Is it B12 or Iron Deficiency? Symptoms alleviated slightly after taking 500 mcg b12 pills. I'm 100% vegetarian.

[gotbaya]

Hi, Can someone make out anything from this blood and stool test reports. These reports are from December 2018 and I did not follow up on this with my doctor and I just realised I could be suffering from b12 or iron deficiency. I have fatigue, lethargy, short breath, extreme bloating, diarrhea & constipation, difficulty passing out gas, short term and long term memory loss, difficulty concentrating(which is badly affecting my studies), burning sensation in feet, numbness in hands at night, metallic taste in mouth, decreased sense of smell. I have been having these symptoms for the last 5-6 years. I have noticed that these symptoms have deteriorated over this time to the point where I am desperate now to seek help. Recently I started taking 500 mcg B12 pills. It helped alleviate my diarrhea as stools have got thicker and bowel movement has improved. Breathing also seems to be have improved slightly as I can exhale now for a longer period.

Any help welcome. Thanks.

[fbirder]

As with your other post....

The image is too small and fuzzy to be able to read properly. It also contains names of people. You need to redact those names and post the results again as four separate images.

[Akashrajput in reply to fbirder]

Same even I didn't understood anything as the image is too small

[gotbaya in reply to Akashrajput]

Thanks for the help I have updated the photo.

[gotbaya in reply to fbirder]

Hi, thanks for your concern. I have updated the photo.

[fbirder in reply to gotbaya]

I would say there's a possibility of an iron deficiency anaemia. That would explain the slightly low haemaglobin results.

The high ESR might show some inflammation present, but there are lots of possible causes.

No idea what the presence of bacilli means. There are loads of different ones.

Y

[gotbaya in reply to fbirder]

Could it be both B12 and Iron deficiency as haemaglobin would be low in both the cases. Another reason is that after taking b12 500mcg supplements for the last two weeks my bowel movements have improved slightly as the stool is now thicker. Also breathing seems to be slightly better as I can hold the breath longer and the exhalation too is longer. Earlier there used to be gas buildup in my stomach while exhaling which would cause bloating and short breath. Muscles cramping also seems alleviated.

[nellie237 in reply to gotbaya]

I think that your symptoms sound like you are likely correct in that you are probably deficient in something, but these results are too old.......things fluctuate.

I would strongly suggest that you contact your GP with your symptoms/concerns and get re-tested.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

The things showing as low imply iron deficiency rather than B12 deficiency.If you have dairy and possibly egg then you are eating things that contain B12 - it is veganism that is the real problem. supplementing using something nearer RDA - eg a supermarket multi-vit might be more cost effective as there is a maximum amount that can be absorbed by the main B12 absorption mechanism ... and the amount that is absorbed outside this is extremely small percentage - about 1% so the difference between taking a supermarket supplement and a megadose supplement is likely to be the amount that just passes through the gut and into urine.

Please note that this forum is for B12 absorption problems where treatment is somewhat different from a potential dietary deficiency,

[gotbaya in reply to Gambit62]

I don't consume eggs at all and diary is also occasional. Hence I thought I could be deficient in B12. Can iron deficiency also cause stomach and cognitive problems? Also can iron deficiency become a cause for B12 deficiency and vice versa?

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to gotbaya]

yes huge overlap in symptoms of iron deficiency and B12 deficiency.If your consumption of dairy and eggs is minimal then you should take a B12 supplement - suppermarket doses anyway. This won't have any impact on what happens to B12 levels if you do develop an absorption problem where as a 500mcg tablet is borderline for causing problems.

Suggest that you follow up with your GP on results