Am I being a hypocondriac - test results liver, thyroid, ferritin, vit D????

[Lovetunnocks]

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor botherer - I've been to the docs about three times in the last five years before all this started. Also I love the NHS, appreciate that docs are busy and have the added pressure of dealing with patients who think they know it all because they've been consulting doctor Google.

However, having said all that, I would be really grateful if anyone who knows anything about this stuff could run an eye over these tests results. I have a feeling that something is wrong but my doc thinks there's nothing to worry about (I think she thinks I'm a bit over anxious and probably pre-menopausal!). Background is I've been feeling like crap for over a year - no memory, no concentration, no energy, dry skin, muscle weakness, breaking nails, always freezing cold, chronic plantar facilitis and, despite being on diet of 1200 cals a day, I'm only losing at the rate of about 1lb a month. I'm 47 (feel about 80) and three stone over weight (which I'm desperately trying to reduce). Also, if it's relevant, at the time of the tests I hadn't drunk any alcohol for three months (trying to lose weight).

Doc has run general blood tests and I had more thyroid ones done privately as we have a lot of auto-immune illness in the family so I wanted to rule out an autoimmune thyroid condition. (The antibodies tests were negative for thyroid). The results of both these sets of tests were ...

Heamoglobin 156 (115-160 g/L)
Ferritin 475 (13-150 ug/L) (booked to be retested)
Vitamin D (25 Hydroxy) 13.2 nmol (

Lol - ask your mum to fund you a month in the canaries, then!

I have recently found out that I have a vitamin d deficiency. I was advised to take vitamin k2 with my d supplements so as not to have calcium issues (make sure to take k2 and not k1 as they are not the same). If you don't want to take more supplements you could eat lots of brie - it is high in k2.

aaargh keep trying to link
ref help website has the lothian joint formulary flowchart/diagram thing for vit d
there is an asterisk to read
either stage 2 or stage 3 treatment

Ive got all sorts of thyroid/gluten issues going on, and I have found that a dose of 5000 IU (125mcg) Vit D3 daily is keeping me and my usual past few years winter aches and pains pretty much on track and normal. I am buying Pharma Nord Bio Vitamin D3 from my local independent health food shop, 40 capsules £9.95. At my last test end of November on these levels, I had got to 92 mmol/L. I know within a couple of days if I stop taking it, the aches and pains return, especially in my hips.

Sans - yes, i finally found that one. That's what she's prescribed - 800IU per day so that's 20 micrograms a day. So actually, I can't complain because she is sticking to the guidelines. I think what I'll do is bump up the dose a bit or supplement it with the spray. I'm not sure though why the guidelines should vary so much across the country. Is it cost or a genuine difference of opinion on how deficiency should be treated?
I've also just realised that the only reason I was tested for Vit D was because it was part of the private testing - I don't think it's something that is offered routinely in my NHS trust. Maybe that's part of the reason the GP is hesitant?

In Lothian they are still reviewing guidelines and saying that low vitamin D in the winter is normal. There is a lot of debate about the relevance of it.

its so annoying! you can safely take a much higher dose eg2000 iu (i would personally say 5000) without needing to worry about blood tests. a lot of people routinely take a daily 2000iu or as a weekly dose instead. just make sure it is d3

Quint - that's really useful, thank you. Yes - I'll phone her back and suggest that! Have a brilliant holiday by the way!

Sans - don't worry, I found it. Thanks so much for your help - I really do appreciate it. :)

Penny - again, that's really useful. It is so helpful seeing how much people are taking and what the benefits are. I've got pain in my hip too - it hadn't occurred to me that it might be connected.

Musicaltheatremum - Ah, that makes sense. I think that's why my GP was saying that it was all a bit 'controversial'.

Beachcomber - sorry missed your brie post. What an excellent suggestion.

Yes I was quite pleased at the brie thing. I'm low in b12 too which of course beef liver is rich in.... I prefer the brie/k2 thing though!

Hope you get to the bottom of things and feel better soon. I felt terrible for months and I was so relieved that it turned out to be a couple of deficiencies - my main issue is b12, but low vitamin d wasn't helping. Good luck. I'm afraid I don't know much about thyroid issues but there are lots of MNers who do, your tsh seems high to me and I would definitely want an explanation for your ferritin level.

Your TSH is far too high. 2 or lower for optimum health.

Thanks Beachcomber and Inanimate. Several of you have now said that the TSH is too high, but I'm not sure what I can do about it if the doctor has said that she's happy with the levels because they're in range. Am I missing something?

Thanks Korma, I'm so sorry to hear about your thyroid problems - that sounds awful.

Do I need a referral from my doc to go private? And if I find the cash to go private for thyroid how does that effect my relationship with my GP ie does that mean that anything to do with thyroid is out of my GPs hands. Just wondering cos I could see she was a bit about me rocking up with the private Vit D and ferritin results the other day (like she didn't quite believe them).

i would maybe ask on thyroiduk or wait a bit. you dont have antibodies so maybe your body is just under pressure from something else and the thyroid will settle down when the underlying cause is found.