Vit B 12 tablets - but how low am I?

[Clematisa1]

I have had Vit B12 Tablets prescribed last week - Take 3 x 50mcg a day with meals. Nurse was obviously in a rush as it was Christmas and when I asked questions told me to "Oh just Google and that'll tell you what to eat!!" well I googled and it told me I am already eating what I'm supposed to eat! I managed to contact a Dr. this morning and asked what my levels were - she says 186 just borderline, so probably diet - I told her my diet was as suggested on the "google"!!! I then told her that 1of my aunts had pernicious anemea and 2 have had thyroid problems, she says I should get a thyroid test next time I'm in.

Stupidly I didn't ask what she meant...

So does she mean 10 weeks from now when I have done the course of tablets or make an appointment to get the Thyroid checked? I'm thinking I will go back and get both checked before the 10 weeks, but I know there is a time issue with blood tests as I had one sent back last year when I had it done too soon - that was for a low folate when I was given Folic Acid tablets... and am now wondering if the folic acid problem was masking a VitB12 deficiency...

I have had tingling in my fingers this last year but put it down to "sleeping on my arm" but wondering now if may be it's related to Vit B12 deficiency? I also went to the nurse in the summer as I'd had a couple of dizzy / verigo turns, but she didn't find anything could that be related too?

The Dr says I am borderline 186 - so wondering what does that mean?

[fbirder]

Don't wait 10 weeks. Make an appointment ASAP.

If you are eating meat and/or fish then your deficiency is not diet-related. Here's an official NHS guide to B12 in food. You can use this to work out how much you eat in a week. lnds.nhs.uk/Library/Vitamin...

When you see the doctor give him/her this NHS guide on how to treat a B12 deficiency and ask for injections. hey.nhs.uk/wp/wp-content/up...

If your doctor seems receptive to learning about B12 you could do what several of us have and buy them a copy of Martyn Hooper's book - amazon.co.uk/About-Pernicio...

[helvella]

Clematisa1,

Depending on the exact words, and how your surgery operates, you might be able simply to make an appointment for a blood draw for a thyroid test. There is little point in having an appointment without any test results to discuss! Thyroid test results are usually available very quickly - more delay on the distribution than the lab doing the analysis.

Just a few extra notes:

Get the blood drawn as early as possible in the morning, preferably before 09:00. TSH drops throughout the day. Although they say that fasting is not required, eating can affect results so many suggest a fasting test. Do drink water, though, you do not want to be dehydrated.

You can ask for Free T4 and Free T3 along with TSH. The lab will probably not do them, but at least you will have asked.

I'll repeat what fbirder wrote, don't wait 10 weeks. Go asap (but don't panic!). Don't care what she meant, it needs doing.

Come visit the Thyroid UK forum here healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk It might be helpful to you to get the thyroid test done, get the results (include reference ranges) and post over on Thyroid UK. Then have your appointment to discuss - already prepared.