Folic Acid prescribe by doctor as level under range.

[lucylocks]

I posted my Medicheck results three weeks ago.

My FT3 had dropped to 4.5 from previous results of 5.2 range 3.1 - 6.8

FT4 had dropped to 19.1 from 21.0 range 12 -22

I was told this could be because my folate is under range and B12 lowish

Folate - 2.7 ug/L range 2.9 - 14.5

Active B12 - 41 pmol/L range 25.1 - 165

Viapath class Active B12 under 70 as a grey area, so I took a copy of my results into the doctors surgery, along with the information from Viapath stating if level under 70 test for MMA

I have received a test message from the surgery to say they have prescribed me Folic Acid 5mg. but said nothing about the Active B12, I did not expect them to, to be honest.

Does anyone think I should ask doctor if he will do the MMA test and if he won't should I do it privately or just start supplementing myself with B12 and the folic acid.

Thank you.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Lucylocks

If that was me I'd want further testing of B12 as advised by Viapath before doing anything else. You shouldn't start the folic acid before further testing as it can mask signs of B12 deficiency. Wait until after starting B12 injections or supplements before starting folic acid.

[lucylocks in reply to SeasideSusie]

Many thanks for your reply,

They referred to my folate level as borderline, how can it be when is is under range.

They obviously did not read or take the advice from Viapath,

I am going to ring the surgery tomorrow and ask them for blood tests, they did say in the text if I had any concerns to get back in touch.

Thanks again for your advice.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to lucylocks]

They referred to my folate level as borderline, how can it be when is is under range

That's what my argument always is. I would class borderline as being one or two points above the low level, if it's below then it's deficiency.

NICE clearly state that below 3 indicates deficiency

cks.nice.org.uk/anaemia-b12...

Folate level

◦Serum folate of less than 7 nanomol/L (3 micrograms/L) is used as a guide to indicate folate deficiency.

[lucylocks in reply to SeasideSusie]

SeasideSusie, I received an email to say I had received a reply to my post but when I clicked on it to read the full reply it is not showing, do you happen to know why ?

Thank you.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to lucylocks]

Do you mean there is no post there when you click on the link? If so the post may have been deleted by the member who wrote it.

Who wrote the reply to which you are referring, the email should say "XXX replied to you"

[lucylocks in reply to SeasideSusie]

It was Scrumbler

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to SeasideSusie]

Worse, it can cause damage. This Pernicious Anaemia Society post is relevant:

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

High levels of folate in the presence of low levels of B12 can exacerbate the neurological damage caused by the B12 deficiency.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1...

[lucylocks in reply to helvella]

Many thanks for your reply and the links. It is much appreciated.