My latest blood results from medichecks (taken in line with community guidelines) have really surprised me and I'm not sure what to think.
TSH (0.27-4.2) = 0.7
Free T3 (3.1-6.8) = 4.4 which is 35% through the range
Free Thyroxine (12-22) = 22.8 which is 101% through the range
Ferritin (13-150) = 62
Folate (>2.9) = 18.7
Active B12 ( 25.1 - 165) = 186.6, which is 133% through the range
Vitamin D (50-200) = 147
I have always been hypothyroid and take 75mcg daily of levothyroxine and have thyroglobulin antibodies. I also have gastric parietal cell antibodies which indicates potential for pernicious anaemia, and have always had B12 at the low end of the range.
For years I've been taking B12, Folate, Vit D supplements. A month before the bloodtest I stopped taking the B12 and Folate - I wanted to check my results without the supplements.
I've been feeling ropey for the last 2 months and suspected my TSH had gone up again or my B12 was low, but it's the opposite!
1. My diet hasn't changed and I've removed the supplements, so why would my B12 go through the roof?
2. Could the increased B12 be increasing my Thyroxine?
3. Can you have hyperthyroidism with low in the range T3?
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Sparklyjenson
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It looks to me like you need to up your ferritin but best to get a full iron panel to find out what’s really going on. I need mine over 100 to convert FT4 to FT3 alongside all those other optimal vits which look great.
So FT4 over range (over replaced not hyper), FT3 low (so hypo), that and low ferritin will make you feel ropey,
Do you have access to an endocrinologist? It looks like you would benefit from a reduction in Levo and an increase in T3/Liothyronine to balance things out. Ask your GP for a referral and see what the endo suggests TUK has a list of thyroid friendly Endos you can check, always check for feedback by posting again asking for reviews/experiences by private message.
Thank you for taking the time to review. I will get the full iron panel done first. I eat a lot of meat and vegetables so will need to supplement to increase it. Do you take a supplement to keep your above 100?
I do but I have significant cyclical blood loss due to fibroids adenomyosis and possibly endometriosis too. I take Three Arrows Simply Heme, once/twice a day during a bleed and 2-3 times a week between. I took it daily for 3 months to get up over 100. Hair stopped falling out, legs stopped aching etc.
Looks like all is pretty good. I suspect the b12 is high due to taking the supplement as you can hold on to b12 for a long time. I get b12 injections every 3 months and mine is always very high. I get my b12 bloods done prior to my injection on the same appointment and it’s always very high now. Your TSH is good and just in range so I wouldn’t change anything there but keep an eye on your T3 level as it’s on the low side. I would keep an eye on your vit D as you don’t want it going over 150 really as too high can have negative symptoms.
Thank you, it’s really helpful to know that your B12 stays high in the blood for 3 months. I had read that B12 had a half life of 6 days, so assumed it would be mostly out of my body by the test although wasn’t sure about the validity of the website I took that from. I’ve been taking the same supplement for years and it’s always hovered just below 100, so an increase to 146 is just a bit odd.
I hadn’t paid attention to the vit d result so thank you for pointing that out. I might take the supplements a couple of times less a week, as they are a high dosage.
My partner takes vit D supplement and started to experience stomach cramps, I quickly thought of them taking a private blood test for vit D and the result came back very high and over range. So Vit D supplement stopped for a couple of months then retest before starting again. I think the only one is b12 where you are safe and symptom free if it goes very high as it’s soluble and your body can get rid of it easily. Another one is ferritin to be careful of if that goes too high, I try keep my ferritin around 100 and I take ferris fumerate for low ferritin.
I take 210mcg ferris fumerate. My GP prescribed one a day but to be honest that’s too much for me. So I take one tablet every other day. It’s important to leave 4hrs away from levothyroxine. But I do get my bloods checked every 3 months by my GP. As I get a b12 injection 3 monthly we do a whole host of bloods at the same time. I sought of manoeuvred it really initially requesting it myself. That was 6 years ago and now they insist I get my ‘regular’ bloods done every 3 months. I’m certainly not arguing with that. So that way I can keep a good eye on my vitamins and thyroid levels. It’s really good to see as occasionally I’m surprised by either an odd low result or one a bit high. Maybe it’s something to think about and get your surgery to do for you. New government is now pushing preventative medicine so you could use that line maybe. I get the following checked TSH, T4, T3, Cortisol, b12, Vit D, folate, ferritin , lipids/cholesterol, full blood count, HBA1C and electrolytes. It’s a lot but I know what’s going on in my body. Happily all are good but that’s down to regular blood tests and taking the correct thyroid meds and vitamins routinely. I’m symptom free and full of energy since balancing everything.
Can I jump in please. I’m currently having private treatment for thyroid and HRT but my private bloods only look at thyroid hormones, vit d, folate, iron and sex hormones. My NHS bloods were always in range but low forcing me to seek private treatment after a rubbish referral to an NHS endo. I’m assuming you had some out of range test results to get prescribed folate and the follow up testing? My folate’s low but when I supplement it shoots out of range. My NHS GP just told me to stop supplements. No offer of follow up bloods etc. Should I push for more testing? It’s not easy to balance things without the info and is costing an arm and a leg privately. NHS treatment seems so patchy. Thanks
I know it’s very frustrating at times trying to get GP’s to do the right thing and at least do blood tests to avoid illness and problems into the future. What I said to my surgery is that I needed blood tests to give to me private only endocrinologist and also my NHS endocrinologist who is out of the area and cannot pull up any gp details on my NHS record. They then started with a load of blood test and it’s just gone on from there. What I do a week prior to my b12 injection appointment is send them an email entitled’regular bloods’ I list all the bloods to be done and say they are for my private endocrinologist, which I do send results to him if there is something I can’t figure out myself. I don’t want to end up with fees unnecessarily. I generally can work things through myself to be honest and have an annual consultation with my private only endocrinologist that nowadays only costs me £50 and that includes a prescription for my T3 liothyronine for a year. So in my case it’s well worth keeping in with my private only endocrinologist as the GP jumps if I ever mention his name. Mention your private endocrinologist in your blood requests, see what reaction you get.
Thanks, I’m currently getting private T3 and NDT and to get all the bloods privately that you get would need 2 sets of private bloods. My private NHS GP prefers a certain test and the others would need to be via medichecks or similar. I get the NHS wouldn’t fund NDT and that’s my preference now as I was never given levo and was told my bloods were in range by NHS despite sky high antibodies and symptoms. It’s just balancing everything with vitamins and HRT in the mix too. I might see if I can somehow get regular and comprehensive blood work done via GP and self fund the meds. Unfortunately NHS GP referral to NHS endocrinologist was useless. She agreed my antibodies were sky high and dismissed my current symptoms and said due to antibodies I might develop thyroid problems in the future 😳
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 and may need separate methyl folate couple 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 5-7 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)
Post discussing how biotin can affect test results
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.
Retest thyroid and vitamin levels in another 6-8 weeks
Hopefully you should see Ft3 improvement and slight reduction in Ft4 as direct result
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