High Active B12

[Hazelnut]

Hi. I've recently had a private blood test done and had some abnormal readings.

Can anyone shed any light. I'm extremely lethargic/tired and sleep all night and also at points during the day. I struggle to catch breath from simply walking up the stairs but feel I cannot take a good full breath of air most of the time. I have chest tightness and palpitations on occasion. Anxiety and racing heart also. I feel so sad and stressed since getting these results.

I'll also add that I have never taken any form of supplement.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Hazelnut as the report explains Vitamin B12 needs Folate to process it.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Symptoms of a folate deficiency can include:

symptoms related to anaemia

reduced sense of taste

diarrhoea

numbness and tingling in the feet and hands

muscle weakness

depression

Folic acid works closely with vitamin B12 in making red blood cells and helps iron function properly in the body.

Your doctor would probably say that your Folate is "Normal" and it is doubtful he would prescribe anything for it. I suggest you speak to your doctor or pharmacist about taking some Folic Acid (400μg) which can be bought cheaply over the counter or perhaps increasing your intake of leafy green vegetables, sprouts, broccoli, spinach, peas, beans etc.

Lower level Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a number of non-specific symptoms, including possibly chronic fatigue (experts have for many years noted an association between sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalitis (CFS or ME) Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include chronic pain, weak bones, frequent infections (recent research has detected an association between vitamin D deficiency and severe pneumonia), depression and fatigue. . Supplementation may be beneficial - please speak to your usual doctor about your test result.

I am not a medically trained person but I've had P.A. (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 45 years.

I wish you well

.

[Hazelnut in reply to clivealive]

Thank you for your reply. I have a doctors appt next week so will see what is said. I have suffered anaemia for years and years but no doctor has yet been concerned with getting to the root of the problem. I've just been given iron tablets which quite unusually make me more tired and sleepy. Well, perhaps my new gp will go the extra mile. We shall see.

[Hidden]

I'm not medically qualified, but I think low Vitamin D can cause some of your problems.

It might be worth asking your GP for a referral to a respiratory clinic. I had very thorough tests there which ruled out any heart and lung problems. Once I knew there was nothing wrong there I added Vitamin D into the mix and I'm not too bad most days ( I've since been diagnosed with Fibromylagia so think I had that going on and all the symptoms were far worse due to low B12)

[Hazelnut in reply to Hidden]

Hi. Thank you for replying. I'll be asking for further tests I think as I've never felt quite this bad before. I sleep so much. It'll be great to get to the root of my problem so I can make the right choices.