I've got my blood test results back, my b12 levels are fine.
Serum b12: 579ng/L range is (191 - 663)
Serum Folate: 3.7ug/L range is (3.3 - 19.3)
Serum TSH Level: 0.39mu/L range is (0.27 - 4.20)
I believe my symptoms are from either low folate or low thyroid level. Drs have advised no futher action required even though.
Do you take folic acid supplements? If not, 400 mcg a day of a supermarket folic acid should get your levels up where they should be.
No i don't, I've only been supplementing b12 as i suspected a deficiency in it again. I'll probably buy a b complex. Can a low folate level cause symptoms similar to low b12? Anxiety, trouble sleeping, mood swings, trouble concentrating?
It did my daughter
Is your daughter supplementing folate now? If so has her symptoms improved?
Yrs she supplements daily with 400mcg. She tried stopping but bloods revealed levels dropping. She I'd on b12 injections 10 weekly. Her ferritin low ad well and she needs vit d daily . They often go together If absorbtion problems.
Yes hervfolate deficiency symptoms did improve on daily 400mcg folic acid. She sometimes takes a b complex with 400mcg folic acid in it.
4 years ago my b12 was low and folate was high and not my folate is low and b12 is fine.
That's good that her symptoms have improved
Yes it's odd isnt it. My b12 hit very low 106 but folate was 9 .I took 400mcg folic acid and too much for me. It went above range?? I take 200mcg 3x a week now and at last blood test it was 20( 26 top of rage) we are all different it seems in what we can absorb. Good to have bloods done to kero track if on supplements .
Yes definately I’ve found a huge improvement since Increasing my folate levels I was even lower than you and I’m now in double figures,my consultant said don’t go over 20 I’m just over 10 at last blood test.ive noticed if I miss the 400mg daily that fbirder suggests I get my mouth ulcers and cut tongue back pretty quickly so I’ve learned the hard way to keep on top of this.I switched from methlyfolate to cheaper brand of folic acid as advised and I’m doing fine on it.
Good luck x
Thank you, I'll take the 400mcg folate supplement or I'll look into a b complex with the 400mcg folate incorporated in.
i forgot to ask, how long did it take for the symptoms to go. I started a b complex last week and felt improvements but yesterday and today i feel the symptoms coming back again.
I usually get my bloods rechecked every 3 or 4 months to see how all my levels are doing,I have to do it privately via medichecks but the odd time if I’m seeing a consultant he’ll ask the gp to check my levels.
Is it costly to get them checked privately? With symptom recovery time is it expected to be about 3 months before i notice a big difference permanently? (I'm assuming like b12, folate needs to be stored and in blood cells to feel the benefits)
I suppose it depends which ones and how many your having done have a look on medichecks website and register with them then you’ll get any discounts when they have offers,this week they have 20% off all tests for instance.
Folate and vit d are just as important as b12 in my opinion because they symptoms of deficiency are so similar.
the best advice I ever had was from the thyroid forum here when I posted my first lot of blood tests, they said optimise all your vitamin levels then recheck your bloods incl thyroid In three months and see where you are and go over to the p.a forum for advice and I thank them so much for pointing me here as I’ve had so much help.I’d no idea what p.a was and was desperately clutching at anything and everything in an effort to get well.
I’ve been Injecting since April every other day since loading doses although I admit to messing about with frequency this last while to my cost.I’d say there is no “permanently “with symptoms all we can do is keep up our treatments with p.a to get some kind of normality in our lives but it’s not a cure as such and if we don’t keep up our treatments we will slip straight back,it’s completely different for people with dietary deficiency,
With folate if yours is low then you’d need to keep up a maintenance regime as fbirder suggests 400 is enough don’t go for high doses in anything unless it’s on prescription and your gp is monitoring.This is why I keep checking bloods because I have other stuff going on too and am still being investigated by my consultant.
Good luck sorry about the essay lol.x
well with the advice on the 400mcg folic acid, i decided to take a b complex with 400mcg folic acid in. I don't have any problems with absorption so my low levels are strictly diet related. Most symptoms are improving but the past couple of days I've felt slight surrealism (mostly in the late afternoon/evening) but I'm not sure whether that's to do with my low folate and the effects of the b complex wearing off or not
Keep on your B complex for at least 6 months then get retested,medichecks do an excellent well woman ultra vit blood test it’s dear about £145 but you can wait for discount codes and grab it for future use,I think the test is valid for 6 months when you buy them but have a look on the website.Good luck.x
Thank you and I'll look into a private blood test in 3-4 months.
Help with blood test results
Blood Test results - Please Advise...
Blood results
New to all this, please help with test results
