Got labs back. A little freaking out here....
 

Hi! I was just diagnosed with Epilepsy a couple weeks ago and have been having troubles with medications. The dr. ran a blood panel - including a thyroid test on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours later I got the call that my thyroid is HIGH. As in the highest it should be is 4.5 and mine is 10.69! So meeting with a new primary care doc next week and he's getting the labs faxed over to him. I have specialists, not a pcp. I guess I can't say that anymore.

The PA (from my neuro, who ordered these labs) called and talked to me about my thyroid only and he was supposed to talk about all the test results (he put that he did on the online patient portal and he didn't).

There are some numbers I either don't get or am worried about. I thought I'd post this here to see if anyone has any insight or just a calming word.

First up is the B12 numbers. I guess I don't understand the B12 stuff because here's what it says:

VALUE 243-894 pg/mL
>2000

I've had gastric bypass so I always have to supplement things like Potassium, etc., etc. For once my potassium and calcium were great and I just started B12 supplementation last week. So is this saying that my levels were over 2000 and that it should be between 243-894 or is it saying it SHOULD be greater than 2000 and was only between 243-894? I know that sounds stupid, but at this point I'm not gonna leave any question out. LOL

My WBC is 13.2 and the range is 4.0-11.0 so again, I'm over on that. I read that seizures can elevate levels a bit so maybe that's what's happening here.

The Absolute Lymphocytes are also near the top of the range. I'm just babbling here, now.

I also have a 0.1 on Absolute Immature Granuloycytes and that's the limit on the normal range (0.0-0.1) I should not Google. I should not Google.

My labs are being sent over to the new dr for next week's appt (waiting til the 24th is gonna kick paranoia into overdrive here. :) ).

Does anyone know anything about labs like this or could someone just tell me it's going to be ok? Because seriously...the thyroid will be #8 in things I have wrong with me currently. I'm barely used to #7's diagnosis.

Though I am from Texas and we always go "big" in Texas. I don't do things halfway, apparently.

Hi Raigne,

Again, some of your seizure questions might be addressed on the Epilepsy forum if you haven't already.

MrsD knows a lot about thyroid, as do many other folks in the Peripheral Neuropathy forum.

If you're concerned about the inaccuracy in the medical report (PA not discussing all test results), you can, if you wish, upload a letter addressing this. If your patient portal doesn't allow/have this feature, snail mail will do.

The first line is the "normal" range; the ">2000" is your level (some labs only measure up to 2000). This lab is out of date; new(er) recommendations for normal range are over 400 for healthy people; higher for some conditions like PN/diabetes, etc. There is a plethora of information about B12 in the PN forum. It's recommended that B12 supplements be discontinued for a month before testing, so that may account for your high level. Here's a recent thread on elevated B12 levels:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread203092.html

Doc

LOL Doc I actually had two windows open when I went to post and I typed into the wrong one that had me in General Health. I was going to put this post in the Epilepsy Forum as that was the other window that was open.

At this point in the game I'm so overwhelmed from all this stuff hitting at once that I really hope you guys continue to be so patient with me. Normally I try to be very correct in what and where I type things on forums...I'm at a loss right now because I'm just still in so much shock getting the latest 2 diagnosis.

I should probably stop posting on the forums and just be patient til next week's dr. appt. I was stunned (to say the least) that something ELSE is wrong with me.

Hello, Raigne--

Your B12 level may be high if you continue to take your supplement before the testing. It is best to discontinue supplements at least 5 days before testing so as not to show
falsely elevated levels. The ranges were done statistically on people NOT using any artificial supplements. So they reflect the presence of none.(just from normal food intake)

A high B12 level is not dangerous in any way...so don't worry about that. If it remains high however inspite of stopping supplements for a while, then it can indicate illness in your body someplace. It is only a flag or pointer when high for the doctor to look for other diseases. A level at or above 2000 is pretty good if you take a supplement. Many of the PN posters here
have this reading when using B12 supplements. The blood test only measures what is floating around in the serum at any given moment. So if you take a supplement it is there briefly until absorbed by the tissues.

Secondly your high level in the thyroid testing is probably TSH (you don't say exactly however)...this would indicate hypothyroidism. Your doctor will probably screen you for Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroid disease to see if you have autoimmune antibodies, and issues. When these are present it is not uncommon to have many secondary syndromes. In severe cases of hypothyroidism, there can be a form of encephalopathy, so getting swift treatment is the goal.

In this post she says she only has started B12 last week!
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...23#post1064323
So her levels may be due to the supplement only. But we don't know her level before either.

:Doh: It's no big whoop. I've done the same thing myself, and/but usually corrected it. I often have/use two open windows for facilitating post composition. ;)

Doc

:Hum: Sorry, I must have misunderstood something.

Doc

The time needed to discontinue varies with the person.

If a person has intact intrisinic factor, and uses a multivitamin they may absorb more B12 than a person with a GI bariatric surgery like Raigne has (who might absorb none). Raigne is taking a higher dose most likely, based on a previous post of hers. So if she stops for only 5 days or so, she may show a less high reading.

But you are right, we don't know her reading BEFORE she started using the B12 the way she does. She would have a major negative effect on absorption, whereas others who are intact in GI functions would be less likely to have problems.

The situations are different in other words. Most bariatric patients take lots of supplements because that surgery changes how the stomach can work normally.