Can anyone help me with my scary / puzzling / crazy blood results?

[Risingfire]

No way.



I haven't measured for a while. but my temps are consistently slightly low when I have measured:

Temps:

Day	16/12/2022	17/12/2022	18/12/2022	19/12/2022	20/12/2022	21/12/2022	22/12/2022	23/12/2022
Waking	97.5	97.9	98.1	98	97.5	97.8	97.3	97.8
Mid Morning	97.9		98	98.2				98.0
Afternoon 1pm	98.5	98.2		97.7	97.5			98.0

Pulse:

Day	16/12/2022	17/12/2022	18/12/2022	19/12/2022	20/12/2022	21/12/2022	22/12/2022	23/12/2022
Waking	68	79	81	87	75	71	70	75
Mid Morning	86		90	90				80
Afternoon 1pm	87	80		81	85			85

Sorry for the gaps. Not always possible to find the time when I'm at work.

General trends - often a slightly low morning temperature. Temperature rarely ever increases to 98.6 - mid-morning rise does not tend to happen.

Pulse is quite high (up to 90) - it's an adrenalin pulse though, not a "healthy metabolism" pulse.

Your morning temp is pretty darn good though it's strange it doesn't get to 98.6 Higher adrenaline might be an issue. My first instinct isn't to suggest thyroid supplementation. Have you tried niacinamide?

 

[BigShoes]

Good question because he says he’s lean.

Me:

Not dangerously lean, but probably too slim.

No need to panic. Most of your blood values are good. Have you tried adding a bit of thiamine/b vitamins? Maybe you need a rest - somewhere sunny. The weather here is not great and when sunny the planes come out to spray.

Yes indeed. We've had a few clear sunny days this week - I go out for a walk to a delightful sky of cris-cross plane trails.

I have supplemented B complexes for a while, but have recently stopped in the last few months - I have tried B1 on its own before too. I didn't notice any positive or negative for either of them.

Your morning temp is pretty darn good though it's strange it doesn't get to 98.6 Higher adrenaline might be an issue. My first instinct isn't to suggest thyroid supplementation. Have you tried niacinamide?

As above, yes I have tried niacinamide on its own, and nicotinamide in complex. I didn't notice any positive or negative from either of them.

Just to reiterate / elaborate on symptoms:

- severe premature ejaculation. And I mean, severe... sex is basically not even a possibility at this point. Completely soul-destroying.
- beginning of hair thinning on my crown. some slight loss on front of shins - not good. Also soul destroying if it continues. Although, some users have kindly helped me with a plan of action on this.
- low energy, low vigour, low libido. Can certainly get an erection, but it's not as effortless / frequent as it used to be, no morning wood.
- puffy eyes, bags under eyes - water retention in the face (seems to be worse on days after dairy consumption, but it is always there).
- general lethargy, exhaustion.
- cold hands and feet - very often. Adrenalin / cortisol maybe.
- difficulty getting to sleep. Rarely woken up by anything during the night, but am definitely a light sleeper - any noises outside / clinking of radiators coming on it the morning etc. will always wake me up.
- mild, mild gyno. You might even be able to see from that photo (sorry, T shirt was WAY too tight...), but there is a gland around the size of small grape behind the nipple that came in around age 23. It bothered me very much at the time, I think it was likely elevated prolactin. Possibly another clue that things have not been good for YEARS. I must stress though, it's very small gyno, I've never had anyone notice it
- probably a tonne more when I really think about it.... but that about sums it up.

 

[redsun]

Me:
View attachment 47397

Not dangerously lean, but probably too slim.



Yes indeed. We've had a few clear sunny days this week - I go out for a walk to a delightful sky of cris-cross plane trails.

I have supplemented B complexes for a while, but have recently stopped in the last few months - I have tried B1 on its own before too. I didn't notice any positive or negative for either of them.


As above, yes I have tried niacinamide on its own, and nicotinamide in complex. I didn't notice any positive or negative from either of them.

