Advice needed regarding mother inlaws blood test results

[kaz86]

Hi there,

I'm posting this on behalf of my mother in law who is 78 years old and has been hypothyroid for 22yrs. I've already posted this on the Thyroid Forum and was advised to ask for advice here. She is on 75mcg of Levothyroxine

TSH 1.43 (0.35-5.50)

For the past 5 or 6 months she has been suffering with pins and needles in her hands and very occasionally her feet. Her fingers and palms go white and she complains of numbness. Once the feeling comes back her palms and fingers turn red. She also has sciatica. Her GP is sending her for a MRI scan of her spine as he thinks these symptoms are possibly linked. I'm wondering if the pins and needles could be due to her low B12? How much would you suggest she supplements to increase her B12 and folate? Is her vitamin D level optimal?

She also experiences the following: constipation, can't lose weight, erratic sleep pattern, eczema/ dry skin.

By the way her GP says all her results are normal and require no action. Also her GP never tests FT3 or FT4.

Thank you all very much

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Would strongly recommend that you don't supplement B12 until you have gone as far as you can in getting a diagnosis of deficiency.

Please read through the pinned posts and try and learn as much as you can about B12 and the limitations of the B12 serum test as you are probably going to need to write to her GP and explain the limitations.

Her MCH is towards the upper end of the spectrum which could be an indicator that she is starting to develop macrocytosis - a classic symptom of B12 and folate deficiency.

Given her age your mother in law is probably starting to experience problems absorbing nutrients from her food. If she is on treatments for high stomach acidity - eg PPIs such as omeprazole - the chances are this is a misdiagnosis and she actually has low stomach acidity - but the symptoms are pretty much the same.

Sorry but I need to go now - if you try looking back over my profile at a few recent posts you should find some in the last few days that contain more detail on the limitations of the B12serum test.

Folic acid is - 200-400mcg is generally sufficient for getting folate levels up. Though also worth double checking diet to see if it does actually contain a good range of folate rich foods ie that the low level definitely is absorption and not diet.