Bloods

[PoDundee]

My daughter had bloods done at acute medical services because of a severe pain in her ribs.

B12- 271- I gave her 5mgs sublingual methycobalamin daily. GP refused to treat this as not below 200.

Folate- 1.7- prescribed 4mgs folic acid.

Enlarged red blood cells

Recent tests-

B12 2000

Folate- 10.9

No mention of red blood cells. She was told her bloods were normal.

Looking at these it appears to me that these have been relayed to her wrongly, and that B12 is falling.

The doctor at ACS had said he was sure she had coeliac. Bloods done by GP negative. No surprise there. GP refusing to refer her for a biopsy.

Any views on these latest blood results?

[Regalbirdy]

Hi PoDundee,

How old is your daughter? ie. are you still responsible for her?

And have I read the B12 results correctly? The first one being 271 and the second being a whopping 2000? If so, I don't see how it can be falling!

The Coeliac blood test normally used first by the NHS is the IgA TTG2 Antibody test. In someone who has full-blown Coeliac Disease, it is reported to be reliable up to 95% of the time. Although, I believe that for someone in the early stages of Coeliac Disease, its efficacy can be reduced.

So the fact that your daughter has had a negative blood test is potentially very positive.

Your GP is following standard UK medical practice by refusing to do a biopsy. If you want to know more about why, check out NICE Guidelines CG86. An endoscopy is a very uncomfortable and invasive procedure (I know!) - so is not to be undertaken lightly or done without good reason. Often gut damage can be precicted by the blood test result.

However the rules would change slightly if your daughter was to have an IgA deficiency (your doctor would be able to check blood test results for this). Others here might be able to tell you more than I can about it - should it become necessary, as this route to a Coeliac Disease diagnosis is relatively uncommon.

Hope this helps.

[PoDundee in reply to Regalbirdy]

My daughter is 37.

[Polaris]

Hi PODundee. Your daughter's B12 was low, as well as her folic acid. Her blood test results are definitely not normal, as large red blood cells are a classic sign of PA/B12 deficiency. She is also in the high risk group of B12 def, if coeliac is suspected, and is most likely not absorbing B12.

Supplementation would have raised the B12 in the blood but is not necessarily absorbed into the tissues.

The following is a helpful link with lots of advice and information, with templates for writing to your doctor, as well as an excellent film:

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Latest BMJ Research Document with summary re. tests, diagnosis and treatment:

cmim.org/pdf2014/funcion.ph...

[SilverDreamMachine in reply to Polaris]

Hi Polaris,

A huge THANK You for the link to the B12 info. I am an asymptomatic coeliac and as such haven't had the motivation to explore all the nooks and crannies of the condition and have been happy to jog alone via my gluten free diet.

I have B12 defficiency and get the 4 jabs a year, but after reading the link to the excellent B12 site I realise that I need to be more vigilant and get my levels checked and maybe persuade the Dr to give me more frequent jabs.

Interestingly I had a TIA (mini stroke) a few years ago which may be linked to my low B12 and now take preventative drugs including Omeprazole which doesn't help my B12 aborbtion. So another topic for the Dr.!

Once again many thanks for waking me up!!

Peter

[Polaris in reply to SilverDreamMachine]

It does seem that more frequent injections would help Peter, especially if you've already had a TIA - your homocysteine levels might be high and B12 would help this.

I've had various digestive problems for years and on various medications but these have disappeared since avoiding gluten and taking several spoonfuls of Saukerkraut throughout the day - better than any probiotic !

[SilverDreamMachine in reply to Polaris]

Hi again,

Saukerkraut! mmmm doesn't it tase pretty dreadful? Or do you incorporate it in other food?

[Polaris in reply to SilverDreamMachine]

sauerkraut.com/#!sauerkraut...