Just to reiterate / elaborate on symptoms:

- severe premature ejaculation. And I mean, severe... sex is basically not even a possibility at this point. Completely soul-destroying.
- beginning of hair thinning on my crown. some slight loss on front of shins - not good. Also soul destroying if it continues. Although, some users have kindly helped me with a plan of action on this.
- low energy, low vigour, low libido. Can certainly get an erection, but it's not as effortless / frequent as it used to be, no morning wood.
- puffy eyes, bags under eyes - water retention in the face (seems to be worse on days after dairy consumption, but it is always there).
- general lethargy, exhaustion.
- cold hands and feet - very often. Adrenalin / cortisol maybe.
- difficulty getting to sleep. Rarely woken up by anything during the night, but am definitely a light sleeper - any noises outside / clinking of radiators coming on it the morning etc. will always wake me up.
- mild, mild gyno. You might even be able to see from that photo (sorry, T shirt was WAY too tight...), but there is a gland around the size of small grape behind the nipple that came in around age 23. It bothered me very much at the time, I think it was likely elevated prolactin. Possibly another clue that things have not been good for YEARS. I must stress though, it's very small gyno, I've never had anyone notice it
- probably a tonne more when I really think about it.... but that about sums it up.

I dont think you are too lean. Lean for sure, but men generally are supposed to be. How much caffeine (from coffee or other drinks) do you consume if any?

 

[BigShoes]

I dont think you are too lean. Lean for sure, but men generally are supposed to be. How much caffeine (from coffee or other drinks) do you consume if any?

I don't drink coffee, or tea, or cocoa. Any caffeine I get will be in the occasional cola / occasional chocolate - very little, I would guess.

 

[redsun]

I don't drink coffee, or tea, or cocoa. Any caffeine I get will be in the occasional cola / occasional chocolate - very little, I would guess.

Your symptoms basically match your blood tests of thyroid antibodies, high LDL/cholesterol, and the low triglycerides from autoimmunity and hypothyroidism. One thing in particular in hypothyroidism that relates to PE is that there is an inverse relationship between thyroid hormone and noradrenaline. Low thyroid = high noradrenaline (higher alpha receptor activity, more vasoconstriction, more anxiety, tension, lower metabolism) but low beta receptor function (vasodilatory, enhances metabolism) as thyroid hormone upregulates beta receptors. I think its worth trying selenium, it should improve thyroid function (it also can increase T3 levels) and reduce autoimmunity and will likely increase body temp and improve most of your symptoms. The doses they use in studies is 200mcg a day.

You also would see benefit in reducing unnecessary stressors. This will help a lot, and sometimes it will do more than supplements could ever do because an obsessive, easily stressed mind affects the body and increases oxidative stress on your tissues.

 

[BigShoes]

The high cholesterol and thyroid antibodies might be suggestive of bacterial overgrowth. Have you tried any antisepctics? Charcoal and insoluble fibers can help. A lot of people give flower of sulphur high praise, I personally have never used it. Tetracycline is also helpful if you need something more potent.

Low triglycerides could mean several things. Most often it means high free fatty acids. When you lower the FFAs, the triglycerides usually go up some. However , in metabolic syndrome they can both be high due to poor liver health.

Free T is on the low end, but I don't think it would be worth crashing your SHBG to raise. I would see about correcting the antibodies and cholesterol first, then reassess where you're at on the sex steroid area.

Hi Jessie,

Apologies, this got lost in the shuffle. Interesting take RE: the bacterial overgrowth. I have not tried any antiseptics / antibiotics / charcoal etc. - I have used carrot salad, but there is only so much that can do I guess...

I don't have any obvious symptoms of infection that I would notice. Sorry to be graphic but: no acne, no fungal problems, no foul smells from anywhere, no ENT problems... but it is possible that there could be something in the GI tract that is a problem.

List of tests I was going to look into:
- blood test (hence this thread)
- allergy test (came back with no allergies present)
- food sensitivities test (not done yet)
- fertility test (was supposed to be today, but I chickened out due to these blood test results. I don't think my mind could take it if things came back looking bad).
- stool sample test - I know it's gross to talk about this, but it could give a clue as to any digestive issues that I was not outwardly aware of. Haven't looked into this yet.

I haven't tested FFAs but I would be surprised (based on my knowledge). I've been comparatively very low PUFA for over a decade, and have been high carb moderate fat (animal fat mostly) for c. 2 years. Not that this necessarily means FFAs are low, but still...

