15yo latest results

[sbadd]

Daughters latest results

Have posted on thyroid site but due to history low b12 and iron posting here as per previous posts has parietal cell antibodies and peaditrician stopped injections nearly year back, my doct has now ordered further gastric bloods etc and considering iron infusion

Her b12 261 under 150 is deficient

B12 3 months back was 415

Folate is good 41.6 above 10 normal

I think b12 needs to be reistated and iron then thyroid should improve

Any thoughts

Reply (0)

[sbadd]

Just updated results as had posted wrong bloods

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

My GP told me that you can have deficiency symptoms if your ferritin level is below 60 ug/L (range 13-150 ug/L locally)- and Oral Medicine consultant wanted me to aim for 80. Never managed, even with supplements, to get above 60 though- he said this might be my natural level.

My levels kept dropping, after treatment boost, back down to mid-30s and took a couple of years to get to optimum levels and stabilise. I still get folate, ferritin, vitamin D and thyroid levels checked regularly to ensure no problems there. With B12 deficiency, these are the most likely to also be affected.

B12 levels of 261 and 415 (unit of measurement can be either in ng/L or pmol/L) do not seem particularly low. However, B12 deficiency symptoms can be (and are) experienced at normal or even high levels. My level initially was 196 ng/L - with a local range starting at 197, I was very lucky. Also very unwell.

If previous gastric parietal cell antibody test was positive, this would strongly point to pernicious anaemia as 80% of those with pa test positive - however 10% of "normal individuals" also test positive *.

Has methylmalonic acid been tested ? This is a secondary test done to confirm or rule out B12 deficiency where there is some doubt - although I would have thought parietal cell antibody positive would be sufficient indication. MMA joins with B12 in system, so if B12 unavailable, MMA can build up in bloodstream, giving high level. This does not determine whether this is caused by pernicious anaemia or not though. Still, might be useful.

As you can tell, I'm not medically trained, so a rather simple explanation is all I have here !

* BCSH guidelines via Martyn Hooper: "What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia & Vitamin B12 Deficiency"

[sbadd in reply to Cherylclaire]

Thankyou no mma test has been done

[Cherylclaire Forum Support in reply to sbadd]

A B12 result that is dropping rapidly in 3 months - that would be a concern for a GP.

Of sufficient concern to warrant action now, rather than wait to see it continue falling ? I would hope so. The direction of travel is obvious.

Your daughter has a lot going on - wishing her well.