B12 bloods low.

[macc2017]

on Friday i got bloods back and doctor has told me to have bloods done yet again as my B12 are low.

so could this be linked to my thyroid issues as had thyroid out.

just seems to be one thing after another with me.

[Marz]

Low B12 is VERY common when Hypo. What was your result ? You also need Folate tested as the two work together in the body. Ferritin and VitD should also be at a good level for you to be well. Low B12 could be the cause of many of your symptoms as it can become a neurological issue with a result under 500.

If you are on a phone scroll down and down to RELATED POSTS where there are 10 more posts similar to yours. Another one by me !

Are you back on the Levo ? Are you on other meds ?

Having good levels of B12 can make a huge difference to your health. What is your GP doing about the low levels of B12 ?

[macc2017 in reply to Marz]

Not sure what the result was as got a call from GP to pick a new blood form up to have the B12 done again to confim the result.

so will see what GP does about it after next blood test which will have done tomorrow.

im back on the Levo now.

[shaws Administrator]

Did you have your blood test (I assume he also checked your thyroid ones?) at the very earliest, fasting. If you are taking levothyroine, you should allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose and test and take it afterwards.

I think you should ask your doctor to check all of your thyroid hormones, especially as you have no thyroid gland at all and are only on levothyroxine. (what dose are you taking?).

Ask GP, say you've had advice from the NHS Choices for help/advice on dysfunctions of the thyroid gland. and need TSH, T4, T3, Free T4 and Free T3 (as you've no thyroid gland) and I assume he's also tested Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate. If not ask for these too. The labs may not do all of the thyroid ones and if you can afford it you can have private test (home pin-prick ones) from one of our recommended labs.

Always get a print-out of your results with the ranges for your own records and post for comments.

If you are on too low a dose of levothyroxine you may not be able to covert it to sufficient T3 and it is T3 which is the only active hormone needed in our receptor cells, brain and heart needing the most.

Our bodies needs sufficient T3 (which should be converted from levothyroxine (T4) for us to feel well so we need an optimum dose.

[humanbean]

What did your doctor decide to do about your B12?

Ignore it?

Re-do the test and hope it has miraculously increased without any input from him/her?

[Gambit62]

please take a look at the PAS website in relation to B12

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

would be useful to know exactly what your results were - also folate and full blood count (any signs of macrocytosis - larger rounder red blood cells)

serum B12 is a rough guide at best to what is happening with B12 because people vary a lot - will miss 25% who are deficient but also pick up 5% who are so evaluating symptoms is important. macrocytosis is a symptom of B12 deficiency but isn't present in 25% of people presenting with B12 deficiency so can't be used as a defining characteristic.

You may need to draw your GPs attention to this, and the fact that if you have neurological symptoms then treatment shouldn't be delayed until levels fall outside the normal range.

source for this is BCSH standards for diagnosis and treatment of cobalamin and folate deficiencies which a UK based GP can access through BNF and if you are in the UK you can also access here

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

There is a huge overlap in symptoms with thyroid which may mean looking at symptoms is difficult

checklist of symptoms of B12 deficiency can be found here

pernicious-anaemia-society....

B12 deficiency is a serious condition whatever the cause - PA is the most common cause - an absorption problem - but there are other absorption problems including ceoliacs, crohn's, h pylori infection and a whole raft of drug interactions.

B12 absorption problems are common in people with thyroid conditions but it isn't quite clear why and there could be a number of different explanations and interactions. Like thyroid it suffers from GPs not understanding the real significance of test results.

[Heloise]

Hi macc, you are exactly right, one thing leads to another when it comes to autoimmune issues. A large percentage of these over responses of immune cells come from leaky gut. There is often inflammation in the stomach and that begins to change everything since the breakdown of nutrients is done as it goes through the digestive system. Acid reduction is one of the problems since it is absolutely necessary to breakdown minerals. From then on it's one deficiency after another and every organ needs them.

While you can supplement this or that, it's still necessary for the body to work with them.

[HLAB35]

There seems to be a correlation of some of us with hypothyroid and a (partly genetic) need for the methylated forms of the vitamins B12 and folic acid to get them properly absorbed from our diet. In nature these are found readily in Unprocessed foods. One thing that can help is to ditch fortified cereals which may seem counter-intuitive as they apparently contain these vitamins, but actually, they're manufactured with shelf-life in mind which makes the vitamins in them harder for us to break down than from fresh food. I've come to the conclusion that these are among the worst offenders in the Western Diet. It won't significantly alter your blood results while you're still being investigated, but removing processed and high sugar food should improve your gut health significantly, so when you do start on the necessary supplements they'll be more easily absorbed.

[macc2017]

i forgot to add in last post that i do get a lot of runs and wee a lot as well which i did not do before.

[HLAB35 in reply to macc2017]

IBS type symptoms are proof of a gut issue linked to low thyroid. Low thyroid reduces stomach acid production which means more leaky gut and more pathogens in the body. Yet, GPs often don't make the connection which makes a lot of us a little bit cross!

The weeing a lot could be down to an infection, so make sure you get that checked out by your GP especially if you've been having the runs. There is of course the possibility that there is some nerve damage causing the leaky bladder, but either way, see the doc as this is something they can find out. If you're not already taking Magnesium, then try a few Epsom Salt baths as these can help with any abdominal cramping.

[macc2017]

Just a little update.

The 2nd B12 was also low(90) so today i start the B12 injections which i am going to hate as do not like needles.

am i right in thinking that i will have to have them every 2 weeks for the 1st couple of weeks?

also i take it that bloods will need to be done again in a few weeks time to see if B12 has gone back up so then can stop the injections?