All liver biomarkers looked good - Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Albumin, Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), Gamma GT, Globulin, Total Protein - all well inside the normal ranges. I didn't post these since there was little of interest there, and I didn't want to create a table too large to focus on.

Yes, my view on Total T and free T is generally that - once everything else is in order, then testosterone will probably be okay... still though, not nice to come back with a lower free T number. I notice my Total T translated to 666 ng/dL, which gave me a fright haha!

 

[BigShoes]

Your symptoms basically match your blood tests of thyroid antibodies, high LDL/cholesterol, and the low triglycerides from autoimmunity and hypothyroidism. One thing in particular in hypothyroidism that relates to PE is that there is an inverse relationship between thyroid hormone and noradrenaline. Low thyroid = high noradrenaline (higher alpha receptor activity, more vasoconstriction, more anxiety, tension, lower metabolism) but low beta receptor function (vasodilatory, enhances metabolism) as thyroid hormone upregulates beta receptors. I think its worth trying selenium, it should improve thyroid function (it also can increase T3 levels) and reduce autoimmunity and will likely increase body temp and improve most of your symptoms. The doses they use in studies is 200mcg a day.

You also would see benefit in reducing unnecessary stressors. This will help a lot, and sometimes it will do more than supplements could ever do because an obsessive, easily stressed mind affects the body and increases oxidative stress on your tissues.

Thanks @redsun - your answers are always so interesting. And the additional things you're saying here seem to match up very well in that:
- I definitely feel like I'm running on adrenalin often - quite "fight-or-flight"-y most of the time.
- Quite anxious (Although, usually very positive) - always feel like I'm under a time limit / time constraint.

I will try selenium, thank you. Honestly, I do find it hard to believe that a small amount of a trace mineral will really change too much, but I will give it a try.

RE: unnecessary stressors. I have made a concerted effort in the past year or so to remove a lot of stressful / excitatory things in my life:
- daily walks
- way less screen time
- way less video games - especially the over-stimulating ones
- no more rock music / playing rock guitar - classical guitar and calmer music only
- way fewer muscle workouts
- doing my best to socialize more etc.
- just generally living more naturally

But honestly, my symptoms have continued to get worse and worse and worse over the last year.

I believe my main stressors are: my symptoms, my job (but I can handle it), and probably just my own outlook on life / the world. Whilst I think there is work still to do (which I'm sure is true for most of us), I don't want to take this horrendous list of symptoms and chalk it up to "it's all in your head, man! You just need to chill out." - not that I'm saying you were suggesting that.

 

[Momma]

I dont think you are too lean. Lean for sure, but men generally are supposed to be. How much caffeine (from coffee or other drinks) do you consume if any?

Why i think he is too lean is not based purely on aesthetics. If he was symptom free looking like that; he isn’t too lean. But he has blood work and symptoms that aren’t supporting that level of leanness. Imagine how effortless his leanness could be if he was at optimal health or euthyroid.

He was also on a restrictive diet for six years. From age 24-30. He has metabolic damage from that most certainly. Nothing that can’t be undone of course.

 

[BigShoes]

So people would NOT recommend thyroid hormone supplementation?

So far I have solutions as:
- selenium supplementation
- potentially thyroid supplementation (although I would not be able to get that prescribed here in the UK without serious fights... since the T3 and T4 were in the "normal range")
- manage stress & recover metabolism ..... not sure how.

thanks for everything so far.

Another big update:

I have just been looking at my other blood results again (thank you @redsun ), and it seems like my Ferritin is also potentially much too high. It is listed in the normal reference range in the UK, and hence was listed as 'normal' on my test. But the US cut-off / online information seems to suggest otherwise.

