Hi I'm new to this group low vitamin B9 folate

[GillyGangGong]

Hi I'm new to this group I have slightly low vitamin B9 folate I'm told I was looking it up and this group came up. Can anyone tell me what this means as I have long term health problems too many to mention, I suffer with lots of muscle joint pain and fatigue recently suffered a bout of moderate gastritis and have a plague on my liver could this be related. Ps I am a long term survivor of leukaemia and had a bone marrow transplant 26 years ago.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

folate isn't stored in the body so levels in blood are affected by dietary uptake. If your diet isn't low in folate then that means that you have an absorption problem and that may well be down the gastritis you mention.

This forum is really about a particular cause of B12 deficiency but as B12 and B9 work together and absorption problems with B12 can affect other vitamins and minerals they are quite closely linked.

Have your B12 levels also been checked.

Symptoms of Folate deficiency overlap considerably with B12 deficiency - the main difference between the two is that folate tends to come on quickly whereas the symptoms of B12 deficiency creep up on you slowly - over years if not decades because B12 is stored in the body.

Think it would be worth looking at the symptoms of B12 deficiency - even if you appear to be in range for B12 as serum B12 isn't a gold standard test - and follow up on both with your GP

[GillyGangGong in reply to Gambit62]

Ah thanks so much for the reply I recently had my b12 done and ferritin these came back within normal range so it's highly likely that the gastritis is the culprit for low levels I'm having them rechecked on 21st August.

also I asked for my husband in February of this year my husband had slightly low B12 levels and was given folic acid and the consultant asked his GP to check his blood count he finished this course of folic acid in may. Do you know when he should be re tested how many months is a few as our GP has put a note on his records to check in February. Seems a bit more than a few months.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to GillyGangGong]

serum B12 isn't a gold standard test - it will miss 25% of people who are B12 deficient but pick up 5% who aren't if it is used as a single indicator - so symptoms are important in evaluating a B12 deficiency. Macrocytosis - larger rounder red blood cells is a common symptom but isn't present in 25% of people presenting with B12 deficiency. Suggest that you evaluate symptoms for both your self and your husband and go back to GP with the above information.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

If you have neurological symptoms these should be treated as a mater of urgency rather than waiting for levels to drop below the normal range

If they want to check it refer them to the BCSH (British committee for standards in haematology) standards for diagnosis of cobalamin and folate deficiency. Your GP (assuming you are based in the UK can access these through the BNF but, if you are UK based you can also access them here

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[GillyGangGong in reply to Gambit62]

Wow thanks for the information my husband I meant to say recheck in October still more than a few months.

Before he went on folic acid and while on it he was very forgetful and irritable. Also had other. (err blood flow problems) we are both deficient in vitamin d3 I thought this might contribute to him feeling low and having quite a bit more pain in his joints than usual.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to GillyGangGong]

the symptoms could be vit D but could also be B12.

[GillyGangGong in reply to Gambit62]

I know it's a hard one working it out which causes what but I have printed out the Wiley PDF thanks for the link. I'm going to have a good read of it tonight.

[GillyGangGong]

my folate serum test result 5.2 nmo/l I'm told this is slightly low still a worry I have read parts of the guidelines as it's a lot to take in and my consentration are not good.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to GillyGangGong]

the variation from one individual is a lot less with folate than it is with B12. being slightly low in range isn@t likely to be an issue

[GillyGangGong]

Just a quick update on my husband I have posted elsewhere, my husband went back to see the nurse in October and he was severely deficient in folate, the nurse wasn't impressed with the amount of time that passed between folate and getting tested as it was severely low. so he was given three months of folic acid so he went back in January this (month) for a repeat test an his folate was within normal range 9.3 but his B12 was 193ng/l so he's had another blood test for IF and is going to be having B12 injections. xx

[GillyGangGong]

Hi there,recently i was retested my folate was 4.2/nmol and my B12 was 271ng/l