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Thyroid UK
88,937 members • 103,486 posts

Blood results need your opinion please

B12 231 ng/L (180-900) doc says is ok. Serum folate 3.6 ug/l (>4.5) low. Ferritin 18 ug /l (15-300). Ok tsh 1.98 mu/l (0.27-4.20) ok free t4 14.0 pmol/l (11.0-25.0). Ok previous tsh in october and december where 1.16 and 8.65 no ranges given on them . And free t4 13.8 and 11.1 . Vitd not back yet what do you think about these results .

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I.m on 50mg of levo being refered to a neuro about my muscle weakness and constant pins and needles in my hands feet arms ans legs which now starting to go into my back. I.m 36 but feel more like a 66 with all the aches and pains and all this since starting taking the levo

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Your t4 has improved but is still too low. Ferritin, folate and b12 all too low as well. In my opinion anyway :-)

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Your B12 is too low (needs to be nearer 700), your folates are way to low and if you put both of these together you could possible have PA (pernicious anaemia).

pernicious-anaemia-society....

Your ferritin levels are on the floor and your TSH is nearly two - which is still to high. So putting all these together I would be asking for a referral to an endo to try and sort things out. You may have gut issues which are stopping you absorbing nutrients from your diet, or you may be intolerant to gluten which can mess the gut up.

Your thyroid meds will be unable to work to their full potential with vitamin levels like you have, and I would assume that half of your remaining symptoms are vitamin related and not thyroid related.

I felt really awful when I had levels like yours - my VitD, B12, iron and ferritin where all in a similar condition to your but since my endo has corrected these (especially the iron) I feel like a different person.

Moggie x

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Thank you i.m going to show my doctor these messages cause she don.t believe me about the ranges i feel like i.m at the end of my tether and just not getting any where with them.

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My t4 is 14 and I feel terrible!

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I really wouldn't bother as most GP's will tell you that sites like this are misleading or dangerous. What you need to do is to get articles that say this and take them to your GP.

Here is one for you to start off with - its about ferritin levels needing to be over 70 for your meds to work properly. Have a good look around the site for further info.

nahypothyroidism.org/deiodi...

If I can think of any more sites that will be of use I will link them to you.

Moggie x

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She may ignore these, as they are not the guidelines she is adhering too. Your B12 is far too low. I know you aren't over 60 but the other information on the link is useful too.

‘B12 deficiency is more common after the age of 60 and, once levels fall below 500 pg/ml (picograms per millilitre — the normal range being 500 to 1,000), the brain starts to deteriorate at twice the usual rate, making memory loss six times more likely,’ he says.

Read more: dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

b12d.org/tags/dr-chandy

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Thanks i phoned my surgery and the doctors advise is you need to supplement your folic acid no info on how much i need to take and everything else is ok reception informed me this . I asked to see the doctor then for advice and she said 4th april is earliest i can be seen for routine appointment its a joke.

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Yes, it's a long time to wait for an appointment, especially when many doctors don't really know how to treat patients with thyroid gland problems, except diagnosing by TSH.When we ask questions, many think if we are 'in range' their job is done or we get 'other' medication instead of optimum thyroid gland meds. We have to read and learn ourselves to find our way out of the quagmire of illhealth. Some patients may be called hypochond riac as we keep returning to the surgery with clinical symptoms which haven't resolved. Always from now on get a print-out of blood tests, with ranges, from the surgery, we are entitled, and keep for your own records.

Regards.

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Got my vit d results back i.m low they said got to get a print off of them got to phone monday to see if the doc is going to treat me. They still not getting me mind they won.t treat my b12 yet even though they admitted my b12 is low told me to take multi vitamins plus i gave him links to readup on b12 treatment and they still think pins and needles is carpol tunnel syndrome i know its not that i was tested years ago for it and i was fine i know after reading about b12 vit d etc its all these and if i can get proper treatment i should i.m prove. Do you think 50mg levo is enough and say i took 100 mg how quick would you know the difference if it was working or not .

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You can supplement with Vitamin B12 yourself. If you click on the Amazon link near the top of the right-hand side of the page. You can get sublingual B12 but it must be methylcobalamin only. It will go directly into your bloodstream. If you are considering increasing your meds, I would go up by 25mcg for about 6 weeks and if still not feeling well another 25mcg. It's better to increase gradually.

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I would say you're B12, folate and iron deficient. You need testing for PA, good link here:

b12deficiency.info

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Hi i.ve spoke to my doctor yesterday he admitted my b12 is on the low end and so is my ferratin and folate so got tablets for both them but told me to take multivitamins to build up my b12 and he will look into what i said about the ranges should be for people with hyporthyroid etc . Its a nightmare cause i don.t normally go to the doctors but now seem to live there and i feel like they don.t believe me but getting the point across to them that daily things i find hard to do cause i.m so tired and i.m losing my strength and the pins and needles are driving me mad they don.t realise that trying to make a simple meal becomes a nightmare for me and with a large family i really struggle. I just cry for no reason cause i feel all alone.

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He could potentially do you harm by giving you folate without B12, multivitamins have miniscule amounts in them and would do absolutely nothing if you couldn't absorb B12 through your stomach anyway. Do you think he would be up for a trial of injections on you? Or would he run the anti-intrinsic factor / anti-parietal cell tests?

The folate deficiency treatment guidelines have this warning:

cks.nice.org.uk/anaemia-b12...

"Check vitamin B12 levels in all people before starting folic acid, as treatment can improve well-being such that it can mask underlying B12 deficiency and allow neurological disease to develop."

As he's said he'll research it you could post him the B12d.org treatment protocol and perhaps the Scottish petition, links below:

b12d.org/sites/default/file...

scottish.parliament.uk/S4_P...

And just a link about what to do next:

b12deficiency.info/what-to-...

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Ok thankyou i will go and give him these links and i won.t start taking the folates yet is it ok to take the ferritin tabs he.s given me ferrous fumarate 332mg 1 a day but he said i should try and take 2

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I would start the folic acid because you do need it, the warning is more about the fact that folate will correct macrocytosis, leaving a B12 deficiency undiagnosed and doing it's damage. This is why there is so much controversy about fortifying food with folic acid (which happens in the US). But in your case you are discussing your low B12 with the doctor, hopefully with the view to getting injections, and the injections will work better if your iron and folate levels are higher. It's a confusing warning, I'm sorry I didn't explain it better. x

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No thats ok i get confused easy i just handed them links into my doctor hopefully he will look at them thanks for the help.

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