Standard Neurologist

[simonasays]

Hello All,

my father has an appointment tomorrow with a new neurologist and I am making a list of blood tests that he has never had that may be useful for determining any issues / deficiencies. I know insurance wont cover some of these and we will get them done at a lab but i would like to give the neuro a list to see what he would be willing to order.

1. Vitamin B12

2. Magnesium Serum levels / Magnesium, RBC levels

3. Vitamin B12 / Deficiency/perniceious Cascade

4. Vitamin B6

5. Total Glutathione

6. Coenzyme Q10, Total

7. Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Thermolabile Variant, DNA Analysis

8. Vitamin B1, Whole Blood

9. Ferritin

[Kia17]

I would add these to the list;

HbA1c

Liver Function Test.

CRP

T3 - T4- TSH

Vitamin D

[simonasays in reply to Kia17]

He has had these tests through his primary doc which is why I didn't add those to the list. But good to keep on my list to remember to keep checking the trends.

[faridaro]

I would add methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine to rule out B12 deficiency as normal or even elevated values of serum B12 can be false normal or false high. Also, there is no universal consensus of what normal range of B12 is - "One of the big challenges is to determine what level constitutes a B12 deficiency since lab reference ranges vary around the world. " see link:advances.augusta.edu/1014

Also, if homocysteine is elevated, chances are that there are MTHFR variants and you may not even need to test for MTHFR if homocysteine is normal (in single digits).

[Gigi216 in reply to faridaro]

You are so right! My blood test for B12 came back 1500 but I still had symptoms so I ordered a urinary MMA and it was elevated so I had a B12 deficiency. I researched and found that you have to take biotin along with B12 for it to get into the cell

[faridaro in reply to Gigi216]

That was a very good decision to trust your body instead of blood results and take an extra step to test for MMA - could have been life saving!

[faridaro in reply to faridaro]

You may want to read this article regarding MTHFR testing: health.clevelandclinic.org/...

[simonasays]

Good to know about the MTHFR gene. Vitamin B12 / Deficiency/perniceious Cascade testing involves urine MMA and homocysteine! But maybe I should actually just break it out so that doctor is aware I specifically want those. Thank you!