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[Lauren_1989]

GP says no action required. Thanks in advance.

Ferritin 21 ug/L (30 - 400 ug/L)

Folate 4.3 ug/L (4.6 - 18.7 ug/L)

Vitamin B12 205 pg/L (190 - 900 pg/L)

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Lauren_1989 do you have any symptoms that suggest you may be either B12 or Folate deficient?

Symptoms of B12 deficiency tend to develop slowly and may not be recognised immediately. As the condition worsens, common symptoms include:

Weakness and fatigue

Light-headedness and dizziness

Palpitations and rapid heartbeat

Shortness of breath

A sore tongue that has a red, beefy appearance

Nausea or poor appetite

Weight loss

Diarrhoea

Yellowish tinge to the skin and eyes

If low levels of B12 remain for a long time, the condition also can lead to irreversible damage to nerve cells, which can cause the following symptoms:

Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet

Difficulty walking

Muscle weakness

Irritability

Memory loss

Dementia

Depression

Psychosis

If you can tick any of the above neurological symptoms make a list of them and present this to your doctor and ask him to treat you according to your symptoms and (perhaps) even start you on loading doses "until there is no further improvement" according to the N.I.C.E guidelines below.

Click on the link, then on "Scenario: Management" and scroll down to "Treatment for B12 deficiency"

google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j...

If possible take someone with you who can validate your neurological symptoms as the doctor is less likely to pooh pooh you in front of a witness.

I am not saying that this is an easy thing to do but try to stay calm, write out what you want to say and keep to the script and be confident that you are "in the right" and your facts are correct.

You may need both iron and folic acid supplements as both these work with B12 and need to be kept in balance.

I'm not a medically trained person but I've had P.A. (a form of B12 deficiency) for over 45 years and I wish you well.

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[Lauren_1989 in reply to clivealive]

Thanks I have all these symptoms so will go to GP on Monday to discuss them

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Lauren_1989]

I hope it goes OK with the doctor. Is there someone who can go with you?

[Lauren_1989 in reply to clivealive]

Yes I will take my fiancé.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Lauren_1989]

That's lovely.

Just because your B12 is probably "flagged" as "Normal" it is only just in the bottom of the range therefore your doctor should be looking at you (and your list of symptoms) rather than at his computer screen.

The British Society for Haematology (B.S.H) guidelines say "In the presence of discordance between the test result and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment".

google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j...

In other words your "strong clinical features" (neurological symptoms) trump the test result.