Blood Results

[Pheebs93]

Hello everyone,Any advice please?

I have had my blood tests results back, they say the following..

Serum ferritin 6ug/L [23.0- 300.0] below low reference limit.

Serum Folate Level 4.1ug/L [3.1-20.5]

Serum B12 Level 300ng/L [187.0-883.0]

Haemoglobin A1C 39mmol [<48.0]

I feel so unwell, extremely fatigued, hair loss, aching and weak body. Anxiety and depression. Dizziness and feeling off balance, aswell as heart palpitations. Recently noticed I have a sore tongue and my skin, gums and eyes being very pale.

I have been taking ferrous fumarate 120mg since September and I am not feeling any improvement. Accessing the GP is hardwork, but I do have a phone call today coming from them.

I know my ferritin is low, I'm not sure about the other readings.

Can anyone advise?

Also any suggestions on what I need to do now, as I feel so unwell.

Many thanks

Pheebs

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Pheebs93

With a ferritin level of 6 I would have thought an iron infusion would be considered. Did you have an iron panel done?

From: cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

So you would need an iron panel (serum iron, saturation percentage, total iron binding capacity plus ferritin) to see if you have iron deficiency and a full blood count to see if you have anaemia.

Symptoms of low ferritin include:

◾Weakness

◾Fatigue

◾Difficulty concentrating

◾Poor work productivity

◾Cold hands and feet

◾Poor short-term memory

◾Difficulty remembering names

◾Dizziness

◾Pounding in the ears

◾Shortness of breath

◾Brittle nails

◾Headaches

◾Restless legs

Symptoms of iron deficiency include:

◾Persistent fatigue

◾Pale skin

◾Shortness of breath

◾Headaches

◾Dizziness

◾Heart palpitations

◾Dry skin

◾Brittle hair and hair loss

◾Swelling or soreness of the tongue or mouth

◾Restless legs

◾Brittle or ridged nails

Serum B12 Level 300ng/L [187.0-883.0]

On this forum we would quote the following:

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."

Some people with a B12 level in the 300s have been found to have B12 deficiency.

Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency – check here:

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

b12d.org/submit/document?id=46

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 and if you have B12 deficiency is not detected and treated then this could affect your nervous system. B12 deficiency should be treated before starting folic acid because folic acid can sometimes improve your symptoms so much that is masks B12 deficiency.

If you don't then we'd suggest supplementing with B12 sublingual, along with a good quality B Complex, until level goes over 500, once over 500 then just B Complex alone.

Serum Folate Level 4.1ug/L [3.1-20.5]

Very low but not deficiency. We'd suggest a good quality B Complex containing methylcobalamin plus melthylfolate, not cyanocobalamin and folic acid.

Do not start treatment for low folate before any further testing, if necessary, of B12, and B12 supplements or injections should be started first, followed a week later by folate supplement.

B Complex contains biotin which can give false results for any blood test, so this should be left off for 3-7 days before any blood tests.

Haemoglobin is good.

Have you had thyroid function tested? If not it would be a good idea, you need the following:

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies - TPO and Tg

If GP can't do them all then do them privately. GP wont be able to get FT3 and possibly not antibodies, definitely not Tg. We have recommended private labs who can do these tests - check out Medichecks and Blue Horizon, details and discount codes here:

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...