000)
Folate: 5.7 ug/l (>4.0)
Serum tissue: very unlikely
Level 0.4 u/ml (<10.1)
Tissue Trabsglutinade Abs Iga: Negative
Haemoglobin Alc level: 36mmol/mol
Liver function: normal
Full blood count: normal
Urea and electrolytes: normal
Bone: normal
The last 5 go into more detail but I'm not sure if they're relevant. Can post if needed.
As you can see, everything appears to be 'normal', apart from my TSH which is still too high if I'm experiencing symptoms. I am at a loss and have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to discuss the results and I need some of your knowledge to assist with my next steps.
Mos extreme symptoms are:
Hair won't grow/bald patches
Extreme mood swings
Sore throat and loss of voice
Weight gain
Dry skin
Severe allergic reactions
Swelling
Tiredness and lethargy/low mood
Digestive issues
She checked my neck for a goitre but said it wasn't swollen. My mother also has a tumour on her thyroid currently and I'm aware thyroid issues are/can be hereditary.
I trialled a gluten free diet when I was diagnosed but introduced in preparation for the test. I didn't see any major differences but I am going to cut it out again.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Written by
GippyKiyYay
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When I speak to the doctor am I entitled to ask for my T3 and 4 to be tested? What test do I ask for? Apologies for ignorance, I am still learning how to own this illness.
Weight gives us a guide.... 75mcg is an awful dose as it's enough to stop any thyroid production you were capable of and not enough to replace your real need 😬.... so you are ready for your next increase push for 100mcg, if they are hesitant mention the word 'trial'... you are probably going to need another increase in 8 weeks time as 125mcg is likely nearer your dose
In the meantime sorting out your supplements will help 🤗
Let's get you up to a full replacement dose with good vits and mins and then it's worth you doing a private test to see how well you are converting to the active fT3 hormone 🤗
It tends to be 1 step forward 2 back when building up your dose but we'll get you moving in the right direction
I personally would do a private test if she can afford it. The NHS tests are basic and my GP has never accepted medichecks even though they use the same labs. I don’t know if this has changed now because it has been a few years since I tested because I was in remission and feeling well.
Also when first diagnosed 15 years ago my vitamin D was 7 and I had to beg my GP for a special prescription I now use the Better You vitamin D spray on my tongue which is easily absorbed
Look at Medichecks they do a full thyroid function test for about £89. I wouldn’t get it until January if I was you. I paid a nurse to draw my blood and one time Medichecks sent me to my local hospital for the test. The nurse who took my blood actually used a smaller needle because they have trouble getting blood out of me
After you get the results but them on the boards so members can advise you That’s what I have done in the past
Not really worth testing until all the key things are tackled and on a decent dose, it’s going to take a few months and then a full test will be more useful
For me a little diluted cider apple vinegar with mother before eating stimulates more acid production, I find probiotics a bit like rocket fuel 😳 😂 but then I struggle with dairy, nightshades and histamine!
I have shown my GP my Medicheck results because he refused to test both my T4 and T3. He then says we don’t recognise Medichecks even though the NHS use the same labs. So he requests T4 and T3 which the labs doesn’t do because of NHS guidelines. He then decides to view my Medicheck results. This is a few years ago but. I doubt much has changed from what I can see on here and other forums unless someone can correct me over this?
I wish I had known sooner rather than later my GP kept telling me my results were “normal” for 2 years. I actually had a TSH of 0.002 which he and a dermatologist didn’t spot either who I had paid to see at The Spires. The dermatologist said I had female pattern baldness. I feel like asking for a refund because I still have all my hair. This was 15 years ago so things have improved but I am still shocked what some GPs miss on blood results
Gippy is on the initial build up of T4 with everything all over the place so a test isn't going to be much use, I agree a full test needed as soon as things have been stable for a few months and vits and mins can be retested also but this will be of no interest to the GP as they generally haven't a clue what fT3 is 🫤
I know they know nothing about thyroid levels. Thank goodness for sites like this one and others I visit. I don’t bother with my GP with my thyroid health. I was a patient of Dr Gordon Skinners he was the only doctor I trusted .
Some sites do tend to encourage early testing and adding T3 too quickly which really messes things up for most, we a have quite a bit to work with in this instance, often the quicker you try to 'fix' things the potential is to really mess things up for even longer 😕 and get in a total pickle
Aiming to get some good foundations in place first
This result says very clearly that you have Autoimmune Thyroiditis/Disease - aka Hashi's.
Whilst the antibodies themselves are irrelevant - i.e. they don't cause symptoms, etc - it is important to know that you have Hashi's because of the way it behaves (and doctors haven't a clue what it does!).
With Hashi's, your immune system has erroneously identified your thyroid as the enemy, and is launching sporadic attacks on it with the aim of destroying it.
During these attacks, the dying cells leak their stock of thyroid hormones - T4 and/or T3 - into the blood, causing levels of FT4 and/or FT3 to suddenly rise to hyper-like levels. And the TSH therefore drops very low.
This is what I call a Hashi's 'hyper' swing. And it is only temporary. Eventually - but impossible to tell how long - levels will go down by themselves, no need for intervention of any kind, and you will be hypo again - only more so, because there will then be even less thyroid tissue capable of making hormone.
Doctors have no idea why this happens and are likely to accuse you of 'abusing' your levo, and start talking about 'going hyper' (physical impossibility) and wanting to put you on carbimazole (anti-thyroid drug). Neither of those things are true, it's just the Hashi's following its game-plan.
Eventually the disease will achieve its aim and your thyroid will be destroyed, and you will be completely dependent on exogenous hormone. And, I'm afraid, there's no way of stopping it, and no cure.
Hashi's is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the Western World, but the medical profession is still very ignorant of it. Which is why they dismiss anti-bodies - and often neglect to even test them. So it's good if at least the patient knows what's going on!
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
If taking any iron supplements stop 5-7 days before testing
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.
4) gluten
Tissue Trabsglutinade Abs Iga: Negative
This is coeliac test - result is negative
Good that GP is following guidelines and has tested
Now you have had the test you can look at trialing strictly gluten free diet
Your antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances.
Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
A trial of strictly gluten free diet is always worth doing
Only 5% of Hashimoto’s patients test positive for coeliac but a further 81% of Hashimoto’s patients who try gluten free diet find noticeable or significant improvement or find it’s essential
A strictly gluten free diet helps or is essential due to gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and may slowly lower TPO antibodies
Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
Similarly few months later consider trying dairy free too. Approx 50-60% find dairy free beneficial
With loads of vegan dairy alternatives these days it’s not as difficult as in the past
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HELP WITH BLOOD TEST RESULTS
Help please !!!!!!!!!!
Blood Test Results-Confused!
Here are my full blood test results - i'm hypothyroid please help me interpret - 
Blood test results 
