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Interpreting my lab results - new to thyroid info
Brand new and currently learning more about the thyroid.
Below are my lab results (non fasted)
after having symptoms of sluggish metabolism, constipation/GI issues, low vit D,
low Testosterone, and a tingling sensation in the neck/thyroid area.
If the labs are all normal ranges, might it be a pituitary issue causing the tingling sensation?
Also, what are your opinions on Lugol's iodine supplementation if I don't have Hashi's?
Im 29, male, 150lbs, extremely active for years now.
Thank you for any help in advance!
TSH 2.09 uiu/ml
T3 Free 3.1 pg/ml
T3 Total 100 ng/dl
T3 uptake 32
Reverse T3 16 ng/dl
T4 Free 1.3 ng/dl
T4 total 7.4 ug/dl
Thyroid antibody <10 iu/ml
Thyroxine binding glob 19.1 meg/ml
Testosterone total 356 ng/dl
Vit D 25 Total 40 ng/ml
cortisol total 10.9ug/dl
Below are my lab results (non fasted)
after having symptoms of sluggish metabolism, constipation/GI issues, low vit D,
low Testosterone, and a tingling sensation in the neck/thyroid area.
If the labs are all normal ranges, might it be a pituitary issue causing the tingling sensation?
Also, what are your opinions on Lugol's iodine supplementation if I don't have Hashi's?
Im 29, male, 150lbs, extremely active for years now.
Thank you for any help in advance!
TSH 2.09 uiu/ml
T3 Free 3.1 pg/ml
T3 Total 100 ng/dl
T3 uptake 32
Reverse T3 16 ng/dl
T4 Free 1.3 ng/dl
T4 total 7.4 ug/dl
Thyroid antibody <10 iu/ml
Thyroxine binding glob 19.1 meg/ml
Testosterone total 356 ng/dl
Vit D 25 Total 40 ng/ml
cortisol total 10.9ug/dl
great information! thank you again!
LH and FSH have not been tested.
I am on Fluconazole for 30 days for anti fungal but other than that NO meds at all.
Supplements are now injectable b-12, vit d shots from the doc, and Testosterone shots once per week. I also take probiotics , whey protein, bcaa's, and a multi.
This new info from my labwork might help:
MTHFR, DNA mutation - POSITIVE
C677T mutation
A1298c mutation
my doc said because of this I don't convert B-12 correctly? and therefore I should be taking injectable b12 2-3x per week.
Also, anti nuclear antibodies were at 1.37 High (0.00 - 0.90)
that can mean autoimmune? (IE Hashimoto's or Celiac)
I don't think the lab results for the thyroid would be Hashi's consistent?
maybe unrelated but something to throw out there as an FYI:
My previous Primary care doc noticed an irregular heartbeat on my EKG. After being monitored for 24hrs on a heart monitor and consulted with a cardiologist, the doc said its nothing to worry about just keep an eye on.
LH and FSH have not been tested.
I am on Fluconazole for 30 days for anti fungal but other than that NO meds at all.
Supplements are now injectable b-12, vit d shots from the doc, and Testosterone shots once per week. I also take probiotics , whey protein, bcaa's, and a multi.
This new info from my labwork might help:
MTHFR, DNA mutation - POSITIVE
C677T mutation
A1298c mutation
my doc said because of this I don't convert B-12 correctly? and therefore I should be taking injectable b12 2-3x per week.
Also, anti nuclear antibodies were at 1.37 High (0.00 - 0.90)
that can mean autoimmune? (IE Hashimoto's or Celiac)
I don't think the lab results for the thyroid would be Hashi's consistent?
maybe unrelated but something to throw out there as an FYI:
My previous Primary care doc noticed an irregular heartbeat on my EKG. After being monitored for 24hrs on a heart monitor and consulted with a cardiologist, the doc said its nothing to worry about just keep an eye on.
Typically, pituitary issues don't cause neck sensations unless they affect the FT3 and FT4 levels. Your TSH, which is a pituitary hormone, looks consistent with your FT3 and FT4 levels, so I don't see any obvious sign of pituitary involvement.
