Anemia Board Index: Levels of B12, Ferritin and Vitamin D have dropped AGAIN!
Re: Levels of B12, Ferritin and Vitamin D have dropped AGAIN!
Hi hopalong too - i was just reading your post and one word stood out, "Hashimoto's".
With thyroid issues, not every single person will be affected in precisely the same way. It affects us individually with key symptoms, while a range of other symptoms we can share identically.
I too have Hashimoto's and my BIG problem is malabsorption of nutrients. I'm on iron supplements and likely will be for life. Once when my ferritin got up to 60 i eased off the iron supplements and began taking them 3 or 4 times per week. My iron ended up dropping. So now i take them religiously and even so it's an effort staying up high.
My Vit D was also very low and presently i'm on 10,000IU 5 days per week. I was on 5,000IU daily but my thyroid doctor has noticed that in winter i need a heap more.
Does your thyroid doctor monitor your ferritin, Vit D etc regularly? it ought to be monitored, including the other things you are low in eg: B12. Have they checked your iodine? My iodine levels were quite low so i've been on pure iodine daily too. The best iodine test your doctor can do is a urine iodine test as the basic blood tests aren't as accurate.
Has your thyroid doctor checked your adrenal function to see how your cortisol levels are doing? This is also important and keeping your Vit D up nice and high helps your cortisol levels too.
The problem is that there are thyroid receptor sites through the body and if your thyroid isn't functioning well, these sites will have issues eg: ovaries, stomach, liver etc etc. My issues is that my pancreas doesn't produce sufficient enzymes to digest protein so i'm on prescription digestive enzymes with each meal. I have now learnt that the pancreas is actually part of the endocrine system so no wonder it's not functioning well.
Most Hashimoto's sufferers are low in things and the digestive system and stomach are the areas affected. Until these improve you are looking at supplementing for a very long time. I've also found out that i'm blood type A and this type, from what i've read/been told, doesn't have sufficient stomach acid to digest protein effectively. Some disregard this theory, but in my case it seems to fit. Not sure how many others are blood type A.
Instead of giving up on feeling better, why don't you simply give up on your doctor.
First things first, ALWAYS get a copy of your lab report. NEVER accept a doctor giving you a verbal "all is fine". You now don't know where your levels are at??? So in that case nobody else can help you either. Call back the doctor and get a copy of your labs. It is your right.
Secondly, if your ferritin is low, a multivitamin a day will NOT get your levels up.
You have to start taking your health into your own hands, particularly now that you have a thyroid issue in amongst all your other issues. You can't afford to not address things like ferritin, Vit D and B12. If you are not getting the best care from your doctor then you should look for one which actually has an interest in helping you and not one who simply treats you as a number.
Your period issues might have nothing to do with your ferritin, but it does with your thyroid. It's most likely your homrones are not balanced. A lot of people with thyroid issues have hormone issues and a lot with hormone issues have undiagnosed thyroid problems. They are both symptoms of one another.
The fact your TSH is considered good doesn't mean a thing, but of course most doctors wont treat if a TSH is considered good. That's how i went 9 years without treatment, but had a whole host of other symptoms. Doctors ought to be looking at your T4 and T3 and those ought to be in the optimum range. Being at the lower end can still give off symptoms.
You need to see an endocrinologist and stress your symptoms. If one doctor doesn't care then you move onto another. Staying with a bad doctor is as bad as doing nothing.
hoppy--Audrey-B has very good advice for you! I hear the passion in her tone even!!!
I so understand what you are saying. Your B-12 is in fact too low, it should be higher from what I understand at least 400 and your ferritin should be 50-100 for minimal health that is all I'm saying here. Minimal.
Thyroid function plays a large part when it comes to these results for some of us. To get the doctors to agree, well, that is another story. Good luck with that because I haven't had that myself. But one can never give up!!! I have been where you are. Perhaps I still am. It's not easy. Nothing ever is, really. However, both of these things that I mention can easily be controlled by you most likely through supplements. Malabsorption is also a role in this when you have multiple deficiencies at play.
I recommend that you post your thyroid labs on the thyroid board for advice. That's too confusing to me, although, your TSH looks good to me. The others might be too low for optimal health. I think FT3 should be at the top of the range and FT4 should be at the top 1/3, if I remember correctly, so go ask the experts about that. I see you know something because you figured the % of the range already.
That's typical of a GP. The good thing is that you can help yourself and get a proper iron supplement, one with a higher dosage and vitamin C for better absorption. As your ferritin isn't moving upwards fast at all, it's safe to take it for about 3 months and then ask for a retest.
It doesn't hurt to also look for a decent doctor who is willing to work through things with you. I myself had no luck with normal doctors so i took what i'd learnt off the boards and found myself a Trichologist (hair/scalp specialist). I decided that sometimes you have to go left to go right. I was lucky i did this as he was better than any previous doctor i had gone to. He ended up knowing my current thyroid doctor too and referred me to him. Sometimes finding one good doctor, even if he/she doesn't specialise in your particular problem area, will lead onto another good doctor.
You can't give up, no matter how frustrating it gets. You can give yourself a small "break" from it all, but don't ever give up. Besides, once you begin supplement your iron with higher doses you will begin to feel better and better as your ferritin rises, even if only by small amounts.
I'm not familiar with Poly Iron but have read of others on this board using it. It's ok to start on a slightly lower dose and then build it up,just so your tummy gradually gets used to it.
It's good your are supplementing your B12 sublingually. I'm not sure on the dosage there either as my B12 has always been good and i've only supplemented with multi B vitamins.
Most of us Hashi's sufferers don't have their vitamins zooming up the lab charts all that fast. If you wish, you can take all these supplements for a month or so, then retest and act accordingly. People i've known personally who don't have a thyroid issue find their vitamin D, iron, B12 etc moving fast after only 4 weeks, whereas it takes most thyroid people a year (or more) to get where a "normal/healthyish" person can get in a 1 - 3 months. Just remember, you may be facing being on some of these supplements for a long time, if not for life.
As a fellow Hashi's sufferer i'd be encouraging you to also look at finding out whether you could have a digestive issue and/or gluten intolerance. Stopping gluten or taking digestive enzymes can help your body absorb more vitamins and minerals. I know a gluten test is routinely blood test, but to know 100% for sure you would need a biopsy of the small intestine. For digestive disorders, my doctor got me to do a stool analysis test and stool samples were sent to a lab somewhere and they checked to see how i digested protein, fats and carbs, whether there was mucous, bacteria, yeast, bacterial larvae, checked Ph balance, checked digestive flora etc etc all in the stools. It was an amazing test, a little pricey, but it gave a tonne of information that it was well worth doing. This test is what led to my doctor finding out that my pancreas wasn't working properly and the pancreas is part of the endocrine system, along with your thyroid so no wonder thyroid issues and digestive issues are interlinked.
It's good you are taking all your supplements as far away from your morning thyroid meds as you are. cytomel is for your T3 yes? is yours low? Mine is low and my thyroid doctor said that the healthier your adrenal function the better your T3. Have you had your adrenals checked to see what your cortisol levels are from early morning till late at night? It's another "must have" test as a lot of GP's and Endo's still don't request it.