Blood tests

[tmoxon]

Hi I wonder whether anyone can explain to me which blood tests I would need to have that would indicate being low in vitamins etc.

I decided to ask the receptionist at our doctors to print out my last full blood count results but at first glance they might as well have been in a foreign language, I have managed to look some up on the Lab Tests on line website, but to be honest I am not that much wiser other than they all seem to be in the middle of the results expected apart from Haemoglobin which is still within the norm but only just at 12.5g/dl

I am wondering whether the full blood count would indicate whether I am low in Vitamin D or B etc. but I would need to know how to interpret the full blood count results or are the tests for being low in vitamins completely different?

Thanks for any info you can give

[Penel]

I think a blood count only looks at the structure of the blood and that you would need a different test to check for vitamin levels.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compl...

[tmoxon]

Many thanks Penel, I will ask whether I have ever had a check on my vitamins and minerals etc next time I am at the doctors

[Hidden]

Blood tests for vitamins are completely different ones to a full blood count. They normally only run them if your diet has been very deficient for some reason, you've been really ill or you are displaying certain symptoms.

[tmoxon]

Thank you Jillp, I was under the impression that I would have had all of these things checked, I thought that they were routinely checked due to having CD. I have reported hair loss and muscle cramps before, I might have had them done, I dont know, I will check it out. thanks again

[earthwitch]

The easiest checks a GP can do for malabsorption problems are iron, folate and B12. A low folate in particular is often the first indication of coeliac disease problems.

However, if you are now diagnosed coeliac, and on a GF diet, I wouldn't bother getting too many checks until you have given the diet a good try (up to six months). Your health should improve dramatically once your gut heals again, and you would only need that testing if you were still feeling very tired or run down.

As far as routine testing goes, most GPs would do annual blood tests or an annual follow up just to make sure things were staying OK, but actually other than that, there isn't much ongoing testing that is of that much benefit to do unless you keep on having problems in spite of a strict GF diet.

[tmoxon]

Thank you for your reply Earthwitch,

I have now been GF for over a year and don't eat any of things that can still cause issues such as codex wheat start, barley malt etc but still feel tired sometimes, and still have DH although not as bad as it was before. I have kept a diary to try to find out what I could be possibly eating that is still causing the issue but haven't found anything as yet. When asking CUK or my specialist they advised it can take many years to be free of the DH even on a strict GF diet, so perhaps I will have to be patient.

I did wonder whether some issues I am still having could be down to low level of vitamins or minerals etc as there seem to be so many people on supplements and I think I may have been a coeliac from many years possibly over 20 and just wondered whether anyone had checked my vitamin levels. Thanks again for responding

[Airedale]

I Posted on another question before I saw this. I take Dapsone for the DH and am now on a weekly blood test regime for a low blood count. I get B12 injections every 12 weeks, but my doctor is trying to gauge when the B12 drops off for me. I can tell when I need it due to a tingling in my hands and feet and a general lethargy. All return to normal within 3 days, I feel it drops off after 6 weeks. Due to the way the gut works with the Coeliac there is a malabsorption of B12 so the B12 levels drop. You wont absorb supplements. If you do a search for what B12 actually does you will be surprised.

[tmoxon]

Hi Airedale thank you for your reply. After having to go to bed on Tuesday and Wednesday this week with a bad headache and generally feeling awful, I went to the GP and asked to be checked out for deficiencies. I get tired at around 7.30pm. I have found that I can get away with taking one Dapsone tablet ( 50 mg) which eases the itching when the rash gets bad. I am still unsure why I get the rash as I cannot pin it down to things I have eaten when it comes on, despite keeping a food diary. All I know I am really strict with the diet and don't even eat things that CUk suggest are ok such as maltodextrin and barley malt extract etc, it is very disappointing when you think you are doing everything right and still have the rash or not feel very well. thanks again for your info I will look up about vit B12

[Sachin1234]

Hi

I'm a clinical lab technologis I run all kinds of test in the hospital lab ..

Frist thing u need to know as a patient never ever compare or Google ur results online and try figure it out by urself .. If u don't understand any results than u should call ur dr and the lab where u did ur blood work ..

Cbc will not determined ur vit d but it gives u a clue of other vit like b12 and folate ..

Vit d is regulated by prathyroid hormone, calcium , and phosphorous so it would be better to start form these three test and then 1-25 hydroxyvitd which is a metabolized vitd2 and d3..

Don't want u to confuse these are test u need to ask with ur dr for vit d diffency

Pth, cal, phosphors and 1-25 hydroxyvitd ..

Hope it helps u

[tmoxon]

Thank you Sachin1234, I had forgotten I made this post, I have now established I am a bit low in iron, B12 and Vit D, so I have been prescribed these by the GP.

I am now starting to feel much better but I think this is more to do with the fact that i have given up dairy as well as gluten as it seems dairy makes me have terrible headaches and rashes etc the same way gluten does.

Thanks again for your help though