Vit b12

[Topsy-girl]

Hi all ...very sorry for my incompetence in sending photo of blood test results just now. I’ve done it again and hope it’s better this time. Thanks for any advice.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Topsy-girl

I am on my tablet and can't read your results very well. As they are sideways, if I turn my tablet it automatically turns the picture, plus the numbers are a bit small to read them all clearly.

I can see that your B12 is 106 and the bottom of the range is 130. Is this your original result, or the new result after supplementing? With a result that low, you should be tested for B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia before supplementing B12 or folic acid. Were you tested?

If there's anything else you want comment on, please say so and type the results in.

[Topsy-girl in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you SeasideSusie for your reply. The blood result was mid way..2 weeks into supplementing. Not sure if I was tested for anaemia...I did ask for that to be done but as I don’t really understand everything on the list I can’t be sure. All I know is that on the return visit to the doctor, she took great pains to point out that everything was in range and to stop taking the b12 and folic acid, also suggested that I shouldn’t listen to people who had no medical background😮!On the plus side,she has made a referral to a different hospital and endocrinologist and I will be seen there by the middle of October. She thinks I should have the RAI treatment on the nodules on my thyroid as it is easier to treat hypothyroidism than hyperthyroidism..I don’t know how true that is. I do worry about the palpitations I keep having as somewhere along the line I seem to remember that being hyperthyroid can be bad for your heart? Also my sleep is often disrupted because of restless legs and my mood is quite low. I thought that a good b12 multivitamin with folate would be helpful for that but not sure which one to take. I am already taking “BetterYou” Dlux vit D+k2 and started that on my own back at around the same time as seeing the doctor. I have now read somewhere,that this should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, I have been taking it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach as there were no instructions saying otherwise.

So sorry for long post and if it would be helpful, I could try resending the results...but the right way up this time?

Many thanks once again.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Topsy-girl]

Topsy-girl

First of all, check to see if you have any signs of B12 deficiency here

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Think back to before you started supplementing also, because taking folic acid and B12 masks signs of B12 deficiency.

If you have/had any signs then list them and ask your GP to test for B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia. Your B12 level at 166 (130-800) is low. Your previous post shows Active B12 low at 45.7 and both SlowDragon and I suggested the need for further testing and to discuss with your GP. Doctors should go by symptoms, not numbers.

I have read (but not researched so don't have links) that BCSH, UKNEQAS and NICE guidelines recommend:

"In the presence of discordance between test results and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment."

And an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:

"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".

"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."

*ng/L is the same as pg/ml*

I thought that a good b12 multivitamin with folate would be helpful for that but not sure which one to take.

Don't take anything at this stage, you need to sort out if you have deficiency/PA first.

She thinks I should have the RAI treatment on the nodules on my thyroid as it is easier to treat hypothyroidism than hyperthyroidism

It would be interesting to start a new thread about that. Hypo isn't exactly a walk in the park and hyper patients will have differing views on RAI.

I am already taking “BetterYou” Dlux vit D+k2 and started that on my own back at around the same time as seeing the doctor. I have now read somewhere,that this should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day,

That's when taking softgels/tablets to aid absorption because D3 and K2 are fat soluble vitamins. Because you're taking a spray then it's bypassing the stomach so is being absorbed differently. I think it's OK to take it at any time but SlowDragon will know for sure.

You need to increase your D3 level to around 100-150nmol/L which is recommended by the Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health.

Ferritin is recommended to be half way through it's range. Your current level of 46 (12-250) is 14% through range and is effectively lower than last time where it was 68.4 (13-150) and 40% through range. Did you do as suggested and start eating liver?

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Topsy-girl in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for all that information...I do still, and have had a few of the symptoms listed and yes I have been eating liver pate several times a week. I will make an appointment and discuss with my gp again.

Really appreciate the time you have given me.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Topsy-girl]

As far as I am aware it's fine to use vitamin D mouth spray anytime, not necessary to be with meal. We absorb it in mouth, not gut

I would not take it within 2 hours of taking Levothyroxine, but probably doesn't need to be four hours away like vit D soft gels

It can take at least a year to improve levels.

Dr Gominack says two years here. So yes two weeks not going to do it!

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

She also says Improving vitamin D increases need for B vitamins as body starts to repair

Peripheral neuropathy can appear after starting to improve vitamin D levels (happened to me)

Private testing available for MMA and homocysteine

nutris.viapath.co.uk/pages/...

Using test of Homocysteine levels to check for low b12

b12-vitamin.com/homocysteine/

Good explanation on homocysteine

veganhealth.org/b12/hcy

Oral B12 may be as good as injections

aafp.org/afp/2003/0301/p979...

B12 generally

drjockers.com/warning-signs...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

SeasideSusie

B12 is 166 (130-800)

Folate is 6.4 (4-20)

Ferritin 46 ( 12-250)

Vitamin D 79

Are these results from before or after a months supplements?

If it's after, then your GP needs to go to SpecSavers

[Topsy-girl in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for the giggle re specsavers remark ! The results were about 2weeks into taking the supplements. Maybe not enough time for levels to rise?

[Angel_of_the_North]

It would be a lot easier if you just typed the relevant results with ranges. B12, folate and ferritin are all too low. Free T4 is too low if you are on levo, Probably OK it you are on T3 or NDT but there is no free T3 result

[Topsy-girl in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thank you...I’m not onT3 or NDT. I am hyperthyroid and on 5g Carbimazole a day. I’m going to try and get another blood test done as this one was before I’d finished taking vit b12 and folic acid that GP had prescribed so I’m assuming these level will have changed.