Results advice please

[Alana14]

I have hypothyroidism. Any advice regarding supplements with the results I have given would be helpful. Because there are so many results I have done what it says on the printout and put (!) against the abnormal ones.

Serum ferritin - 75 (15 - 150)

!Serum folate - 21.6 (2.5 - 19.5)

Serum vitamin B12 - 343 (180 - 900)

!Total vitamin D - 45.1 (>75 adequate)

White blood cell count - 5.83 (4.0 - 11.0)

!Red blood cell count - 5.46 (4.8 - 5.3)

!Haematocrit - 0.47 (0.37 - 0.45)

!Haemoglobin - 158 (120 - 150)

MCV - 86.1 (83 - 98)

MCH - 28.9 (27 - 32)

!MCHC - 370 (310 - 350)

Platelets - 294 (150 - 450)

Neutrophils - 3.09 (1.5 - 8.0)

Lymphocytes - 1.60 (1.0 - 4.0)

Monocytes - 0.38 (0.2 - 1.0)

Eosinophils - 0.17 (0.0 - 0.5)

Basophils - 0.01 (0.0 - 0.2)

I wasn't supplementing B12 at the time of the test but when I have supplemented B12 in the past it wasn't going up by very much. About 10 or 20 points in the space of a year at best. I have symptoms which I think are B12 deficiency like tingling in feet, toes and fingers, fatigue, numbness, recurring sighs, muscle weakness, dizziness, tinnitus and general clumsiness. These symptoms worsened on folic acid which my GP insists I should take. Also am I right in pursuing further investigations into the results? Thank you

[taka Administrator]

Welcome!

Ok...

Folate high - is you GP changing the dose you are taking?

Vit D low - Has your GP prescribed supplements?

MCMC high - this means there is too much haemoglobin in your red blood cells. Your Haemoglobin, Haematocrit and RBC count are all high too which could be due to something as simple as dehydration. Not sure what it means when all 3 + MCHC is high, sorry, I'm not a medic so am a bit out of my depthon this! Maybe one to ask your GP who will be able to interperate these in light of any other medical conditions you have.

B12 - Not very high but not very low either. If you have a helpful GP you could ask for your anti-intrinsic factor antibodies to be measured (to check for pernicious anaemia) and ask them for injections. You have no signs of macrocytic anaemia which is a common sign of B12 (or folate deficiency) but this may be being masked by your folate supplementation. Some people don't have heamatological symptoms of a B12 deficiency anyway and may have neurological symptoms instead .

The complication is that you also have hypothroidism and a vit D deficiency and there is a lot of symptom overlap between them, so it may be hard to work out what is causing it.

These guidelines for cobalamin (Vit B12) deficiency may help to convince your doctor - highlight any relevant bits. pernicious-anaemia-society....

Taking a copy of one of the symptom lists (found on the PAS or B12 deficiency websites) with your symptoms ticked may help too.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

It is a good idea to not take any supplements containing B12 before testing as this can affect the results.

Have an explore of the pinned posts too (either on the right or down at the bottom depending on whether you are on a pc or phone.

Good luck!

[Alana14 in reply to taka]

Thanks Taka, no my GP has put me on repeat prescription for the folic acid. I take 800iu vitamin D. I drank a lot of water during the test so why I have high RBC, haematocrit and haemoglobin I don't know. I am hoping the haematologist I see tomorrow can offer me some insight. GP says the results were only slightly out and not a concern.

[taka Administrator in reply to Alana14]

Hopefully the haematologist will be able to work out what is going on and order tests. Maybe take the B12 deficiency symptom list (with your symptoms ticked) etc when you go to see them tomorrow just in case you need them.

Hope the appointment goes well!