Blood results

[MLJ2024]

Hi all. Just had my blood test results back, which I’m told are all normal. Just thought I’d ask if anyone can confirm they are in fact normal, as I certainly don’t feel normal 😂 I’ll set it out June 23 v. March 24 for comparison.

June 23

Serum folate 14.7 ug/L

Serum ferritin 16 ug/L

Serum B12 444 pmol/L

March 24

Serum folate 9.9 ug/L

Serum ferritin 23 ug/L

Serum B12 463 pmol/L

Looking at the results, it looks like iron slowly increasing and B12 has increased slightly too. Just wondering why the folate decreasing, or is that a result of ferritin or B12 increasing? I’m not great at understanding the results, but if I still feel the way I do, I am now confused.

Also, I know it’s the wrong forum, but I’ve noticed on all of my LFT tests that my creatinine is flagged as being lower than range, but has never been mentioned to me. Does anybody happen to know what a lower than range result could mean?

Thanks in advance 😊

[J972]

Hi, it’d be a good idea to add the ranges for these results 🙏

[MLJ2024 in reply to J972]

Hi J972. Thanks for replying 😊

Folate <3ug/L

Ferritin 20-100 ug/L

B12 115-1000.00 pmol/L

[J972 in reply to MLJ2024]

Just checking that the range for folate is actually ‘<3ug/L’? If so, that would make both of your readings way over range. In the UK, the range is usually something like 3-20 ug/L.

Your ferritin levels are low and will likely be causing symptoms. It’s generally a good idea to get a full iron panel before supplementing to assess your iron levels as it’s possible to have low ferritin and high iron - which can be dangerous. But yes, your ferritin appears to have increased. Did you have your CRP (c-reactive protein) measured as an elevated reading can artificially increase ferritin levels? Are you vegetarian or vegan?

What symptoms are you experiencing?

[MLJ2024 in reply to J972]

Hi J972. Thanks for replying. I’m also in the UK and it just says anything below 3ug/L indicates deficiency. So, looks like I’m not deficient.

Yes, they did test the CRP which was normal at 2.3 (0.00-8.00mg/L)

My ferritin has been low for many years. This is probably the highest it’s been in decades, so not sure why I don’t feel better. That’s why I wondered whether the lower than range creatinine meant anything.

My symptoms are feeling freezing cold, feet and hands, nose mostly when it’s not cold. Episodes of dizziness, deafening tinnitus, sometimes pulsing, other times just high pitched ringing. Lack of focus, weakness in arms and legs, permanent what I call bath fingers, pruny and wrinkled. There are much more that I can’t think of right now.

One thing I have noticed has improved since ferritin levels have increased is hair growth and no more inner shakiness 🙏😊 I hadn’t realised how much hair I’d lost until I started to see so much regrowth.

[Rexz]

Seems both Ferritin and B12 are very low. You don't say how much or how often you've injected B12 but if you been injecting for 9 months or more I would expect your B12 to be pegged or maxed at 1000. I'm guessing you've been "diagnosed" with Pernicious Anemia then you have Autoimmune Gastritis as PA is an end stage presentation of AIG. If so then then Ferritin is not a valid marker for those with PA. See my post on Iron Deficiency Without Anemia (IDWA). Ferritin for those with AIG should be kept above 100.

Best wishes, Rexz

[MLJ2024 in reply to Rexz]

Hi Renz 😊Thank you for your reply. I have never been diagnosed with PA and have never injected B12. I have just battled with low ferritin for years. It was only on a search of my symptoms that I wondered whether it could be a B12 problem too as everything I was experiencing matched with B12 deficiency. I rarely eat meat and I had taken a PPI for over 10 years, so having PA made sense as I’d not felt any better just taking iron. I looked at your post about IDWA. Very helpful, thank you. I think the only time I started to feel better was when I took methylated B12 with iron bisglynicate combined with lysine. That was when my hair started to grow again as well. I stopped taking that in around December, and that’s when I started feeling bad again. I think for now I’ll start taking those tablets again and test my levels again in a few months 😊

[Rexz in reply to MLJ2024]

Ahh OK. B12 looks OK then. You're right Ferritin still seems low. I agree I'd try the tablets again and see how that feels.

Best wishes, Rexz

[Orchard33]

Ferritin is low and will affect you adversely. At your levels I had a ferritin infusion.

[MLJ2024 in reply to Orchard33]

Thank you, Orchard33. Yes, it is low, but is increasing slowly but surely. I’m hoping if I go back to the methylated B12 combined with iron bisglycinate I will start to feel better again 🙏

[am111]

If you are on some sort of B12 supplementation, the serum B12 results are meaningless and some of your symptoms seem to be of B12 deficiency.

Ferritin is a bit low and most probably needs some iron supplementation. Folate should ideally be above 10, preferably 15+. Don't go by 3 etc. as it is a very low threshold. Folate can also get depleted when supplemented with Iron and/or B12 as it is used in Hb production. A maintenance dose of folate should be continued.

[MLJ2024 in reply to am111]

Thank you, am111. Yes, having read all of your kind replies, I think I’ll go back to the methylated b12 combined with iron bisglycinate as they seem to have made me feel better than just iron alone. I will also add a maintenance dose of folate so that doesn’t dip when used up to make Hb. Thanks again 🙏

[mozlaw]

creatinine 64-111umol/L on my lft