Are my iron levels appropriate?

[Bird_42]

Hello. I am a 46-year-old male, and I have autoimmune hypothyroidism.

Back in February 2020, someone on this forum advised me to have Iron panel blood tests. This person said that iron levels can affect FT4-to-FT3 conversion.


Well, about a week ago, I had Iron Panel blood tests, and here are the results:

Iron (serum) = 101 ug/dL   (normal range = 38 - 169)

Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) = 265 ug/dL   (normal range = 250 - 450)

Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity (UIBC) = 164 ug/dL   (normal range = 111 - 343)

Iron Saturation = 38%   (normal range = 15 - 55)


At about the same time, I had thyroid blood tests, and here are the results:

FT4 = 1.4   (normal range = 0.82 - 1.77)

FT3 = 3.3   (normal range = 2.0 - 4.4)

TSH = 0.077   (normal range = 0.450 - 4.500)

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy = 22   (normal range = 30.0 - 100.0)


So, are my iron levels appropriate? Are they too high? Are they too low? Are my iron levels negatively affecting my FT4-to-FT3 conversion?

Thanks for any information.

[flyingfool]

Also in much reading I have done and studies performed over the world.  Vitamin D levels are critical to immune function.  As it relates to COVID.  Those with levels below 20 are double the risk of being positive, and if positive, double the risk of being hospitalized. And the mortality rate is significantly higher for people who have low Vitamin D.

As Gimel points out above it is also good to have a D3 level of at least 50.  So it would seem in your best interest to start supplementing D3.

The current recommendation by the authors of the article, at least for COVID is never below 30. and preferably between 40-60.

One chart I saw that is for "average" person. To raise D3 from 20 to 30 it would take 2,000 IU's a day.  To raise it to 40 5,000IU's and to 60 10,000 IU's a day.  Of course they recommend to get tested again in 3 months as everyone is different and adjust the supplement dose as necessary.

Also, taking Magnesium with the Vitamin D3 significantly increases the amount of D3 in the blood.  So you may be able to take smaller dose of D3 along with Magnesium.  As a reference the article stated that taking magnesium can increase the blood level 244% more than with D3 alone.  

As far as thyroid. You are "AT" the rule of thumb level generally recommended to shoot for. FT4 about 50% or slightly higher in the range, and FT3 betwen 50% and 66% of the range, with people tending more so to need closer to the 66%.  

If you are still having Hypo symptoms, you really do not need any more T4 medication.  And I would suggest you talk with your Dr to add a small dose of T3.  Obviously if you are feeling fine, for God's sake,  don't "fix" was isn't broken!

[marvalrus]

Do you know what type of Magesium was in the article?

[Bird_42]

I just revisited this thread, and I realized that I had forgotten to list my Ferritin (serum) result. That result is as follows:

Ferritin (serum) = 332   (normal range = 30 - 400)

[oa20b]

Did your iron panel have Ferritin in there as well?  That's an important one also, and could be low.

[gimel]

There is nothing in your iron related test results indicating low iron.  In the future, you can just test for ferritin, which is a precursor to serum iron levels.

From your test results your Free T4 is at 61% of its range, and your Free T3 is at 54% of its range.  So there is adequate conversion of T4 to T3. Your Vitamin D is too low.  It is important for a hypothyroid patient to keep D above 50ng/ml, so that will require about 3000 IU of D3 daily.to reach 50.

You did not mention whether you were taking thyroid med.  If so, what type and what is daily dosage?  If taking thyroid med, do you take it in the morning before the blood draw?  Mosst important of all, have a look at the following link and tell us if you have any of the listed symptoms.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20350284