Blood tests

[DeeD123]

I am a fairly new member and def still learning. I am now on 12 weekly injection for life but have been told I will not be tested again and this is my first one since I started. I also have hashimotoes. I am now due my annual blood test and was hoping someone could point me in the direction of what I should be asking for in this blood test as I am sure I am being short changed. Thanks in advance for even the smallest pointers

[Gambit62 Administrator]

You are not being short changed in relation to B12. You could ask for it to be included but the chances are, even if your symptoms are not resolved that it will still come back high as the normal range really doesn't apply after loading doses. BCSH (British Committee for Standards in Haematology) standards do not recommend regular retesting unless there is reason to believe that you are not complying with treatment.

results of serum B12 post loading are only significant if they come back very low showing that your kidneys are very efficient at removing it from your blood stream. High levels mean nothing as high serum B12 can cause a reaction that stops the B12 moving from you blood into your cells. On average it would appear that people who have had loading doses to maintain levels above 1000pmol/L and there is considerable variation in that. As such the serum B12 test is not a cost-effective monitoring tool and symptoms are much more effective - though also problematic given the overlap with hashimotos.

[DeeD123 in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you gambit62. I wouldn’t be on them now if I hadn’t challenged the doctor on the low reading so I guess I am am paranoid

[JMN2017]

DeeD123

I think you should ask for Folate to be included so that you can make sure the level is good, as B12 needs Folate to work.