thyroid bloods

[Thyroid36]

hi all looking for some advice, my sister is really tired I said get your thyroid checked , so to me her t4 is low and she could do with some help, her ferritin is also low vitamin D is alway low, GP didn’t do Free t3 even though she asked which is annoying . Do you agree that she needs some help 12.1 is really low I would say isn’t it although within there range. ? Thanks

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Her FT4 is on the low side at 34% of range but TSH is at least under 2. Its a shame there is no FT3 result.

It would be good to check her thyroid antibodies, don't use Monitor My Health as they only test one type being an NHS lab.

The worse issue I see in her results is her ferritin. Her transferrin is low in range indicating no capacity for supplementing so she would be best off increasing iron rich foods in her diet such as chicken liver pate, red meat. This can take a long time to take effect - think 18 months or so.

[Thyroid36 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Do u think that her t4 is possibly a lab interference ? Because does lowish t4 but ok TSH make sense?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Thyroid36]

What might have interfered with her FT4 result?

Her FT4 is on the low side but without an FT3 or both types of antibody tested this could be normal for her. Her FT4 is likely to vary but you could always retest in a few months.

Make sure she does the test at 9am or earlier, fasting, only drinking water before the test.

What time of day was this test taken?

[Thyroid36 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Yeah it was taken 9am fasting, I just wondered if there could have been a lab interference maybe cos TSH more normal and the T4 low, yeah I agree can’t really make an conclusions on the thyroid really without antibodies and Free t3 I just thought the TSH & T4 don’t really correlate.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Thyroid36]

I doubt here was interferance with the blood test or her TSH result.

Her biggest issue is her low ferritin. If she can reduce bleeding from menstruation and work on increasing iron rich foods in her diet that would help a lot. Not a quick fix though.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Ferritin is virtually deficient

Vitamin D and B12 also could do with improvement

[Thyroid36 in reply to SlowDragon]

ok thank you 🙏 would u say thyroid is fine or could do with help? What does deficient ferritin mean

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Thyroid36]

What does deficient ferritin mean

Anaemia…..

This will cause exhaustion and fatigue

Is she vegetarian or vegan

Ferritin 34 ug/L (11 - 307) 7.8%

Transferrin  2.1  (2 - 3.6) 6.3%

Iron 18.5  (11 - 32) 35.7%

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.

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.

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...

[Thyroid36 in reply to SlowDragon]

Do you think it could possible be a lab interference with TSH & T4 not correlating?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Thyroid36]

Low vitamin levels tend to lower TSH

[Thyroid36 in reply to SlowDragon]

Oh really ok, so you think her thyroid could be low. I have told her to get free t3 done and antibodies first .

[Thyroid36 in reply to SlowDragon]

Also I whats your thoughts is HbA1c do you think it could be better because i was wondering does it look like it could be lower is it too high

[SlowDragon Administrator]

vitamin D is alway low,

So how much vitamin D does she now supplement

B12 better over 500

[Thyroid36 in reply to SlowDragon]

Oh thank you for all the info, No she isn’t vegan she eats meat . No she doesn’t take any supps at all! Nothing ! 😭

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Thyroid36]

Government recommends EVERYONE supplement vitamin D at least Oct to April minimum