The saliva test is supposed to be more accurate than the blood test. In the 24-hour test, you spit into a cup at 4 different times of day so that you get a reading at each. This eliminates averaging errors, where, for example, a low morning and high evening reading might cancel each other out.
The rule of thumb for FT4 is 50% of range, and for FT3, it's 50+%. However, for people not on thyroid meds, i.e. who still have hormones on demand, my personal feeling is that there's considerably more leeway in the variation of those. We, on meds, often have to run levels a bit higher to cover periods of peak demand, since rather than continuously producing T4 and converting T3 all day long, we gulp our whole daily allotment in one swallow.
Vitamin D deficiency is rampant, especially in temperate climates. They've handed us the sunblock, trading one ill for another. B-12 depends partly on your diet (plant sources of B-12 are very limited). Pernicious anemia, the inability to absorb B-12 through the gut, is an autoimmune disease. If you have PA, you have to inject B-12 or use a sublingual or nasal spray (the latter two rarely used in the U.S.). I believe your B-12 is on the low side (barely), but not low enough to signal PA. A supplement would probably work just fine. So, I don't think you have to look too deeply to find the possible causes of D and B-12 deficiency.
As far as the low testosterone is concerned, I don't know. That could be a pituitary issue. Have LH and FSH been tested? While your FT3 and FT4 are just a little low, your testosterone is very low. However, the whole pituitary is often not effected. Are you on any meds or supplements that could be affecting the pituitary or hypothalamus?
The saliva test is supposed to be more accurate than the blood test. In the 24-hour test, you spit into a cup at 4 different times of day so that you get a reading at each. This eliminates averaging errors, where, for example, a low morning and high evening reading might cancel each other out.
The rule of thumb for FT4 is 50% of range, and for FT3, it's 50+%. However, for people not on thyroid meds, i.e. who still have hormones on demand, my personal feeling is that there's considerably more leeway in the variation of those. We, on meds, often have to run levels a bit higher to cover periods of peak demand, since rather than continuously producing T4 and converting T3 all day long, we gulp our whole daily allotment in one swallow.
Vitamin D deficiency is rampant, especially in temperate climates. They've handed us the sunblock, trading one ill for another. B-12 depends partly on your diet (plant sources of B-12 are very limited). Pernicious anemia, the inability to absorb B-12 through the gut, is an autoimmune disease. If you have PA, you have to inject B-12 or use a sublingual or nasal spray (the latter two rarely used in the U.S.). I believe your B-12 is on the low side (barely), but not low enough to signal PA. A supplement would probably work just fine. So, I don't think you have to look too deeply to find the possible causes of D and B-12 deficiency.
As far as the low testosterone is concerned, I don't know. That could be a pituitary issue. Have LH and FSH been tested? While your FT3 and FT4 are just a little low, your testosterone is very low. However, the whole pituitary is often not effected. Are you on any meds or supplements that could be affecting the pituitary or hypothalamus?
besides constipation which just might be dehydration, I would get mucus in the stool frequently ( could be IBS ?).
Celiac may make sense because generally GI issues could cause a decrease in Testosterone and Vitamin D and also effect the thyroid. Im trying to find an underlying cause so I'm not trying to correct a deficiency without addressing the root cause.
Doc didn't palpate or feel nodules or comment on thyroid size.
As far as thinking it was pituitary, it was just doing process of elimination with the tingling symptom if the thyroid labs looked normal.
Also thinking about the adrenals and cortisol maybe? but even then there has to be an underlying cause effecting all of this. The cortisol was in range but that was blood.
Should I have done a 24hour salival test?
Im very active and don't eat perfect but by no means terrible either. just feel like the hormones are off because of fat gain around just the midsection and neck area when most other areas are fine.
The years of high intensity activity might be catching up with me.
Either way I keep coming back to the Thyroid and GI issues as the root causes.
You mentioned the FT4 and FT3 as being a little low. Can that give you any clues?
Low D, Testosterone, and B12 is vague and can point to different things.
If correcting the deficiencies changes things then maybe the answer is the high activity creating the deficiencies therefore causing problems.
Celiac may make sense because generally GI issues could cause a decrease in Testosterone and Vitamin D and also effect the thyroid. Im trying to find an underlying cause so I'm not trying to correct a deficiency without addressing the root cause.
