Can you please advice on low B12?

[irme]

I've been diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism- possible Hashimoto;s- but before that,I was diagnosed with severe B12 deficiency (September 2015 149 pg/ml October 2015 109 pg/ml) and adrenal insufficiency.No PA I was told. I was treated only for the B12 deficiency with 5 loading injections for a week,then 3 per week for 2 weeks and then one per week for six months and that was it.While I was at 1000-1250 pg/ml I was feeling great-no symptoms at all and I was full of energy,I could think and function almost normally. I stopped the injections April 2016 and was told by my doctor that I won't be needing any kind of supplementation. Since last February though,I've been experiencing not only low thyroid symptoms (TSH is high again) but low vit B12 symptoms as well such as trembling,tingling,severe breathlessness,slight lack of muscle coordination,shooting pains,impaired vision,short term memory loss,face-mostly lip- numbness,face and body tics and fainting spells.I had my bloods done last week and B12 came back within range (527pg/ml).I was told that I'm fine and to retest in 5 months. I understand that low thyroid,low B12 and low adrenal symptoms can be alike and confusing and that's why I'm asking for advice please,what do you think,should I start the injections again?Thank you in advance.

[denisehugs45]

Hi did you have folate and ferritin checked and what was your tsh for your thyroid as any one if these can give you these at symptoms if there low x

[irme in reply to denisehugs45]

Thank you so much for replying!. Unfortunately I forgot to ask for a folate test- my memory is not at its best- but I did check ferritin last week,it came back 44 ng/ml ( 13-150) Last time I had my folate checked was in January,it was 7.7 ng/ml (3.0-19.9). TSH is at 6.4 μIU/ml ( 0.27-4.22) and was tested last week,so was ferritin,iron and B12.I've been told that I am within range and that there's no need to retest for 6 months.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi irme are you in the UK?

It may well be your thyroid problems that are (and have historically been) putting you at risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency and although your present reading are "normal" that doesn't indicate what is happening at cell level.

You could always ask for an MMA test. Methylmalonic acid is a chemical used up in one of the cellular reactions mediated by B12. If there's not enough B12 in the cell then MMA levels will rise. If they're not high then it means your cellular levels of B12 are OK. High levels of plasma MMA (>0.75umol/L0 almost invariably indicate cobamalin deficiency.

You may also need to have your Folate level tested as this and B12 helps your iron to make red blood cells amongst other functions. . A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

I'm not a medically trained person but hopefully someone will come along later who can give you good advice.

[irme in reply to clivealive]

Thank you so much for the reply Clive. I am in Europe but not in the UK.I've never heard of this test but I will ask my doctor if she can order it otherwise I will do it privately,and I 'll ask for a folate test as I totally forgot to ask.So if the MMA levels are high,should I start the injections again?

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to irme]

As I understand it the answer is yes but remember I'm not a medic but have had P.A. (a form of B12 deficiency) for over 45 years.