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What Does My Thyroid Test Result Indicate?
Question: I went to my primary care dr because I have been extremely fatigued for some time now. I have also noticed that I have felt like my brain is in a fog... She tested my thyroid and the results are as follows:
TSH 1.07 (range 0.40-4.50)
Free T4 0.9 (range 0.8-1.8)
Free T3 2.8 (range 2.8-4.2)
Since everything fell within "normal' range but I was continuing to have symptoms, she ran some more labs and everything came back normal with the exception of the following:
Now, TSH is 0.79 (range 0.40-4.50)
T4 is still 0.9 (range 0.8-1.8)
Vitamin D, 25-OH Total 22 low (range 30-100)
ALT 31 high (range 6-29)
Can the Low vitamin D be causing my symptoms?
What causes vitamin d levels to drop?
TSH 1.07 (range 0.40-4.50)
Free T4 0.9 (range 0.8-1.8)
Free T3 2.8 (range 2.8-4.2)
Since everything fell within "normal' range but I was continuing to have symptoms, she ran some more labs and everything came back normal with the exception of the following:
Now, TSH is 0.79 (range 0.40-4.50)
T4 is still 0.9 (range 0.8-1.8)
Vitamin D, 25-OH Total 22 low (range 30-100)
ALT 31 high (range 6-29)
Can the Low vitamin D be causing my symptoms?
What causes vitamin d levels to drop?
Brief Answer:
Vitamin D and thyroid
Detailed Answer:
Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be associated with a variety of symptoms including fatigue.
Your levels are in the 'Insufficient' range, and not considered grossly deficient. It appears that low vitamin D levels affect people differently and each person is affected in different ways, when levels are lower than what is considered normal.
So when someone comes to me with this type of vitamin D level, and has fatigue I recommend taking supplements to normalize the levels in the range of 30 to 50. If this improves the patients' symptoms then I infer that it is likely that the fatigue was due to lack of adequate amounts of vitamin D in the body.
Regarding the thyroid, although the levels on two occasions look normal, when I encounter a patient I take the possibility of 'Secondary hypothyroidism' into consideration and order Total T3 and Total T4, to ensure that the rare chance of 'Secondary hypothyroidism' is ruled out.
The mildly elevated ALT is most likely unrelated to the low vitamin D and thyroid. However it merits an assessment by the primary care doctor who may wish ti undertake further testing for it or refer to a Gastroenterologist.
Vitamin D and thyroid
Detailed Answer:
Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be associated with a variety of symptoms including fatigue.
Your levels are in the 'Insufficient' range, and not considered grossly deficient. It appears that low vitamin D levels affect people differently and each person is affected in different ways, when levels are lower than what is considered normal.
So when someone comes to me with this type of vitamin D level, and has fatigue I recommend taking supplements to normalize the levels in the range of 30 to 50. If this improves the patients' symptoms then I infer that it is likely that the fatigue was due to lack of adequate amounts of vitamin D in the body.
Regarding the thyroid, although the levels on two occasions look normal, when I encounter a patient I take the possibility of 'Secondary hypothyroidism' into consideration and order Total T3 and Total T4, to ensure that the rare chance of 'Secondary hypothyroidism' is ruled out.
The mildly elevated ALT is most likely unrelated to the low vitamin D and thyroid. However it merits an assessment by the primary care doctor who may wish ti undertake further testing for it or refer to a Gastroenterologist.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you so very much for your quick response! I appreciate that you have offered many follow-up recommendations that I will discus with my doctor tomorrow. I know that you recommend some Vitamin d supplements but I was just wondering what makes your Vitamin d go down in the first place and if its normal to go down from 29 to 22 in one year?
Brief Answer:
Follow up
Detailed Answer:
Yes vitamin D levels can vary widely in an individual during the course of the year.
There are 2 sources of vitamin D. One is diet and the other is skin. When skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D. However there are many factors that determine whether the skin will be able to make adequate amount of vitamin D. Some factors include
Age: As we grow older the skin becomes less efficient at this function
Skin color: Darker skin is not as effective
Geographic location in the world which determines the angle at which sun rays fall on the skin
Duration of exposure to sunlight
Sunscreen application: decreases the ability of the skin to make vitamin D
ime of the year: Winter has less sunlight so the individuals' vitamin D level tends to go down
So in my patients, instead of deliberating about these variable factors, it is best to have guaranteed results by taking supplements and measuring the blood levels again a few months
Follow up
Detailed Answer:
Yes vitamin D levels can vary widely in an individual during the course of the year.
There are 2 sources of vitamin D. One is diet and the other is skin. When skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D. However there are many factors that determine whether the skin will be able to make adequate amount of vitamin D. Some factors include
Age: As we grow older the skin becomes less efficient at this function
Skin color: Darker skin is not as effective
Geographic location in the world which determines the angle at which sun rays fall on the skin
Duration of exposure to sunlight
Sunscreen application: decreases the ability of the skin to make vitamin D
ime of the year: Winter has less sunlight so the individuals' vitamin D level tends to go down
So in my patients, instead of deliberating about these variable factors, it is best to have guaranteed results by taking supplements and measuring the blood levels again a few months
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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