Advice on test results please

[Ali83]

Hi, this is my first post here 😊

I recently requested my vit b12 and folate levels to be checked as i have had symptoms for many years and feel as though they have checked everything but that. And with my grandfather having had pernicious anaemia and my mother having thyroid problems my gp did agree that i was at higher risk.

My results were vit b12 466 and folate 3.7 my gp said these are fine. But ive seen some info online about vit b12 not always being accurate because it shows active and inactive amounts? My question is should i be happy and leave it at that or should i push further? I have had the symptoms for so long its really getting me down.

Thanks

[Meganmc12345]

Hey Ali83! What are your symptoms? The range on both seem perfectly normal . I have only recently been told I have pernicious anemia and my range for b12 was 121 which is quiet low. I’d be happy enough to listen to the professionals but if you are still worried maybe go back and get the tests done again.

[Ali83 in reply to Meganmc12345]

Hi meganmc12345 😊 thanks for your reply. I have had various symptoms for a long time, including extreme tiredness (can't go a whole day without a sleep) depression ( been on anti-depressant's for nearly 2 yrs) occasional numbness in hands when i wake up ( always put this down to me having been lying on my arm in my sleep) tinnitus ( was referred to hosp last year due to this ) also am very forgetful. Its only since last week when i searched symptoms that i realised these could all be linked to the same thing.

How easy is it to get the separate blood test that only tests for active b12? My concern is that if the result of 466 is made up of an amount of inactive b12 then my true result might not be as good as it looks. I really hope all this makes sense! Lol

Also wondered if there was a link between b12, ferritin and folate?

[Dizzinessloaded]

Hi Ali, my B12 results came back at 440 so was considered normal, but my symptoms were really bad, had grown worse for 18 months to the point I could hardly function, so I decided to start self-injecting. It's been an interesting journey, as I felt better after about 6 injections, but within a week of stopping, the symptoms came back. After doing another load, again same, so 2 months later, decided to continue with the injections every two days until I felt almost normal again which meant injecting every other day for 3 weeks. The difference was incredible. As I felt well, I decided to go a week without an injection and OMG the symptoms have hit me like a rock again and feel dreadful again. I am now recognise well the range of symptoms that make me feel so peculiar all together. I am now totally convinced that I have an issue with B12 even though my results were not what is considered low. I am debating whether to just continue with my own treatment (I did tell my GP I was self-injecting) or going back asking for a referral for further testing).

[Ali83 in reply to Dizzinessloaded]

Thanks for your reply dizzinessloaded! Very interesting! If you dont mind me asking what are your symptoms? And also did you get a result for folate? I think im going to go back to gp with my concerns.