Hi symptoms are very odd - pins and needles in feet and legs, dry skin, pain in joints and in fingers, dark circles under eyes, vitiligo, hair loss, tiredness, depression, anxiety, dizziness, feeling unsteady, flatulence, heavy periods, weight gain, cold hands and feet, flaky nails. If anyone could help advise I would be grateful. Thank you
OCT 2017
Ferritin 45 ng/L (30 - 400) diagnosed iron deficient 2013
Ferritin 45 ng/L (30 - 400) diagnosed iron deficient 2013
Are you taking nothing for this?
A diagnosis of iron deficiency needs to be treated - see NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for iron deficiency anaemia treatment (which will be very similar to your local area guidelines):
•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.
You need to see your GP about this and ask for the appropriate treatment.
Take each iron tablet 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.
As for Ferritin, this needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work, preferably half way through range.
You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...
Are you having regular B12 injections? Normally there are loading doses of 6 injections over 2 weeks then 3 monthly injections after that.
Also, you are folate deficient and folic acid should have been started after your first injection.
I think you should post on the Pernicious Anaemia Society for further advice in case you aren't getting the correct treatment, they can also advise what to do if you start to flag between injections
Vitamin D 28.8 nmol/L (25 - 50 vitamin D deficiency. Supplementation is indicated) diagnosed vitamin D deficient 2013 taking 800iu
Has your GP not noticed that after 4 years of supplementing you are still very deficient, in fact you are 3.8 away from severe deficiency. 800iu will never in the reign of pig's pudding raise your level.
Please check the following then ask your GP for the loading doses which you should have been given 4 years ago NICE treatment summary for Vit D deficiency:
"Treat for Vitamin D deficiency if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are less than 30 nmol/L.
For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU] given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenace treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders. Several treatment regims are available, including 50,000 IU once a week for 6 weeks (300,000 IU in total), 20,000 IU twice a week for 7 weeks (280,000 IU in total), or 4000 IU daily for 10 weeks (280,000 IU in total)."
Each Health Authority has their own guidelines but they will be very similar. Go and see your GP and ask that he treats you according to the guidelines and prescribes the loading doses. Once these have been completed you will need a reduced amount (more than 800iu so post your new result as the time for members to suggest a dose) to bring your level up to what's recommended by the Vit D Council - which is 100-150nmol/L - and then you'll need a 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
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 helps D3 to work and 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
If your GP has actually ignored your iron deficiency and as he seems to have mis-treated your Vit D, and it looks like he has ignored your folate deficiency too, then you might want to consider seeing a different GP because this one is of no use to man nor beast.
After reading SeasideSusie 's response. I wonder why doctors do not know all of the answers to your deficiencies and why don't they know how to treat them to optimum. Why is their training so lacking in the basics?
No wonder people who don't have access to the internet are completely lost and so very unwell and seriously ill and the medical person is completely ignorant and unable to diagnose but probably tell them ' you're normal'.
Try taking B12, maybe sublingual, just in case it’s an absorption issue rather than deficiency. Also chelated magnesium at bedtime, or a transdermal spray, or half a kilo of Epsom or magnesium salts in a bath. I get all sorts of symptoms if either are low.
seems like I had all but one or so of your symptoms, being low on b12 will cause the pins and needles (neuropathy) and I have that, but my symptoms have gotten worse since starting treatment for both low b12 and vit d. Seems like I have now gotten raynaulds and terrible nausea. Do you have sudden vision issues?
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Vitamin and mineral levels
Vitamin and mineral levels 
Vitamin and mineral levels
