results advice please

[Margiepargie]

Hi all and happy new year.

I recently got my bloods done with monitor my health and I’d really appreciate any advice on how they are looking.

I did them with no Levo for24hours, no supplements for a week before. Nothing to eat or drink before the test and it was done at 8am in the morning. They came back within 24hours too, which I thought was pretty good. The only thing I was taking is Prednisolone for Polymyalgia Rheumatica, but took them after the blood was taken.

FT3 4 pmol/L Range ( 3.1-6.8 pmol/L )

FT4 17.4 pmol/L. Range ( 12-22 pmol/L )

TSH 0.06 mU/L. Range. ( 0.27-4.2 mU/L

any help is always greatly appreciated

Xx

[Tina_Maria]

The question to ask is how do you feel at present? Are you okay or do you have any concerns or symptoms?

It is difficult to judge by just looking at the numbers, some people may be fine with results like these, others may have symptoms - it all depends on the individual. Hence, if we have a bit more context, it would make it a bit easier to comment.

[Margiepargie in reply to Tina_Maria]

hi, thank you for replying.

In the grand scheme of things I’m not feeling too bad. I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica back in August 2024 so have been struggling with the steroids. I am pretty tired most of the time but not sure if that’s the Hashimotos or the Prednisolone. Also I’ve been having vertigo pretty much every day for the last two months but again not sure what’s that’s down to either.

But I guess I’m feeling better than I have been in the last couple of weeks and from the last bloods I had done around 3/4 months ago.

X

[Tina_Maria in reply to Margiepargie]

Glad that you are feeling a bit better than before. 😉

FT3: 4 pmol/L Range ( 3.1-6.8 pmol/L ) - 24.3 % through the range

FT4 17.4 pmol/L. Range ( 12-22 pmol/L ) - 54% through the range

Your levels look a bit on the low side, most people feel well when their thyroid hormones are at least around 60% through the range, so you could perhaps try a small increase in your medication and see how you get on. How much medication do you take usually? The only fear I have is that your GP would not agree to an increase, as your TSH is already low and would go lower still with an increase. But that should not be too concerning, as the free thyroid hormones should really guide your treatment.

There is also NICE guidance on thyroid replacement treatment, which says that around 1.6 mcg of levothyroxine is needed per kg of body weight:

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/hypo...

However, this should be taken as a guide and some people will need less, where as others may need more.

Are you taking any supplementation at present? Many thyroid patients are deficient in key nutrients such as iron, Vitamin B12, folate and Vitamin D. Have you had these tested in the past? If not, it might be worth doing this to see where your levels are.

Iron and Vitamin D in particular help with the conversion of T4 to the active hormone T3 and if levels of T3 are low, you can feel quite tired - so looking at these nutrients and correcting any deficiencies can help you making the most of your medication. In addition, as you are taking steriods for your Polymyalgia rheumatica, you should take a decent level of Vitamin D anyway to prevent bone loss through the corticosteroid treatment. Vitamin D should always be taken with Vitamin K2 (to direct dietary calcium into the bones) and adding magnesium will also help with the absorption of Vitamin D.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

you need to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

You only need stop any supplements that contain biotin 3-5 days before test

Prednisolone will lower TSH