# newbie with many questions



## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

I went to a derm recently complaining about hair loss around my temples/ears and she ran the following labs

tsh 2.58 (0.40 4.50) 53.2%

ft4 1.20 (0.80 1.80) 40.0%

ft3 2.80 (2.30 4.20) 26.3%

ferritin 30.00 (10.00 154.00) 13.9%

^ based on these labs alone the nurse told over the phone to take ferrosequel

i've tested my iron in the past and my TIBC was a little below range., would this mean i cant supplement with ferrosequel?

I am currently 5 '8 110 lbs with a fasting blood sugar of 100. When I eat very low carb, I can get my fastings into the 90s and 80s but I dont want to lose weight/my hair.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Understanding the Thyroid: Why You Should Check Your Free T3
http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-thyroid-why-you-should-check-your-free-t3
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Dr. Mercola (FREES)
http://www.mercola.com/article/hypothyroid/diagnosis_comp.htm
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Free T3 and Free T4 are the only accurate measurement of the actual active thyroid hormone levels in the body. This is the hormone that is actually free and exerting effect on the cells. These are the thyroid hormones that count.

Ferritin (should be 50 to 100; the closer to 100,the better) 
http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/081504.htm
(Copy and paste into your browser)

SUGGESTED TESTS
TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin and Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies), (thyroid hormone panel) TSH, Free T3, Free T4.

You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Trab
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684583
(Copy and paste into your browser)

Hi there and welcome. Your FT3 is very low so it looks like you may have a thyroid problem. 2 huge clues to add to the list are very low ferritin and very low Vitamin D.

It is good you had the Ferritin test and you should supplement as instructed because ferritin is a protein that stores the iron for cellular uptake.

Will furnish info on that plus some tests that would be a good idea re the thyroid.

Let us know what you decide to do!


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

thanks!

*side note i have a connective tissue disorder (ehlers danlos) not that its relevant to my knowledge. but i have paresthesias in both my hands and they've been there since 2010 

i had my vit d checked but only AFTER i was supplementing a lot.

so TIBC doesnt matter when supplementing iron? does anyone here have a low TIBC (not to be confused with high tibc)?

my basal body temps are always in the 98s which confuses me. i thought to be hypo theyd have to be low?

but yeah i feel FAT and really bloated which is ridiculous considering my weight. and i have dry dry eyes, horrible tmj, hair loss, brain fog etc.

all my muscles feel heavy


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

a week earlier i had my fasting iron tested and the results were

124.00 (35.00 155.00) 74.2%


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

this is useful

http://www.parkhurstexchange.com/hematology/2010-03-09?zid=


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

any advice? should i supplement if my serum iron is a bit high?


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

im reading drinking gallons of tea (which i do) affects iron absorption, i wonder if im eating enough iron but the tea is making my ferritin low?


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

It's a holiday weekend here in the US so the boards will be very slow until probably Tuesday, so you'll probably see more info from posters then.


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

sure, dont mind me..im just obsessing lol


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

i made an appointment with a gp

i guess i'll ask if i can do fasting iron labs AGAIN. im still scared of taking ferro-sequels. not sure what's the worst that could happen with a high serum iron


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

well my gp is terrible, both her an the nurse said theyd love to have a ferritin as high as 30, WTF

also they blew off my blood sugar complaints


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

30 is not good, ugh. I can't remember offhand, but I think the closer you are to 80-100 is ideal.


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

i know right and this is years AFTER i started eating red meat, growing up i ate terribly..i bet my ferritin was actually a zero

i had an iron panel, i'll post the results here. i have a feeling they're going to be weird. taking one ferro-sequels a day now.

can low ferritin cause t4 to t3 conversion problems or is it the thyroid that causes the low ferritn?


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

still waiting on my labs, its going to take awhile

so i started taking ferro-sequels and i am COMPLETELY constipated. i thought these were supposed to be gentle/


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## hobbles (Aug 28, 2014)

so i'm still waiting on a lab printout

but my *fasting* iron saturaion is 47%!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and they told me to continue taking iron supplements???????????????

is it just me or are they idiots? i almost qualify for hemacromatosis

it might be a coincidence but my period is also late


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