FBC interpretation

[Brightness14]

I live in France and so therefore cannot obtain private blood test results for Folate, B12, and Ferritin without catching a ferry and returning to the UK which I am too ill to do at present. I do however have a full blood count from a few months ago. My questions is can anybody on this site help me with answers. Thank you.

[greygoose]

If you post the results and ranges, I'm sure they can, yes.

But can't you ask your GP to do nutrient testing? I live in France, too, and have had mine done - except for folate, for some weird reason! lol

[Brightness14 in reply to greygoose]

Hi I have found my Ferritine result which is 90mg/ml range (13 - 150)

I will try asking for Nutrient testing as I am due another blood test. I just don't like the chanting the GP does, it's so weird. Thanks as usual.

[greygoose in reply to Brightness14]

Chanting? What chanting? Is he a GP or a Witch Doctor?

OK, so a tip that has sometimes worked for me: if your doctor agrees to testing, say, B12 and ferritin, when you go to the lab for the blood draw, try asking at reception if they will also do vit D and folate if you pay for them yourself. I'm taking it that you do have health insurance that will pay for the others? The lab probably wouldn't do the whole panel that way, but might agree to slip in the odd test here and there that you pay for yourself.

[Brightness14]

OK that's a great idea I will try that, ill let you know how it goes. My GP comes from Mauritius so I don't know about the chanting but if he isn't chanting he is humming.

[greygoose in reply to Brightness14]

How about changing your doctor?

[Brightness14]

Well I live in a very small town about 1000 people with a new surgery with only one doctor.

I never visit unless urgent plus perhaps the odd blood test. I am prescribed T3 and Levo for about 5 months at a time so I rarely visit. I always took my own NDTs before covid.

I don't like doctors at all and Pontivy is 20 K up the road. It's just convenient I don't have to like him.

When I lived in Vienne it was different the GP there was brilliant and so was Poitier Hospital to.

I have asked around there are no other towns local to us here. Thanks for the idea though.

[greygoose in reply to Brightness14]

OK, so you're stuck, then. I understand. But it's very weird, all the same! lol

[Brightness14]

Very weird indeed. When I looked online to read what other patients thought of him it was more or less unprintable. A surreal experience as one person put it. I have a prescription with three items which I always cross out when visiting the pharmacy. Three of these are Blood Thinners I actually have Blood Type O Positive which is the good one, The others Beta Blocker and one more I never take these have been on the prescription for over three years and guess what, yes, I am still here.

[koala46]

Hi, you can go to a lab and ask for those tests to be done. you'll have to pay out of pocket of course but its not that expensive. I have done it before for vitamins and I do it regularly for thyroid blood test

A "complete" blood test TSH FT3 FT4 is around 18 euros (private lab)

[Brightness14 in reply to koala46]

There is no problem with the TSH, FT4 and FT3 all the normal tests I have those done for free at my Doctors. It's the B12, Folate, I have the Ferritin reading on my FBC. Do they draw the blood at any lab too? I have a lab in Pontivy I may try that, thank you.