I will post the rest of my tests, hopefully in a somewhat coherent order (immune, kidney & liver, blood), with my notes against them:

Biomarker	Result	Normal	Unit	Date	My Opinion	Converted Value
Active B12	103	38 <	pmol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Ferritin	319	30 - 400	ug/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Apparently, not fine.	319 ng/ml
Albumin	46	35 - 50	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
eGFR	83	60 <	mL/min/1.73m*2	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Creatinine	102	59 - 104	umol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A Little High… potential kidney stress
Urea	5.9	2.5 - 7.8	mmol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Uric Acid	395	200 - 430	umol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A little high…. Protein consumption?
Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)	18	0 - 41	IU/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Albumin	46	35 - 50	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A little high…
Gamma GT	22	0 - 60	IU/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Globulin	24	18 - 40	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Total Protein	70	60 - 80	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Haemoglobin	164	130 - 180	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Red Blood Cell (RBC)	5.54	4.5 - 5.9	10*12/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
White Blood Cell Count (WBC)	5.2	3.8 - 10.6	10*9/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine

Serum Ferritin was at an almost identical level in October 2021 (despite drastically reducing meat consumption this year, it has not changed):

12-Oct-2021

Serum ferritin - (NK2362) - Advise normal

318

ug/L

30.00 - 340.00ug/L

... could be due to the time on the carnivore diet between 2018 and early 2020? Is high ferritin an issue here? Looking at the symptoms listed:

• Painful joints. -> No.
• Heart issues. - > No / Not that I know of.
• Unexplained weight loss. -> No.
• Abdominal pain. -> No.
• Loss of body hair. -> No, but then I'm not very hairy anyway (see photo above)... as mentioned, some hair loss observed on the shins, and beginning thinning on my crown.
• Lack of sex drive. -> Yes.
• Fatigue or loss of energy. -> Yes.

Could also explain why, as stated in previous threads I have made** : on days with high protein consumption (80g of meat protein), I notice significantly more hair fall the next day than on days with lower meat protein (20g-30g)... literally the next day. However, this happens both when I eat beef only for my animal protein (high in iron) AND when I only eat cod / white fish only for my animal protein (LOW in iron).

My ferritin is apparently high... but not *crazy* high. Perhaps it may not be able to fully explain the symptoms? And would this explain the sky-high thyroid antibodies? Again, my list of known symptoms:

- severe premature ejaculation.
- beginning of hair thinning on my crown. some slight loss on front of shins.
- low energy, low vigour, low libido. Can certainly get an erection, but it's not as effortless / frequent as it used to be, no morning wood.
- puffy eyes, bags under eyes - water retention in the face (seems to be worse on days after dairy consumption, but it is always there).
- general lethargy, exhaustion.
- cold hands and feet - very often. Adrenalin / cortisol maybe.
- difficulty getting to sleep.
- mild, mild gyno - I think it was likely elevated prolactin.
- occasional white tongue / poor digestion.
- constipation with too much dairy, and occasionally starch like potato (checked for an allergy - zero dairy allergies present).

** - link to thread mentioned above: Low Protein Days = Less Hair Fall The Following Morning / Day ??? What Could Explain This?

Thanks all, for all of your help and kindness so far.

 

[Risingfire]

Me:
View attachment 47397

Not dangerously lean, but probably too slim.



Yes indeed. We've had a few clear sunny days this week - I go out for a walk to a delightful sky of cris-cross plane trails.

I have supplemented B complexes for a while, but have recently stopped in the last few months - I have tried B1 on its own before too. I didn't notice any positive or negative for either of them.


As above, yes I have tried niacinamide on its own, and nicotinamide in complex. I didn't notice any positive or negative from either of them.

Just to reiterate / elaborate on symptoms:

- severe premature ejaculation. And I mean, severe... sex is basically not even a possibility at this point. Completely soul-destroying.
- beginning of hair thinning on my crown. some slight loss on front of shins - not good. Also soul destroying if it continues. Although, some users have kindly helped me with a plan of action on this.
- low energy, low vigour, low libido. Can certainly get an erection, but it's not as effortless / frequent as it used to be, no morning wood.
- puffy eyes, bags under eyes - water retention in the face (seems to be worse on days after dairy consumption, but it is always there).
- general lethargy, exhaustion.
- cold hands and feet - very often. Adrenalin / cortisol maybe.
- difficulty getting to sleep. Rarely woken up by anything during the night, but am definitely a light sleeper - any noises outside / clinking of radiators coming on it the morning etc. will always wake me up.
- mild, mild gyno. You might even be able to see from that photo (sorry, T shirt was WAY too tight...), but there is a gland around the size of small grape behind the nipple that came in around age 23. It bothered me very much at the time, I think it was likely elevated prolactin. Possibly another clue that things have not been good for YEARS. I must stress though, it's very small gyno, I've never had anyone notice it
- probably a tonne more when I really think about it.... but that about sums it up.

