Hypothyroidism question and low ferritin

[mantq]

Hey guys! Im new here, but would like to share my lab results with u which ive done one month ago and Im still worried about it. Im 18years old male and i think i have hypothyroidism :/ Symptoms that i have for like ~1.5 years is: fatigue(eyes), most of the time poor sleep, sensitivity to light(especially to sunlight), dry and tired eyes all the time, low ferritin but yet high iron levels and high TSH(while free T4 and T3 are in normal range). The test was fasting and was done in the morning:
Iron Studies:
Iron 22.5 umol/L (5.0-30.0);
Transferrin 3.0 g/L (2.0-3.2);
TIBC(Calculated) 66 umol/L (46-70);
Saturation 34% (10-45);
FERRITIN* 26 ug/L (30-300);

Thyroid Function:
TSH* 3.92 mIU/L (0.40-3.50);
Free T4 12.9 pmol/L (9.0-19.0);
Free T3 5.2 pmol/L (2.6-6.0);

So thr thing here is as i mentioned TSH being too high and ferritin veeery low.. Any thoughts guys?? Is it worth to go back to my doctor?? Consultations are very expensive and i cant afford them at the moment.. Thanks in advance for any kind of help!!!
P.S: Ive got ANA = antinuclear antibodies at value of 160 and i have no idea what that is but my doctor said if it was normal it would be at 0 or not detected.

[mantq]

Thank you, gimel, you seem to know alot.. My symptoms are my eyes tired aaaall the time, very sensitive to sunlight and wind, the worst thing is my eyes feel tired, I go to sleep and when i wake up -my eyes feel and LOOK the same.. tireed :(

[gimel]

Sure there could be other possibilities, but from an extremely  long list of symptoms that can be hypothyroid related, check these that relate to eyes.


Poor focusing
Double vision
Dry eyes
Gritty eyes
Achy eyes
Blurred vision
Drooping eyelids
Sensitive to light
Frequent tics in the eyes
Spasms of the eyelids
Bulging of the eyeballs
Red inflamed eyes
Dark rings under eyes
Puffiness around the eyes
Rapidly shifting gaze making you feel dizzy
Problems with night vision
Glaucoma
Cataract

[mantq]

Thanks for your helpful reply once again!!!
The only thing i cant understand is why do i look so tired? My eyes feel tired soooo bad and i cant understand why :( I did numerous of eye checks etc and my eyes seem fine so the problem must be somewhere else.. so sick of this :(

[gimel]

Since you are not planning for more appointments and testing in the near future, if it were me I would at least get some supplements for iron, vitamin D, and B12.  About 2000 IU of D, and 250 mg of B12, and 25 -50 mg of a good iron supplement would be worth a trial for several months to see if there is benefit.  

Sooner or later you will need further testing for the antibodies of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.  For that there are two tests required, both TPO ab and TG ab.  Also, make sure they always test you for Free T3 and Free T4 each time you go in for tests.  It would also be a good idea to test once for Reverse T3 to determine your Free T3 to Reverse T3 ratio.  

[mantq]

Oh thank you so much for such detailed reply!! I dont know what to do, Ill buy iron supplement next week, but what about thyroid? Im not planning to do more blood tests or appointments with my doctor because its too expensive for me as a overseas student.. anyway, any thoughts why i feel thia huuge fatigue on my eyes and around it? im pretty white but that has nothing to do with my eye fatigue and no matter how much sleep i get, i still have this biiig fatigue on my eyes and dark circles around it the whole day.. people often ask me if im ok and that i look tired.. pretty sick of this lol simply because i dont know what exactly this is and what is causing it.. done many researches but.. yeah.. anyway thank you!!!

[gimel]

An antinuclear antibody (ANA) test measures the amount and pattern of antibodies in your blood that work against your own body (autoimmune reaction). If there are more antibodies in the blood than normal, the test is positive. When the test is positive, most labs do other tests right away to look for the cause. These tests can find out which antibodies are in the blood in higher amounts than normal.

Taken along with your TSH level and your symptoms, the ANA result may be an indication of you having antibodies from Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is the most common cause for diagnosed hypothyroidism.  With Hashi's the autoimmune system sees the thyroid gland as foreign to the body and produces antibodies to attack and eventually destroy the gland.  Along the path to destruction, the output of thyroid hormone is gradually diminished and in response the TSH increases.  With your Free T4 and Free T3 result, it may be that you are in the early stages of Hashi's.  To confirm Hashi's there are two test that would be required, TPO ab and TG ab.  Not a necessity at the moment.

When I did some reading about low ferritin and normal iron levels, I found this.  "The development of iron deficiency anemia is a gradual process. If your body is not taking in enough iron, your body first uses the iron that is stored in tissues (i.e., ferritin) and blood levels of ferritin will begin to decrease. If not corrected, the stored iron begins to be depleted as it is used in the production of red blood cells. In the early stages of iron-deficiency, blood levels of iron can be normal while stored iron, and therefore ferritin levels, will begin to decrease."

So perhaps that is the explanation for your iron related results.  The low ferritin level can affect thyroid functions by slowing the conversion of T4 to T3, as well as interfere with transport of T3 into cells.  This results in what is sometimes called "pooling of T3 in the blood".  Your test results seem to fit that scenario since Free T3 is much higher in the range than Free T4.  Further evaluation of low tissue thyroid levels could be checked by testing Reverse T3 along with Free T3.  Again, more tests you are not prepared to do right now.  

So in view of your financial situation of the moment, what would be the best short term approach?  If it were me, I would buy a good iron supplement and raise the ferritin level and see if that helps perk you up.  I would start with about 25-30  mg daily of a good iron supplement like ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulfate, or ferrous glutamate.  Then after about 2 weeks to acclimate to that dose, increase it the same amount.  Then give it some time to evaluate how it affected you.  Along with the iron, I would suggest 2000 IU of Vitamin D, 250 mg of B12 and about 400 mg of a good form of magnesium (not mg oxide).

Even though that is a lot of supplements, hopefully that will help you for the short term, and it would be a lot less that seeing a doctor.  Longer term you will have to find a good thyroid doctor and follow up with tests for Free T3, Fee T4, Reverse T3, TPO ab, TG ab, ferritin, Vitamin D, B12.