Can anyone help me please, I am so confused as what to do next....
Over the years I have had periods of numbness, pins and needles in my hands and feet, tiredness, mind fog etc which drs tests usually brought down to iron/folate deficiency.
However this time was the worst it's been. In march I started to experience strong numbness and tingling in my left hand to the point it was hard to feel things. I guess I should have went to the doctor then but didn't
Coming into April/May my balance was becoming pretty bad but most worrying for me my vision in my right eye was become affected, sort of like colours had lost their vividness (text in books etc were no longer black and crisp, but fat and grey) with what felt like snowy interference. This was accompanied by pain when I moved my eye in different directions. (The pain subsided, but my vision is still affected)
So, finally I went to the doctor who ordered an ophthalmology appointment (which still hasn't come through) - my own optician couldn't see anything wrong.
The blood tests he ordered came back:
B12 156ng/L (191-663)
Serum folate 3.6 ug/L (4.6-18.7)
Serum ferritin 33 ug/L (13-150)
Serum iron level 11.8 umol/L (10-30)
Serum transferrin 4.1g/L (2-3.6)
Percentage iron saturation 11.5% (30-40)
Serum TSH level 2.29 mU/L ( 0.27-4.2)
FBC - not sure what some of these are but though I would include
HB 126g/L (120-170)
Packed cell volume 0.372 (0.36-0.5)
RBCs 4.38 e12/l (3.8-5.5)
MCV 84.9 fl (83-101)
MCH 28.8 pg (27-32)
MCHC 339 g/L (310-350)
Platelet count 235 e9/l (150-400)
WBCs 5.3 e9/l (4-11)
So he noted b12 and folate where low. Said to me that he wouldn't use injections until b12 falls under 100. So packed me on my way with cobalamin tablets 50mcg and folic acid 5mg both to be taken once a day for 2 months til my bloods will be checked again.
He also said iron was slightly low but not enough to be treated.
I said I was worried I wasn't absorbing b12 properly and he ordered intrinsic factor and Parietal cell antibody bloods - these haven't come back yet.
I did a bit of reading around and decided not to take the tablets just yet and get an active b12 test from blue horizon which came back:
Active B12 71 pmol/L (21.5 - 165.0)
So within normal range for them - so does this mean I am absorbing properly and where should i go from here?
I am so upset and confused I still haven't taken the medication incase there is any other tests that I could maybe do, and was considering a uMMA test.
Any advice would be much appreciated x