High prolactin and adrenaline are signs of hypothyroidism. If niacinamide didn't help, its probably time to consider supplementing thyroid. Make sure you eat liver and oysters.

 

[Momma]

High prolactin and adrenaline are signs of hypothyroidism. If niacinamide didn't help, its probably time to consider supplementing thyroid. Make sure you eat liver and oysters.

@BigShoes

I agree it is hypothyroidism. Even the ferritin discovery. And i would say no to the thyroid medication until you simply up white sugar or cokes etc. Ray said one pound of sugar over three days to jumpstart a body in ill health. I’ll see if i can find that video or newsletter.

Also this will encourage you if you have the time:

Haidut Interview - The Clovis Culture Podcast Georgi Dinkov: Why Sugar Is Healthy, Cutting Calories Is Harmful, and Obesity Is A Hormonal Issue

View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-clovis-culture-podcast/id1439624238 View: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gSaFcwpp8k6CKzGb8c4rs?si=gOys5hxaRf66j1waxKecVA

raypeatforum.com

 

[Momma]

Here it is.


View: https://youtu.be/JO5uhV2KweY




@Peatful

 

[Peatful]

Here it is.


View: https://youtu.be/JO5uhV2KweY




@Peatful

Oh
You found the video
The source
Not just the quote

Thank you

 

[Risingfire]

@Momma look at his diet. He already consumes plenty of sugar. His estrogen and prolactin are very high. Especially for a young guy. T3 will help

 

[Momma]

@Momma look at his diet. He already consumes plenty of sugar. His estrogen and prolactin are very high. Especially for a young guy. T3 will help

Thank you. I did actually miss that. And I believe his estrogen and prolactin are high from being hypo and a stressed metabolism. I’d rather have him experiment with sugar first before adding T3. We don’t know how deep his deficit was from those 6 years of restriction and heavy lifting. I think it’s a conservative way to go. Although being mindful of not messing up his blood sugar too much in those three days. Just thoughts, no dogma.

 

[redsun]

So people would NOT recommend thyroid hormone supplementation?

So far I have solutions as:
- selenium supplementation
- potentially thyroid supplementation (although I would not be able to get that prescribed here in the UK without serious fights... since the T3 and T4 were in the "normal range")
- manage stress & recover metabolism ..... not sure how.

thanks for everything so far.

Another big update:

I have just been looking at my other blood results again (thank you @redsun ), and it seems like my Ferritin is also potentially much too high. It is listed in the normal reference range in the UK, and hence was listed as 'normal' on my test. But the US cut-off / online information seems to suggest otherwise.

I will post the rest of my tests, hopefully in a somewhat coherent order (immune, kidney & liver, blood), with my notes against them:

Biomarker	Result	Normal	Unit	Date	My Opinion	Converted Value
Active B12	103	38 <	pmol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Ferritin	319	30 - 400	ug/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Apparently, not fine.	319 ng/ml
Albumin	46	35 - 50	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
eGFR	83	60 <	mL/min/1.73m*2	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Creatinine	102	59 - 104	umol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A Little High… potential kidney stress
Urea	5.9	2.5 - 7.8	mmol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Uric Acid	395	200 - 430	umol/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A little high…. Protein consumption?
Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)	18	0 - 41	IU/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Albumin	46	35 - 50	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	A little high…
Gamma GT	22	0 - 60	IU/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Globulin	24	18 - 40	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Total Protein	70	60 - 80	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Haemoglobin	164	130 - 180	g/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
Red Blood Cell (RBC)	5.54	4.5 - 5.9	10*12/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine
White Blood Cell Count (WBC)	5.2	3.8 - 10.6	10*9/L	2023-01-26 10:38:30	Fine

Serum Ferritin was at an almost identical level in October 2021 (despite drastically reducing meat consumption this year, it has not changed):

12-Oct-2021

Serum ferritin - (NK2362) - Advise normal

318

ug/L

30.00 - 340.00ug/L

... could be due to the time on the carnivore diet between 2018 and early 2020? Is high ferritin an issue here? Looking at the symptoms listed:

• Painful joints. -> No.
• Heart issues. - > No / Not that I know of.
• Unexplained weight loss. -> No.
• Abdominal pain. -> No.
• Loss of body hair. -> No, but then I'm not very hairy anyway (see photo above)... as mentioned, some hair loss observed on the shins, and beginning thinning on my crown.
• Lack of sex drive. -> Yes.
• Fatigue or loss of energy. -> Yes.

