Ferritin, folate, Vit D, B12 and thyroid tests - how to interpret? Pls help

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I have a fibro and fatigue diagnosis, as well as type 1 diabetes, and some gynae issues including large clots.

My hair is now starting to fall out. I'm not convinced that my blood tests are absolutely fine like the gps always insist. Looking over bloodwork for last few years:

Ferritin has been 33 - 58.

Folate has been 4 - 5.

Vit D has been 25 - 64. (they sent a letter advising supplements)

B12 has been 550

Thyroid TSH always 2 or 3.

What should everything be? I want to work towards optimal levels, rather than just 'okay' as the doc insists, because I need to see can I do anything to improve the exhaustion and other symptoms.

Any advice at all gratefully received.

Depends on the reference ranges that the particular lab uses for those tests

Not sure about the other ones but TSH is not always indication of the problem with thyroid. T3 and T4 might be out of range. I had massive amount of thyroid antibodies while the rest of thyroid hormones were fine (can’t remember if it was ATGA or ATPO).

My ferretin got down to 3.2.

That lead to a blood transfusion (in conjunction with other issues)

You need to know the reference ranges - they'll be in brackets next to the results.

Your vit d is very low though. Try taking 3000iug a day initially for six months and then get retested and if it's increased reduce your dose to 1000iug.

I have fibromyalgia and me/CFS and I paid for a private full thyroid test through medichecks as I wasn't convinced that there wasn't a problem with my thyroid. It all came back fine though.

Just comparing back to my recent results using my ranges as a guide

Your folate and ferritin could definitely be higher and I'd suggest supplementing with folate for six months. Mine was 3.7 and I was prescribed folate for 6 mths. It's now 10.7 which is in the lower half of the range. Like you I'd prefer it higher.

B12 is mid range so should be ok. No harm though in taking a sublingual tablet though.

Definitely take the vit d. I use the high strength bit d3 from healthspan.

www.medichecks.com/thyroid-function-tests/thyroid-check-plus

This is the test I took for the thyroid.

Don't forget about the importance of magnesium too. Trying taking regular epsom salt baths.

I had pretty bad hair loss five years ago. My doctor said my bloods were fine. A trichologist said my ferritin levels were too low and causing/partly causing my hair loss. My levels were slightly higher than yours.

I took florisene tablets to improve iron and therefore ferritin levels as well as incorporating more iron into my diet. My hair loss did improve and my ferritin levels are consistently much higher now.
Good luck....

Thank you, folks. I think I will get some more of the vit D spray and investigate iron supplements.

I can't really drink orange juice every day as it's too sweet but if I take a vitimin C tablet would that work for iron absorption? I'm a bit uneasy in case the iron annoys my stomach, but I guess I'll start with the lowest dose and see how it goes.

Magnesium hurt my stomach, even though I was taking it in the form that was supposed to not give you symptoms. Maybe I should try again - I still have them sitting here! Don't have a bath or baths would be a great alternative.

Thanks everyone.

You can get Magnesium as a spray "oil" that goes on your skin from Better You. I just bought it for my DH who has possible fibro and would also like to get into the optimal ranges. Hope you feel better soon.

Try magnesium spray on your feet. You can also pop Epsom salts or magnesium flakes in a bowl and have a foot soak.

If you've got a bit of spare cash (under £100), take a third-party blood test. I recently went through a tired-all-the-time patch, and did a test from Thriva. They send back a really, really detailed report but with excellent summaries, graphs showing the levels of everything, and actual doctors on tap to discuss the results. They don't try to sell you anything (other than more tests over time to see if your levels change as you change your diet/habits/etc). They've got base packages and lots of addons for various other things, scroll down the front page. thriva.co

It's worth it for the interpretation they provide alone, unless you already have a consultant on tap for doing that.

Not related to them in any way except using their service, other blood tests exist, vitamins may go down as well as up, blah blah blah.

I don't want to be a CF but I've got a referral code for them for 50% off your first test - they set it up as a subscription but you can cancel the sub immediately, it's three months between. It also nets me a tenner off my next one so only message me for the link if that sits okay with you!

I've had two tests, got my cholesterol halfway back from too high to normal between 1 and 2, and I'm going to do one more then stop as long as it's all on the right path.

Join this online group they have a section for people with thyroid issues. Lots of advice and support. It's free.
healthunlocked.com

I find orange juice too sweet as well! It's really nice dilutes half and half with ice cold water and some ice cubes