Thyroid? Vit b12? Iron? Aargh??!!

[thinziggy]

Hi can anyone please help me unravel what's happening?

Looking back I have been feeling more worn out last couple of years, especially in run up to period. I put this down to peri menopause, lockdowns etc. Have been feeling the cold more for last ten years really but very bad last winter.

The thing that made me contact doctor is sudden dip in energy couple of weeks ago. One day I was doing a lot of lifting in the garden, later in the week I was worn out decorating a cake.

I've had blood tests done and doctor says nothing needed to follow up.

This weekend I've felt awful, drained of energy. In the past I have been depressed and also I have 3 kids and this is nothing like it, it's like my engine is somehow failing. This morning I felt sick from tiredness and sleeping doesn't seem to replenish me.

I've been taking vit D supplements for a few years- level is 71.8 nmol/L. So this seems ok?

We have strong history of under active thyroid and honestly thought this would bring a result but TSH is 2.2 mu/L so this seems ok too.

B12 looks a bit low - 228ng/L (range 211-911) and ferritin 42ug/L (range 10-291).

I need to go back to doctor but not sure whether to push down hormone route? Maybe I need HRT? Or is this low B12 and I should ask for supplement advice?

Other symptoms are constipation, skin more dry, brain fog, I have had a slightly numb back of one hand for a couple of years, loss of libido, but I honestly think these symptoms can be shoe horned into a lot of conditions.

Please can you share any experience of any of this and what might be most useful to look into? Thank you

Hopeful bump for the evening crowd

Did they test your thyroid antibodies?
The b12 is low - I take a b12 spray from Better You that works really well for me. I'd want an active b12 test to check for pernicious anaemia first as if it is that you will need injections but doctors dont seem to want to do these!
Can't comment on the hormone/HRT issues but hopefully other people will be on to comment on that!

Your ferritin is within the clinical range but on the low side. Ideally you want it to be 75+. Start taking ferrous sulphate 3x daily. Three months of it should relieve symptoms and it could take up to 9 months to fully restore your iron levels.

Thanks @GentlyGentlyOhDear - no they haven't tested thyroid antibodies. I've heard about this test being needed but at the same time I don't want to be completely off beam with asking if my TSH result seems so benign. In your experience could this test be needed with my TSH levels or is it unlikely?

It's really hard to judge - I spend so much time and energy advocating for my kids but for me I'm worried about coming across as panicky and irrational (and getting offered antidepressants...)

Hi @Ohnoohnoohnonononono
I've been googling all this and I have no idea at all about medicine. (You might have guessed).

Ive found it so strange that there are these normal ranges that GPs work to and then there is this understanding of optimal levels that other medical professionals work to. It just doesn't seem very joined up thinking, surely it's better for me to try a supplement now rather than possibly deteriorating.

Anyway that's a long way around of me saying thank you.

@thinziggy no worries. It’s really frustrating to be told by a GP that everything is fine when it doesn’t feel that way!

Iv felt dreadful for 2 years.
March 2019 B12- 292
May 2021. B12- 284

It's not improving it's getting lower but as far as Gp told me today 'in normal range' 🙄 so I'm ok.

Why do I feel so dizzy fatigued tired and faint all the time.

Iv had mild gastritis diagnosed December 2020 so I'm wondering if the two are connected but I feel like Iv hit a brick wall with my diagnosis or help from my Gp.
(I asked for the b12 to be rechecked glad I did now)

Any advice?🤔

I can't help as to why but called the gp this week about the same. He's booking me for bloods

@lostitall
Good luck.

I saw my own results on my Nhs app and also my patient access account but they dont like to tell you the result, just that they are 'normal'. I'm not sure how to resolve this I really want to feel like me again. It's totally rubbish 😞

It's awful isn't it I feel like I'm about to stop functioning honestly

Your thyroid might be within normals ranges for the general population, but that doesnt mean that it is within normal ranges for you. Your normal level is impacted by age, sex, weight, ethnic origin etc.

I would ask for followup thyroid levels on the basis that you are still feeling crap. TSH, T4 and Free T4 and thyroid antibodies.

If the GP wont play ball then try Medichecks who do a comprehensive thyroid panel (also a well woman panel)

Have you noticed any chest tightness, breathlessness, heartburn, refluxy stuff, dizziness etc? Sometimes in women heart problems can present weirdly and the only unifying factor is extreme tiredness

If you've not had a full blood count then ask for one. Get them to check CRP levels for inflammation as this can then cause further investigation if it's unusually high. Xx

Thanks @SeaToSki and @OhThoseBubbles

Ok I will ask for further thyroid test when I call the dr tomorrow to follow up.

I don't have any of those heart symptoms so think I'm ok on that score, it was something that hadn't even occurred to me so thanks for raising it as a possibility for me to tick off.

I've had quite a (seems to me) compressive blood test but doesn't list crp.

Unless I'm misunderstanding- one of my white blood cell counts (monocytes) is abnormally high (1.15 compared to normal range 0.2-0.8) but overall white blood cell count only slightly elevated (6.1 last time to 6.2 this time; normal range 3.5-11).

Maybe I need to ask for further investigation on this basis.

If your monocytes are high, you have been (are) fighting something. You might have caught Covid and been largely asymptomatic but have viral fatigue. You might have glandular fever which is renowned for fatigue. You might have caught a commonal garden virus. Its still worth perusing the other options as sudden extreme fatigue is always worth tracking down

Blood glucose test?

Folic acid?

Go and check the Pernicious Anemia FB page. It will take you through people's battle to get their GP to take their low B12 results with symptoms seriously. I suffer from low B12 which led to quite serious neurological complaints. They all disappeared after 3 months of injections. I have all my symptoms coming back after about 1 month in a very characteristic manner. Yet my B12 was 444 when I was tested so very much in the norm. Sadly, that doesn't mean much at all. It's the symptoms that matter.

Hi,

You don’t have breast implants do you?

Sorry to elaborate my weird question; a lot of these symptoms are similar to breast implant illness so I just wondered.