Could also explain why, as stated in previous threads I have made** : on days with high protein consumption (80g of meat protein), I notice significantly more hair fall the next day than on days with lower meat protein (20g-30g)... literally the next day. However, this happens both when I eat beef only for my animal protein (high in iron) AND when I only eat cod / white fish only for my animal protein (LOW in iron).

My ferritin is apparently high... but not *crazy* high. Perhaps it may not be able to fully explain the symptoms? And would this explain the sky-high thyroid antibodies? Again, my list of known symptoms:

- severe premature ejaculation.
- beginning of hair thinning on my crown. some slight loss on front of shins.
- low energy, low vigour, low libido. Can certainly get an erection, but it's not as effortless / frequent as it used to be, no morning wood.
- puffy eyes, bags under eyes - water retention in the face (seems to be worse on days after dairy consumption, but it is always there).
- general lethargy, exhaustion.
- cold hands and feet - very often. Adrenalin / cortisol maybe.
- difficulty getting to sleep.
- mild, mild gyno - I think it was likely elevated prolactin.
- occasional white tongue / poor digestion.
- constipation with too much dairy, and occasionally starch like potato (checked for an allergy - zero dairy allergies present).

** - link to thread mentioned above: Low Protein Days = Less Hair Fall The Following Morning / Day ??? What Could Explain This?

Thanks all, for all of your help and kindness so far.

High iron levels (even if its technically not true iron overload, you are basically there imo) can damage all tissues in the body including the thyroid. So you may have libido reducing effects and oxidative stress from the iron but you are not getting all the symptoms associated with overload yet. This increased oxidative stress from excess iron can be partly to blame for increased antibodies:

Thyroid Disease in Hemochromatosis

• The thyroid function of 49 patients homozygous for the hemochromatosis allele was studied by measurement of serum thyroxine and thyrotropin concentrations. Of 34 homozygous men, three were found to be hypothyroid (thyroxine, <3.0 μg/dL and thyrotropin, >40 ImU/mL) and one was hyperthyroid...

jamanetwork.com

"The thyroid function of 49 patients homozygous for the hemochromatosis allele was studied by measurement of serum thyroxine and thyrotropin concentrations. Of 34 homozygous men, three were found to be hypothyroid (thyroxine, <3.0 μg/dL and thyrotropin, >40 ImU/mL) and one was hyperthyroid (thyroxine, 24 μg/dL). All 15 homozygous women had normal thyroid function. The hypothyroid patients had elevated titers of antithyroid antibodies. Histologic examination of the thyroid at autopsy of one hypothyroid patient showed notable iron accumulation and fibrosis with modest lymphocytic infiltration. The causative importance of iron deposition in thyroid diseases associated with hemochromatosis was suggested by the reversal of the usual sex ratio of thyroid dysfunction. Men with hemochromatosis had a much greater iron load than women, and they also had a surprisingly higher incidence of thyroid disease. Iron may have caused injury to the thyroid, followed by the development of antithyroid antibodies and hypothyroidism. The frequency of thyroid disorders in men with hemochromatosis is about 80 times that of men in the general population."

Your blood tests dont show actually low thyroid hormone or crazy high TSH, but you may be on that trend because we know you have thyroid antibodies.

I think it actually may be wise to try donating. But just keep in mind initially, because of the loss of blood, you may feel worse in some aspects such as feeling colder initially but it doesnt always happen. But you would bounce back quickly since you do have a lot of iron stored so you can make blood quickly again. Libido and sex drive may improve and also it should reduce oxidative stress overall in the tissues by reducing iron stores obviously.

