Some advice on blood results please, B12, folate, ferritin

[Klp23]

Hi my son is 5 his problems started at 4 months old suffering non epileptic episodes of shaking. As he got older this led to episodes of wobbly walking, complaining of legs feeling funny, regression in speech, some behavioural issues as a toddler. Currently he suffers a lot of fatigue which is getting worse, constantly complaining of legs in feet and or legs/hands/wrists/fingers and often feeling sick. His mood switches very quickly and often results in tears. In Jan his tsh came back at 4.37 (range up to 4.2) so I requested b12 etc tests, his neurologist tells me everything is normal, I'm not convinced, any advice?

[Klp23]

More blood tests

Vit D 83.6

Wbc 8.29 (5.0-15.0)

Rbc 4.58 (3.9-5.3)

Hb 122 (110-140)

Hct 0.36 (0.34-0.4)

Mcv 77.5 (73.0-87.0)

Mch 26.6 (24.0-30.0)

Mchc 344 (310-370)

Plt 450 (150-400)

Neut 4.44 (1.5-8.5)

Lymph 2.64 (1.8-8.4)

Mono 0.66 (0.20-1.0)

Eosi 0.46 (0.10-1.0)

Baso 0.10 (<0.11)

[Gambit62 Administrator]

The one result which is obviously out of whack is the anion gap.

This article provides some details on the test and lists the symptoms of metabolic acidosis which seem to fit quite well with most of the symptoms you are describing

urmc.rochester.edu/encyclop...

[Klp23 in reply to Gambit62]

Thanks for this, will take a look at this.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Klp23 I am not a medically qualified person and there are others on here who will be able to give advice but to me, whilst your son's B12 level @ 429 "appears to be normal" his Folate level is a bit on the low side.

Have you "presented" your son to your GP and described to him his symptoms as they tend to match those of B12 deficiency and it may be worthwhile asking for a "trial" of injections to see if his symptoms improve.

I wish you both well

[Klp23 in reply to clivealive]

He is seeing paediatrician next week so going to try and convince her to test further, if not will visit gp and see what he says.

[denisehugs45]

Has he been diagnosed with hypothyroidism as a tsh 4.37 is high and has he been tested for antibodies as well.for hashimotos me and my son have a under active thyroid and we are both on Meds and our tsh are between 2 and 3 now please look into this more as thyroid can cause alot of problems x

[Marz in reply to denisehugs45]

denisehugs45 - apologies for the intrusion - was reading through some posts and thought it worth mentioning that if you are on Thyroid Meds your TSH should be 1 or under. I am wondering if you know your FT3 level - the Active thyroid hormone - needed in every cell of your body. Like you I have Hashimotos and was not able to lower pain levels until all my results were optimal - especially the FT3.

Maybe you need B12 shots more often - as your symptoms are neurological and therefore a more frequent treatment protocol is needed. Low Thyroid can also cause some of the symptoms you mention as can Low VitD. I'm sure you know that B12 works with Folate in the body so again a result more than halfway would be good. VitD needs to be around 100.

I also have a B12 issue and inject weekly when possible .....

[Klp23]

His antibodies were normal, can't remember what they were off the top of my head but something like 5. I am seeing his paed next week so am going to present info to do further testing for b12. Wasn't diagnosed with anything with tsh at 4.37 was told it was normal so I pushed for b12, folate, ferritin etc to be tested. If paed won't do anything then I am going to try gp, he knows I'm at my wits end already so think he would be willing to help.

[_tracy_]

IIRC aren't young children supposed to have higher B12 levels than adults, because they haven't built up their stores in their livers? For adults there can be neurological symptoms below 450, according to "Could It Be B12" by Sally Pacholok. Your son's level is below that, so for a child he could possibly be considered deficient. Sally wrote another book specific to children, could be helpful (I have not read it). Both books are available on Amazon.

Is he sensitive to wheat? Consider a trial elimination of wheat from his diet. Celiac disease/gluten sensitivity can cause all sorts of problems including neurological problems in addition to GI problems and malabsorption of nutrients. He does need to be eating gluten regularly for a celiac test so perhaps wait until after the blood draw for the test. Keep in mind someone can be gluten-sensitive without being celiac so even if the test is negative it may be worth trying a change in diet.

[Klp23 in reply to _tracy_]

I was reading an article yesterday about children's b12 levels are supposed to be higher, will print it out. He's had the celiac test and it came back fine. Will have a look for that book, sounds like a lot of doctors should be reading it.

[fbirder in reply to _tracy_]

Actually, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity seems not to exist. The scientists that did the original study, that suggested some non-coeliacs were sensitive to gluten, did a more comprehensive study that showed it just wasn't true.

It's now thought that it's a bunch of carbohydrates called FODMAPs that are responsible for the effects some people have when eating wheat.

[_tracy_ in reply to fbirder]

I am gluten-sensitive but not celiac. I get acne breakouts when I eat gluten, as does my daughter. When we cut out the gluten, our complexion clears. We still eat other carbs like potatoes, rice, gluten free breads, etc. I am convinced it is something in the wheat, whether it be gluten or other amino acids.

I tried baking bread made with einkorn wheat, an ancient wheat. It is what geneticists call diploid. The wheat we have now is a hexaploid, was developed in the 1940s to 1960s. In any case it is genetically different. I still broke out, but my daughter didn't. Go figure.

I think there's a lot that we don't yet know about wheat and gluten sensitivity.