5mg folic acid not working?

[Gempep]

Hi all,

I wondered where I stand re my folate levels. So around 9 months ago I had blood tests as I felt so tired all the time, have pins and needles in my calves and face (left side only), few other bits. Turns out my folate was very low. Put on 5mg of folic acid for life (as im epileptic and so take meds).

My question is now, I feel the exact same. I have given it more than enough time to kick in and help yet I’m sick of wanting to go to bed by 5pm. Should I go back and get re-tested or is it worth it as I imagine the level to read “normal” now as I’m on the 5mg folic acid.

Any thoughts?

[Foggyme Administrator]

Hi Gempep.

Yes, get your folate levels checked again so that you can see what the current status is.

Also - some anti-epileptic medications can affect the absorption of vitamin B12, so ask your GP to check your serum B12 levels. Vitamin D can also be an issue so good if these could be tested too. Likewise ferritin levels (a marker for iron deficiency anaemia).

A full blood count (FBC) would also be useful as it contains markers that will demonstrate if you have Macrocytic (large red blood cells) Anaemia, sometimes (but not always) associated with B12 deficiency or microcytic (small red blood cells) associated with iron deficiency anaemia.

It’s important to note that treating a folate deficiency with high dose supplements can mask the presence of B12 deficiency (by 'hiding' the large red blood cells sometimes associated with B12 deficiency), so hope your GP is aware of this.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause symptoms similar to folate deficiency, so you may also have a vitamin B12 deficiency. Low or deficient levels of ferritin and vitamin D can also make you feel very ill indeed. So worth asking for all these to be checked since there must be a reason for your exhaustion.

Worth checking the B12 deficiency symptom list in the second PAS pinned post to the left of this page - you may have symptoms of B12 deficiency that you didn't know were symptoms. Worth reading the whole of the second and third PAS pinned post as they contain information that will help you to understand both folate and B12 deficiency (amongst other things) and give you an idea of what your GP should be doing to help you.

Note that many GPs assume that being at the bottom of the reference range for serum B12 means that things are 'normal' and no treatment is required. This is not always the case so if you want to post your serum B12 levels here (together with the reference ranges), forum members will be able to advise about interpretation.

Also worth discussing the possibility of side-effects from your current medications with your GP. They could also be a contributing factor, in which case a change in medications may make a difference.

Good luck...hope your GP serves you well and that you find some answers - it's really not 'normal' to feel so exhausted all the time. Horrible.

👍

[deniseinmilden in reply to Foggyme]

Brilliant answer!

[Foggyme Administrator in reply to deniseinmilden]

Why thank you kindly deniseinmilden . I blush ☺️😊