I went to a lecture at Loughborough university on Thyroid and B12 and how the " within ranges " are just that and GPs etc to THINK outside the box as if you have symptoms of either of those two conditions ( or any others ferritin etc ), and you are at either end of the within range then common sense says to trial whatever medication , this would probably save money re constant GP trips days off work etc.
The NHS Professor talking about thyroid says there is clinical evidence that these patients need treating , and the GPs etc need to listen to there patients , this professor said the NHS testing for thyroid is missing so many , and a trial she was part of probes that ALL patients in the inrange but with obvious thyroid symptoms ALL improved when treated with medication.
The data is out there but it was done with her and a leading thyroid specialist, who died before the paper could be published as it is the only one of its kind worldwide and there are lots of procedures to go through to be able to get it published.
I showed her my results and symptoms and she said I need treatment but the NHS won't , so another private appointment.
The discussion on B12 deficiency was equally exasperatingly infuriating, regards my husbands health who is now back at the gym 3 times a week after 4 years away and was heading for early retirement and a wheelchair.
I can almost guarantee that most ladies on here will have thyroid , ferritin , vitamin D and B12 as a starter deficiency.
The witnin ranges are to big and set far to low , we should all be at optimal range for us to fire on all four cylinders, and antidepressants are just dished out instead.
My ferritin is 9 was 6 got to 19 GP said great stop taking iron ( that's in the days I listened to GPs) , back down to 16 and now 9 , for proper hair growth the body functioning it should be a minimum of 30 ( as per a NHS professor of heamotology) and 80 to be firing on all cylinders , the private sector ( baring in mind most work for the NHS also ) like to see it at 60/80.
They will tell you that all the ranges are set to low , however the NHS is broke ......but these are really quite cheap to sort out and I bet in the long run would save money regards people being sighned off work , various hospital visits etc etc.
My hubby had 3 a&e visits , a night on a stroke ward , a brain scan , MRI , three consultant appointments ( we were told on two occasions we should have called an ambulance) , the odd week or two off work , the list goes on.
Then told nothing we can do STRESS, private bloods showed his B12 was on the floor not even with in range , the testing and treating and teaching of B12 deficiency has got lost at med school , and all these people being put on PPIs they deplete your B12 even further.
So the NHS is AMAZING for emergencies cancer, stroke etc and we are incredibly lucky to have it , however some thinking outside the boxes need to be done , as one Professoer has said GPs are scientists who stop thinking when they are qualified.
Rant over , I will dig out the thyroid stuff if Hurdity is interested , it was only done in captions however regards a way of following the lecture , as it was mostly for healthcare professionals as part of ther CPD ( think that's the term ) with a few like me.
As a aside there was a NHS microbiologist there who's antibodies where 2,500 extremely ill signed off work for 6 months ( NHS money ) who's GP wouldn't help as the other parts of her test where in range , she self treated and back at work HOWEVER the GP still won't treat her.
She also said the ranges are all set to low and no one is thinking outside the box.