18 yr old son - more bloods taken

[SarahFerguson]

Ongoing story: son with Gastritis , B12d was 174 ng/l ref range 130-800 Holo 33 (25-125) I think. MMM 265 ref range (0-285) he's got lots of PA symptoms and strong family history - recent visit to Gp I've asked for Ferritin, Folate and Vit D to be checked, what of these bloods test would be an indication B12 problems, taking into account his already low B12d level.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Do you mean MMA?

[SarahFerguson in reply to clivealive]

Sorry Clive, yes MMA . Haemologist did an MMA test as the Holo was within range (just)

[Gambit62 Administrator]

ferritin is an indicator for iron levels

folate is an indicator for folate/B9 levels

vitD is an indicator of vitamin D levels

None of these have a direct impact on B12 levels.

However, deficiencies in all of the above have symptoms that overlap considerably with B12 deficiency. In the case of folate this is in part because folate and B12 are used in many of the same processes in the body so a deficiency in either will affect the same processes and cause the same symptoms.

Low folate and ferritin could be indicative of absorption problems which could also be the cause of a B12 deficiency