I’ll ask the GP for some iron, I’ve bought a blood test online which is more thorough. Waiting for day 3 of my period as there’s lots of hormones included, just wondered if the b12 or folate are ok?
Serum vitamin B12 level 311 ng/L [180 - 640]
Serum ferritin level 20 ng/ml [15 - 200]
Serum folate level 6.8 ng/ml [3 - 20]
TSH 0.47 mu/L [0.35 - 4.94]
Free t3 4.1 pmol/L [2.6 - 5.7]
Free t4 11.8 pmol/L [9 - 19]
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Happytiredbunny
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I’ve booked the ultimate performance medichecks blood test which covers the antibodies and vit d (tho I bought the £8 Tesco one and that showed normal, I’ll share the full tests once I get them back)
I’ll make sure it’s before 9am and won’t take supplements till I get that done x
With serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a B12 supplement as well as a B Complex
Then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), you may be able to reduce then stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
If Vegetarian or vegan likely to need ongoing separate B12 few times a week
wow that is incredible information! Thank you so much for all the advice! I purchased the industrial blood test before the doc agreed to test these but thought it was worth getting some feedback on here in the meantime! I’ll have a good read of the links you’ve shared thank you!
also, I don’t restrict my diet at all, my husband is on keto so high fat, high protein and low carb so I tend to eat similar but I still have carbs/sugar! Probably not the best combination! I have a very slim build and tall! I can’t remember if I’ve shared my cholesterol here, I was worried because my hdl is quite high but I’m told it’s ok overal!
what are your thoughts on b12 injection? There is a training school near me so I can get one for about £30… I’ve not done it yet as I didn’t know where mine was in the range… but if it needs to come up, is an injection a a sensible option?
Serum ferritin level is the biochemical test, which most reliably correlates with relative total body iron stores. In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.
Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet
Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption
This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.
Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron
We have received further information the lab about ferritin reference ranges. They confirm that they are sex dependent up to the age of 60, then beyond the age of 60 the reference range is the same for both sexes:
Males 16-60: 30-400 ug/L
Female's: 16-60: 30-150
Both >60: 30-650
The lower limit of 30 ug/L is in accordance with the updated NICE guidance and the upper limits are in accordance with guidance from the Association of Clinical Biochemists. ‘
Here’s absolutely excellent reply by @humanbean
on iron and ferritin panel test results for another member
again thank you so much for the info! My ferritin was 32 in November and I was told that’s normal but when I spoke to this GP she actually said that you start getting symptomatic when below 50 and my jaw hit the floor and I thanked her for saying that! There’s a full panel in the blood test I’ve bought so I’ll share that once I get it done/back!
I’ve always struggled with ferritin and keeping it up after supplementing! Just wanting to get everything in balance!
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