Selenium and vitamin E have synergistic effects when it comes to protecting your tissues from oxidative stress. I think I recall suggesting vitamin E to you awhile ago because you didnt have a dietary source for a very long time. If you currently dont take that I would suggest you do. 22 IU or 15mg a day from a vitamin E oil. Vitamin E also protects the body from oxidant effects of too much iron.

 

[Risingfire]

Thank you. I did actually miss that. And I believe his estrogen and prolactin are high from being hypo and a stressed metabolism. I’d rather have him experiment with sugar first before adding T3. We don’t know how deep his deficit was from those 6 years of restriction and heavy lifting. I think it’s a conservative way to go. Although being mindful of not messing up his blood sugar too much in those three days. Just thoughts, no dogma.

We don't but I'm sure if he has regularly been slamming oj, fruit and honey he has maximized his metabolism without support

 

[BigShoes]

After some digging, and further reading around Ray's work:

(1) My ferritin is slightly high, but it doesn't seem to really be a problem in itself - higher ferritin (unless it's extremely high) is not usually a sign of elevated iron / too much iron in the blood / liver / diet. It's usually a sign of premature cell death.

Apparently, when a cell dies prematurely and spills out its contents, ferritin is released to essentially "mop up" the excess iron that would otherwise be toxic to the other tissues i.e. elevated ferritin is usually just another sign of a stressed metabolism / impaired systemic cellular respiration -> indicating low thyroid function

(2) as noted by @Jessie , low triglycerides is usually a sign of high FFA in the blood -> again, an indicator of impaired cellular metabolism / impaired glucose oxidation -> indicating low thyroid function

(3) my cholesterol is actually not that high (as @Peatress mentioned)... 7 would be high. And it's actually probably a good thing to be in a state where cholesterol is high enough when thyroid is low. If one were low thyroid AND low cholesterol, then it could be quite dangerous (or just ineffective) to supplement thyroid too soon. This is because there wouldn't be the cholesterol to support it, and the downstream hormones could not be synthesized.

(4) vitamin D levels are very low (27ng) - but as I mentioned, this is easily explainable... too much working from home, not enough outside time, very little sun in the UK anyway, and I haven't supplemented properly for around 1 year... This should also be easy to increase through careful supplementation of D3 and magnesium.

(5) According to a Danny Roddy and Ray Peat discussion I've just found - TSH is basically a garbage test, and T3 and T4 blood tests are also very unreliable indicators - reverse T3 would have been useful, but that was not tested for. When all the symptoms line up so perfectly with hypothyroidism and stressed metabolism (temps, pulse, energy levels, cold hands and feet, fatigue / lethargy, anxious mood, sub-optimal libido / sexual function, puffy eyes and water retention in the face, hair falling out), you already have your answer 99 times out of 100.

(6) Elevation of the thyroid antibodies is not an "autoimmune disease" as such (e.g. Hashimoto's), but more so just an indicator of inflammation in the gland from the pituitary signals and the systemic stress / inflammation etc. (thanks @redsun - I did more reading around this). This was a relief.

Plan of Action:
(i) Careful supplementation of Vitamin D3 and Magnesium, try and get out in the sun as much as possible this year / go abroad etc.

(ii) Careful supplementation of T3 and T4 - use Broda Barnes and Ray's temperature and pulse assessments and protocol to find an optimal T3 and T4 dose.

I'd rather not have to do this for the rest of my life, but I don't see much option at this point.

(iii) Keep eating well, and never go back to the calories restriction days of 2014-2018.

(iv) Consider blood donation (I should be doing this anyway - I have a rare blood type - as much as I distrust the medical establishment, it's nice to help out). Although I might hold fire on this due to my lower platelet count.

To answer some of the above points and queries:

@Risingfire , @Momma - yes: I have been consuming a lot of sugar for 1-2 years. Any more sugar and I think I'd turn into a human-sized gummy bear :)
@redsun - I'll try the selenium for sure. And yes, I've been taking a small, small amount of vitamin E daily.
@Peatful - Hello!

Thank you all, dearly. You are all so kind, and so knowledgeable - I really appreciate all of your help. I've gone from 'worrying & panicking' to (I think) 'sensible plan of action' in just a couple of days.

