I have low mch , borderline low Active B12 i.e. 49.5 (range 37.5-187.5) no thyroid (removed 25 yrs ago) Im very short of breath so I got some iron bloods as follows:-
IRON 32.79 5.8-34.5
TIBC 71.99 45 - 72
UIBC 39.2 24.2 -70.1
TRANS FERRITIN SATS 45.55% 20-50
FERRITIN 109 13-150
I cant make any sense of these and I am very short of breath. When I try to look them up I see mch can be shortage of iron and also high TI BC so im having difficulty seeing if these are ok
CRP 1.17
Can anyone tell me if I need to supplement, please I am so short of breath
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ninja1
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Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 94.04% through range
Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 45.55%
TIBC: Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is 99.96% through range
UIBC: Low in range indicates that you may have too much iron in your blood which may be due to iron overload syndrome (hereditary haemochromatosis). High in range signifies iron deficiency. - yours is 32.68% through range
Ferritin: Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation; High level with low serum iron/low saturation indicates inflammation or infection; High level with high serum iron and low TIBC indicates excess iron; Over range with saturation above 45% suggests hemochromatosis - yours is 70.07% through range
You have a mixed bag there. Your serum iron and ferritin do not show deficiency. Your TIBC suggests you need to supplement iron. Your UIBC is nearer the lower end of the range and can suggest too much iron in your blood.
You can see that iron is complicated and this is probably something you should be discussing with your doctor, who may wish to discuss with a haemotologist, because I don't think anyone here is qualified to tell you what you should be doing.
But bear in mind your low MCH. This can be caused by different types of anaemia and can be due to lack of key vitamins, for example folate and B12.
Active B12 i.e. 49.5 (range 37.5-187.5)
This is a very poor result. Active B12 below 70 suggests testing for B12 deficiency according to Viapath at St Thomas' Hospital:
If you do then list them to discuss with your GP and ask for testing for B12 deficiency and Pernicious Anaemia. Do not take any B12 supplements or folic acid/folate/B Complex supplements before further testing of B12 as this will mask signs of B12 deficiency and skew results.
When my B12 came back lowish from medichecks, I sent them to my GP who refused to accept them and also refused to do her own blood tests as they were done a year previous and were in the low 300 serum level. Because of my shortness of breath I asked her to do iron tests but she refused say my mcv was 83 and my haemoglobin fine so I wasn't low, I pointed out my mch was low 26 ish but she said that's ok because mcv ok. so I cant get nhs tests done which is why I went to medichecks. When my active B12 test came back I started supplementing ( I had a couple of jabs I did myself) as she refused for me to have an MMA test. I think the only way forward now would to have another Iron status blood test from somewhere else to compare because I am so short of breath . I know my folate was 9 in January so I am supplementing folate. I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to fathom this iron blood test out I know it took a week for them to receive the test with easter break, I wonder if it was off by the time they got around to do it. I am just puzzled.
also refused to do her own blood tests as they were done a year previous and were in the low 300 serum level.
Many people with a Total B12 level in the 300s have been found to need B12 injections. With B12 it's not numbers that matter, it's symptoms. Did you check the list I linked to? Breathlessness is one of the signs/symptoms of B12 deficiency.
yes I was like this 5 years ago and had a couple of jabs but doc stopped them 2 years later as said they were 1955 too high (which I now know to be rubbish when on jabs) I am with a different doctor now. Because I have already screwed the test I think I will just have some jabs myself as I know lots of people have them regardless of levels.
Medichecks is one of a few private companies that offer testing to the general public. You order from them and the samples are sent to accredited labs - some of which are used by the NHS, so there is no reason for the results to be seen as invalid.
Unlike the US (and I don't know too much about your system but I believe you can maybe choose a doctor and change doctors if you wish) here in the UK because we pay for our health service through our taxes and contributions then health care is "free" at the point of delivery. Although this is good in a lot of respects, it has it's drawbacks in that we don't always have much choice when it comes to doctors. If we live in a rural area then there's usually just one surgery covering a large area so nowhere else to go if we don't get on with the doctors there. Also, in major towns and cities where there are many more surgeries, they often have "catchment" areas so if you are outside their area you wont be taken on as a patient.
It's just pure luck if you get a good doctor, one who listens to the patient and will become a partner in your health needs. Many doctors like to play god and have the upper hand. Their word goes, there is no discussion, they look at numbers on a screen and if they are in range then there is nothing wrong with you regardless of your symptoms, end of discussion.
Some will accept private test results, others wont and will belittle them and may repeat them within the NHS.
All this on top of very limited consultation time - usually less than 10 minutes and they want you out the door as quickly as possible, so not enough time for a full discussion. Often we are limited to discuss one symptom at a time and told to make another appointment to discuss something else, which, of course, is very unhelpful when a bunch of symptoms together can give clues to a diagnosis rather than looking at just one symptom on it's own.
The guidelines that doctors are given and need to follow generally state that TSH is the only test that is needed, trying to convince doctors that there's more to hypothyroidism than TSH is tantamount to headbutting a brick wall.
Indeed! I expect the number of members here who do private tests is saving the NHS an awful lot of money, then those who self source their own thyroid meds is saving them even more!
What type of thyroid meds are you on and do you have any recent Labs with ranges you could share? I’m interested because I’m thyroidless and I too have issues with breathlessness off and on.
I had these done at medichecks 20/5/20 I take 75 mcgs one day and 100 mcgs the next. I was sent to hospital with tachycardia and shortness of breath. It turned out my TSH was 2 but my T4 was 32 which caused the problem. I cant rely on TSH telling the full story so I just get them every 4 months at medichecks. I tend to get short of breath if my t4 is over 20 so I keep it around the 18 - 18.5 level if I can. I have them checked at Medichecks
Here is my latest results (Endo) after taking my 100mcg synthyroid and 10mcg cytomel (surprise blood test) normally I don't eat and take my meds until after the blood test.
I'm in US my lab numbers are different but I too suffer from breathlessness NOT always it's random and absolutely annoying but if I mention it my Endo he will automatically say I'm over medicated, which you can see I'm not. No Endo will do the FT3 this is annoying . You would think the Endo is paying for my lab test by limiting what they test for.
Of course these numbers are good according to Endo because they are in the range even though I took the 100mcg/10mcg (2) hours before blood drawl.....I think my results are sad considering I had meds in me...
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