I have had chronic pain for 16 years and got three painful conditions ( gynae . Vascular and hip dysplasia ) found out through my own sheer determination as told just chronic pain
Now I have had awful cortisol like rushes and anxiety and other things so paid to see a ends and am having 24 hr urine testsibg and the thyroid ones tomorrow and a cortisol test
On NHS I recently got these results . Gp said ok but I seem low scale of some
Any thoughts , I guess brackets are range ?
Folate 5.75 ( 3:00-20:00 )
Ferritin 12.7 ( 11-307.0 )
B12 256 NGl (145-914)
Vit D 60 nmol
Iron 16.4 ( 11.0 -1.00 )
Magnesium 0.88 ( 0.80-1.50 )
Consultant says my thyroid seems swollen on the right side so I'm due a scan too . I've been hardly doing anything , I'm normally a very busy person . The anxiety has calmed butstill there and wakes me in the morning . I'm weak and not like myself
Thank you anybody for any help xxx
Written by
Kirsty1237
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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."
As you can see, your level is low. If you have any signs of B12 deficiency then list them to discuss with your GP and ask for further testing for B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia.
If you don't have any signs from the list linked to then you could supplement with sublingual methylcobalamin to raise your level along with a good B Complex to keep all B vitamins in balance.
Folate 5.75 ( 3:00-20:00 )
Folate and B12 work together. Your folate is very low in range, it's recommended to be at least half way.
If you have no signs of B12 deficiency then you could supplement with a good B Complex (look at Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B). Do not start supplementing with either B12 or a B Complex if you do have signs of B12 deficiency, this would mask B12 deficiency and skew results.
Ferritin 12.7 ( 11-307.0 ))
This is very low. Low ferritin can suggest iron deficiency anaemia. Ask your GP to do an full blood count and a full iron panel (serum iron, transferrin and % saturation). I see you have
Iron 16.4 ( 11.0 -1.00 )
I can't tell where this is within the range, as the upper limit of the range is incorrect.
For thyroid hormone to work (that's our own as well as replacement hormone) ferritin needs to be at least 70, preferably half way through range. You can help raise your ferritin 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...
Vit D 60 nmol
The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L. For your current level, they recommend the following:
To achieve 100nmol/L take 2000 IU D3 daily
To achieve 125nmol/L take 3700 IU
To achieve 150nmol/L take 5800 IU
As it's now winter, we no longer make Vit D naturally from the sun so we draw on the store we made during the summer. If it was me I'd aim for the upper part of the recommended range and take 5000iu D3 daily and retest in March.
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council -
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 such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
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. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
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
If you are found to have autoimmune thyroid disease, aka Hashimoto's, then an oral spray is best for absorption, eg BetterYou.
Magnesium 0.88 ( 0.80-1.50 )
This is low, it's an unreliable test anyway and most of us have low magnesium. You will be fine to take magnesium as a cofactor of D3 once you determine which form is best suited to you.
Don't start supplements all at the same time, stagger them. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add in the second one, give it another week or two and if no reaction add in the next one, etc. By doing it this way, if you do have any reaction you will know what caused it.
Gp surgery said all fine but I wanted print outs .
I have a serum iron 16.4 umol/L (11-32 .0)
My mistake
X thank you
No wonder I feel so rubbish and glad I'm giving all these plus having the other tests to the endo . I could have fine on holiday with what I'm paying out but I need some answers . My bad pain might have been in connection with all of this not just the other things x thank you susie
and you will see there is only one condition where low serum iron and low ferritin are together, and that is iron deficiency anaemia. Ask your GP to check saturation percentage (in an iron panel), haemoglobin and MCV (in a full blood count) and if those are low, coupled with high tranferrin/TIBC then this all points to iron deficiency anaemia. This would need treating, possibly even referral to a haemoatologist. Definitely needs taking further, especially if you have symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia:
Iron deficiency anemia signs and symptoms may include:
•Extreme fatigue
•Weakness
•Pale skin
•Chest pain, fast heartbeat or shortness of breath
•Headache, dizziness or lightheadedness
•Cold hands and feet
•Inflammation or soreness of your tongue
•Brittle nails
•Unusual cravings for non-nutritive substances, such as ice, dirt or starch
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