Any help please! Are my ferritin, folate and Vit B12 on the low side, and do I need to supplement?

Hi... I've just had my ferritin, folate & B12 bloods done as I'm trying to determine the possible cause of my hair thinning, and whether I'm absorbing these vitamins optimally.

My GP claims everything is normal and nothing to be concerned about, but I'm not sure if the levels are optimum. I am hypo but also most likely have Hashi's too ( not confirmed by GP, although they do say I could have it 🙄).

My levels are as below:

Vit B12: 548 ng/l

(Norm Range: 200- 700)

Ferritin: 77.9 ug/l

( Norm Range: 10.0 - 250.0)

Folate: 13.9 ug/l

( Norm Range: 3.0 - 20.0)

Would appreciate any advice as to whether my levels are OK, Thanks!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Vitamin levels appear to be ok

No vitamin D test

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

You ideally want full iron panel test, GP won’t agree as ferritin is normal

medichecks.com/products/iro...

You need to test thyroid including antibodies

Always test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

You need TSH, Ft4 and ft3 plus both TPO and TG antibodies

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies

medichecks.com/products/thy...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk/

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks! Had vitamin D done recently as requested by Rheumatologist and have to supplement due to osteoporosis. Also had thyroid bloods done including FT3. T4 ok, FT3 just over normal range and TSH suppressed as a result of taking T3 in the form of NDT.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hidden]

Please add actual results

How much vitamin D are you currently taking

Are you also taking magnesium supplements and vitamin K2

Day before test did you split daily dose into 3 and take last 1/3rd approx 8-12 hours before test

[Hidden in reply to SlowDragon]

No longer have a copy of my thyroid results, just know the T4 is mid range in the normal range, FT3 was 6.8 and normal range was up to 6.0, the TSH was >0.01. I have taken magnesium intermittently, but will start taking it daily, and I take 3000 D3 + K2 as recommended by my Rheumatologist.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

MapleMoose

Your levels appear to be OK but there are a couple of things I'd take into account if they were mine.

B12 is nicely within that range. According to 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."

So with your level of 548ng/L (which is the same as pg/ml) you might be thinking that you could do with it higher.

Also, that is a Total B12 test which measures the total amount of both active and inactive B12. Active B12 is said to be about 10-30% approx of Total B12. It's only the active B12 which is available for the cells to use. We can have a good amount of Total B12 but a poor amount of active B12. So you might be thinking it would be an idea to do an active B12 test. You are unlikely to get this done with your GP, if you want to do one then look at Medichecks, they offer this test either as part of their thyroid/vitamin bundle or a standalone test or with other tests:

medichecks.com/pages/search...

Ferrin also looks good. However, ferritin can be elevated when there is inflammation or infection. I always think it's a good idea to test CRP when ferritin is tested. CRP is an inflammation marker so if that's raised then it's possible that the ferritin level is higher than what would be your normal level due to inflammation.

Just something to ponder over

[Hidden]

Thanks, that's helpful. Unfortunately, I cannot keep paying for private blood tests as I pay for my medication, so I have to rely on the NHS for regular testing. At least this one GP has agreed to test my FT3 if it's done yearly. I will probably supplement anyway. My local pharmacist recommended I take an iron supplement anyway as long as it isn't very highly potent. Just desperate to try and help my hair thinning. Also, considering HRT which may help 🤔