Doc didn't palpate or feel nodules or comment on thyroid size.
As far as thinking it was pituitary, it was just doing process of elimination with the tingling symptom if the thyroid labs looked normal.
Also thinking about the adrenals and cortisol maybe? but even then there has to be an underlying cause effecting all of this. The cortisol was in range but that was blood.
Should I have done a 24hour salival test?
Im very active and don't eat perfect but by no means terrible either. just feel like the hormones are off because of fat gain around just the midsection and neck area when most other areas are fine.
The years of high intensity activity might be catching up with me.
Either way I keep coming back to the Thyroid and GI issues as the root causes.
You mentioned the FT4 and FT3 as being a little low. Can that give you any clues?
Low D, Testosterone, and B12 is vague and can point to different things.
If correcting the deficiencies changes things then maybe the answer is the high activity creating the deficiencies therefore causing problems.
Technically, it doesn't rule out celiac, only a small intestine biopsy can rule out celiac. So, if your antibodies weren't elevated, it's not conclusive, but if it doesn't walk like a duck and doesn't quack like a duck, etc., it probably isn't a duck. Besides constipation, what other G/I issues were you having?
I was just thinking that an U/S would give you a better idea if the tingling in your neck was thyroid related. Has the doctor palpated your thyroid, and did he comment at all on size or whether or not he felt nodules (very common)? Typically, iodine deficiency causes a goiter (enlarged thyroid).
I don't think I ever answered you that iodine is a simple blood test.
I also meant to ask why you thought this could be a pituitary issue. Have other pituitary hormones, besides TSH, been tested?
I was just thinking that an U/S would give you a better idea if the tingling in your neck was thyroid related. Has the doctor palpated your thyroid, and did he comment at all on size or whether or not he felt nodules (very common)? Typically, iodine deficiency causes a goiter (enlarged thyroid).
I don't think I ever answered you that iodine is a simple blood test.
I also meant to ask why you thought this could be a pituitary issue. Have other pituitary hormones, besides TSH, been tested?
no thyroid ultrasound yet.
GI Distress Profile immunology/serology on the labwork was normal for wheat and gluten. I'm guessing that rules out celiac?
Thanks again
GI Distress Profile immunology/serology on the labwork was normal for wheat and gluten. I'm guessing that rules out celiac?
Thanks again
Celiac disease (autoimmune gluten intolerance) can inhibit absorption of nutrients in the gut.
Have you had a thyroid ultrasound?
Ferritin looks good.
I agree with your doctor. Those known deficiencies should be corrected before starting thyroid meds.
There are really only three possibilities in the treatment of hypo...synthetic T4 only meds (like Synthroid, Levoxyl and generic levothyroxine), synthetic T4/T3 combos of the previous T4 meds plus synthetic T3 (Cytomel and generics) and desiccated porcine thyroid, which contains both T4 and T3 in the proportions the pig likes it in (considerably different from what our thyroids make). Of course, all of those can be prescribed in different doses and combos can be mixed and matched. Unfortunately, until we try each for ourselves, we really don't know how it will work for us. Another person's experience doesn't apply. Anyone who tells you that there is only one therapy that works for everyone is someone to be avoided. We've all gotten well doing very different things.
\Most often, mainstream doctors prescribe T4-only first.
Have you had a thyroid ultrasound?
Ferritin looks good.
I agree with your doctor. Those known deficiencies should be corrected before starting thyroid meds.
There are really only three possibilities in the treatment of hypo...synthetic T4 only meds (like Synthroid, Levoxyl and generic levothyroxine), synthetic T4/T3 combos of the previous T4 meds plus synthetic T3 (Cytomel and generics) and desiccated porcine thyroid, which contains both T4 and T3 in the proportions the pig likes it in (considerably different from what our thyroids make). Of course, all of those can be prescribed in different doses and combos can be mixed and matched. Unfortunately, until we try each for ourselves, we really don't know how it will work for us. Another person's experience doesn't apply. Anyone who tells you that there is only one therapy that works for everyone is someone to be avoided. We've all gotten well doing very different things.
\Most often, mainstream doctors prescribe T4-only first.
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