Vitamins and minersls

[Dsal]

Ferritin 22 (30 - 400)

Folate 1.8 (2.5 - 19.5)

Vitamin B12 203 (180 - 900)

Vitamin D 53.6 (50 - 75 suboptimal)

Taking prescribed 800 vitamin D supplement only thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Dsal So, has your doctor seen all these results and just prescribed for Vit D?

Ferritin 22 (30 - 400)

Have you had an iron panel and full blood count done to see if you have iron deficiency anaemia? If not ask for one.

Your ferritin is so low that ideally you need an iron infusion so ask for one, but you may only be prescribed tablets which will take months to raise your level whereas an infusion will raise your level within 24-48 hours. If prescribed tablets, take each one with 1000mg Vitamin C to aid absorption and help prevent constipaton. Always take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds and two hours away from other medication and supplements as it will affect absorption.

For low ferritin, the prescription should be for 1 x ferrous fumarate once or twice daily, for iron deficiency anaemia it should be 1 x ferrous fumarate 2 or 3 times daily.

**

Folate 1.8 (2.5 - 19.5)

Vitamin B12 203 (180 - 900)

You are folate deficient with very low B12. Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency b12deficiency.info/signs-an... If so please post on the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum for further advice. You may need testing for Pernicious Anaemia, you may need B12 injections. Post your Folate, B12 and Ferritin/iron deficiency information, plus any signs of B12 deficiency you are experiencing healthunlocked.com/pasoc

See what they say then discuss with your GP.

**

Vitamin D 53.6 (50 - 75 suboptimal)

Taking prescribed 800 vitamin D

800iu D3 daily may be what your GP is allowed to prescribe according to the guidelines, but it's not enough.

The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L.

You could buy your own D3 softgels like these bodykind.com/product/2463-b... and take 5000iu daily for 3 months then retest. When you've reached the recommended level you'll need a sensible maintenance dose which may be 2000iu daily, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with City Assays vitamindtest.org.uk/

There are important cofactors needed when taking D3

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

Check out the other cofactors too.

[Dsal in reply to SeasideSusie]

Only 800iu is prescribed and GP said complete blood count and iron panel were satisfactory.

MCV 78.2 (80 - 98)

MCHC 377 (310 - 350)

MCH 28.1 (28 - 32)

Haemoglobin 116 (115 - 150)

RBC count 4.43 (3.80 - 5.80)

WBC count 7.16 (4.0 - 11.0)

Iron 9.0 (6.0 - 26.0)

Transferrin saturation 13 (10 - 30)

Will go to pernicious anaemia forum now

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Dsal]

Well, your GP doesn't know his *rse from his elbow then.

Your under range MCV along with your over range MCHC, plus your barely in range halemoglobin, all point to iron deficiency anaemia.

I suggest you go and see a different GP in the practice, point this out along with the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for iron deficiency anaemia treatment (which will be very similar to your local area guidelines)

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

How should I treat iron deficiency anaemia?

•Address underlying causes as necessary (for example treat menorrhagia or stop nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, if possible).

•Treat with oral ferrous sulphate 200 mg tablets two or three times a day.

◦If ferrous sulphate is not tolerated, consider oral ferrous fumarate tablets or ferrous gluconate tablets.

◦Do not wait for investigations to be carried out before prescribing iron supplements.

•If dietary deficiency of iron is thought to be a contributory cause of iron deficiency anaemia, advise the person to maintain an adequate balanced intake of iron-rich foods (for example dark green vegetables, iron-fortified bread, meat, apricots, prunes, and raisins) and consider referral to a dietitian.

• Monitor the person to ensure that there is an adequate response to iron treatment.

When the different GP has prescribed everything you need, consider making a formal complaint against this original GP who would be better off in a job which doesn't require his extremely limited medical knowledge.

I really do worry how many people these idiot GPs are condemning to a lifetime of illness, or worse still killing!

[HLAB35]

My guess is that the haem dept. at your path lab hasn't flagged up anything to 'worry about'. I really think these departments should be issued with new guidelines, because a similar thing happened to me! My GP felt the advice from the haem dept, was sacrosanct - which is bananas as these lab people have no contact with a patient and cannot see the symptoms staring at them in the face.

[HLAB35]

Just to add.. it's not surprising that so many people end up in A&E due to lack of such obvious prevention...costing the NHS £1,000's. The legal ramifications are that if your job / life involves driving a car, caring for young or old, or any kind of responsibility you cannot be expected to do it properly when you're anaemic which puts you and others at risk.