I'm a little scared about how the thyroid supplementation is going to go, but I'll be very gentle with it and see how things go (I've got to find a safe source / get a prescription first! So that will be the first hurdle).

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired - so let's make a change :)

Any objections / further notes from anybody are obviously very welcome - thank you all in advance.

 

[Peatful]

After some digging, and further reading around Ray's work:

(1) My ferritin is slightly high, but it doesn't seem to really be a problem in itself - higher ferritin (unless it's extremely high) is not usually a sign of elevated iron / too much iron in the blood / liver / diet. It's usually a sign of premature cell death.

Apparently, when a cell dies prematurely and spills out its contents, ferritin is released to essentially "mop up" the excess iron that would otherwise be toxic to the other tissues i.e. elevated ferritin is usually just another sign of a stressed metabolism / impaired systemic cellular respiration -> indicating low thyroid function

(2) as noted by @Jessie , low triglycerides is usually a sign of high FFA in the blood -> again, an indicator of impaired cellular metabolism / impaired glucose oxidation -> indicating low thyroid function

(3) my cholesterol is actually not that high (as @Peatress mentioned)... 7 would be high. And it's actually probably a good thing to be in a state where cholesterol is high enough when thyroid is low. If one were low thyroid AND low cholesterol, then it could be quite dangerous (or just ineffective) to supplement thyroid too soon. This is because there wouldn't be the cholesterol to support it, and the downstream hormones could not be synthesized.

(4) vitamin D levels are very low (27ng) - but as I mentioned, this is easily explainable... too much working from home, not enough outside time, very little sun in the UK anyway, and I haven't supplemented properly for around 1 year... This should also be easy to increase through careful supplementation of D3 and magnesium.

(5) According to a Danny Roddy and Ray Peat discussion I've just found - TSH is basically a garbage test, and T3 and T4 blood tests are also very unreliable indicators - reverse T3 would have been useful, but that was not tested for. When all the symptoms line up so perfectly with hypothyroidism and stressed metabolism (temps, pulse, energy levels, cold hands and feet, fatigue / lethargy, anxious mood, sub-optimal libido / sexual function, puffy eyes and water retention in the face, hair falling out), you already have your answer 99 times out of 100.

(6) Elevation of the thyroid antibodies is not an "autoimmune disease" as such (e.g. Hashimoto's), but more so just an indicator of inflammation in the gland from the pituitary signals and the systemic stress / inflammation etc. (thanks @redsun - I did more reading around this). This was a relief.

Plan of Action:
(i) Careful supplementation of Vitamin D3 and Magnesium, try and get out in the sun as much as possible this year / go abroad etc.

(ii) Careful supplementation of T3 and T4 - use Broda Barnes and Ray's temperature and pulse assessments and protocol to find an optimal T3 and T4 dose.

I'd rather not have to do this for the rest of my life, but I don't see much option at this point.

(iii) Keep eating well, and never go back to the calories restriction days of 2014-2018.

(iv) Consider blood donation (I should be doing this anyway - I have a rare blood type - as much as I distrust the medical establishment, it's nice to help out). Although I might hold fire on this due to my lower platelet count.

To answer some of the above points and queries:

@Risingfire , @Momma - yes: I have been consuming a lot of sugar for 1-2 years. Any more sugar and I think I'd turn into a human-sized gummy bear :)
@redsun - I'll try the selenium for sure. And yes, I've been taking a small, small amount of vitamin E daily.
@Peatful - Hello!

Thank you all, dearly. You are all so kind, and so knowledgeable - I really appreciate all of your help. I've gone from 'worrying & panicking' to (I think) 'sensible plan of action' in just a couple of days.

I'm a little scared about how the thyroid supplementation is going to go, but I'll be very gentle with it and see how things go (I've got to find a safe source / get a prescription first! So that will be the first hurdle).

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired - so let's make a change :)

Any objections / further notes from anybody are obviously very welcome - thank you all in advance.

Hello amazing human!

 

[GreekDemiGod]

That’s not gyno, not even mild. By that standard. 90% of male population has gyno.
Taking thyroid is the last measure one should take to raise their metabolism. There are much more effective measures, especially at a young age.