Taking Iron and B12 results

[Francis1957]

I wondered if I have got this right, if you're monitoring you're B12 levels you should not take Iron as it can interfere with B12 results.

[humanbean]

You could take B12 in the morning and iron in the evening.

[Francis1957 in reply to humanbean]

I just wondered if it will interfere with any blood tests for PA as my Drs have been ignoring me for over 2 yrs now as my Haemoglobin levels are normal, I have been to them with results from Medichecks but they say they don't take any notice of those, in 1995 I had a Gastroscopy and they reported I had Parietal cell anti-bodies in my stomach, my Folate is low, Ferritin is low and B12 low but not off the lowest scale so they won't treat me, I feel awful my energy levels are dreadful, I know it's not my Thyroid levels as they are were they should be for me, but at NICE it says they should check a patients medical back ground for other auto-immune problems, I have 4 or 5 and suggest treatment according to that. Well now my Neurologist has given me a blood test form to check for this so I need to get them done but need to make sure the Iron isn't going to alter my test results.

[Francis1957 in reply to Francis1957]

Oh further more, don't take B12 by mouth as Coeliac (don't absorb) sorry forgot to say. Also thank you for your quick response.

[humanbean in reply to Francis1957]

There are people who teach themselves with the help of online videos how to inject themselves with B12. For help on that - where to buy the ampoules, where to get the needles, syringes, and other equipment needed the Pernicious Anaemia Society community on HealthUnlocked would be helpful :

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

And this website :

pernicious-anaemia-society....

I don't have Pernicious Anaemia (PA) myself - I do absorb B12 supplements - but I have had to learn about what I can do for myself in terms of forms of nutrients, because I gave up on the medical profession and nutrients a long time ago. I found that I can raise my B12 with methylcobalamin and I feel better for it than I ever did with cheaper forms of B12 I had tried before.

perniciousanemia.org/b12/fo...

If you don't have PA, or think you have it and need testing and an official diagnosis, the bad news is that getting a reliable diagnosis of PA can be difficult because testing is very unreliable.

If you can't get a diagnosis of PA but you think you have it the self-help route might be your only chance of getting well. The alternative is to rely on doctors for a diagnosis and put yourself through years of problems that could end up with permanent damage through lack of B12.

my Folate is low

Folate is usually easy enough to supplement, but the body doesn't store folate anywhere so if it can't be absorbed well from the diet then supplementation is essential - and it must be supplemented regularly. Most of us take methylfolate rather than folic acid. Before the body can make use of folic acid it has to be converted to methylfolate and many of us can't do that conversion very well, so we take methylfolate directly. It's easily found for sale on most websites that sell supplements. Some people with methylation problems can't tolerate methylfolate in high doses at least at the start, so they have to take small doses and taper up for a while. They may be able to tolerate it later.

b12deficiency.info/folate-b...

drfuhrman.com/blog/16/why-y...

web.archive.org/web/2024022...

chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

mthfr.net/methylfolate-side...

Ferritin is low

Have you got any results for an iron panel? Iron panels aren't all identical but they usually contain test results for :

serum iron, ferritin, CRP, transferrin or TIBC (total iron binding capacity), transferrin saturation percentage

If you have any of those results then you should post them and their ranges in a new thread and ask for feedback with the dates they were carried out. It is important to note that different combinations of results i.e. high serum iron and low ferritin, low serum iron and high ferritin, low serum iron and low ferritin etc can indicate different problems, and they can't always be fixed just by throwing iron supplements at the problem. In some cases the patient needs to improve B12 and folate first then add in iron. But until testing is done this is just guesswork. The main danger to be aware of is that when some people supplement iron their ferritin can stay low and their serum iron rockets upwards. Or their serum iron stays low and ferritin shoots up. Having lots of iron in the bloodstream is not good for anybody. So regular testing while supplementing is essential so that problems can be noted and avoided early.

Another problem with iron is that supplements are often poorly tolerated. There are several supplement types available but doctors usually prescribe the cheapest and least well tolerated. So most of us source our own iron supplements and try to find what works best for us.

I have gastritis and I could only supplement iron with food which obviously slowed down absorption a lot. I was taking iron supplements for seven years in total, at varying doses. If I had my time over again I would save up for an iron infusion to speed up the whole process.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

I should point out that having high folic acid or high folate and low B12 must be avoided.

If I've understood correctly, it increases the risk of developing this :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subac...

.

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

b12-institute.nl/en/diagnos...

[liliz in reply to Francis1957]

Hello Francis

May be worth asking your GP or your gastroenterologist about the pareital cell antibodies and their significance

[FallingInReverse]

If you are asking whether you should stop iron supplementing in advance of a b12 blood test, you don’t need to stop. Taking iron before a blood test will not impact your b12 results.

Are you supplementing iron right now?

[Francis1957 in reply to FallingInReverse]

I was because my Ferritin was very low my Dr said she could only give me tablets but they would wreak havoc with my gut, she then suggested an internet liquid which contains gluten so I bought Better you iron spray but I read just over a week ago somewhere that Iron supplement interferes with test results of B12 ?

[FallingInReverse in reply to Francis1957]

If you can find the source def share it, but, no, as far as I know it dies not interfere with the test.

Also - see below and ask the PA forum.

I have zero issues with my b12 so admittedly am not the expert !

[Enuffisenuf]

Did you have a B12 test before you started supplementing?If you are taking B12, there is a good chance that it will show up in your blood test. That doesn't mean that you're not deficient, you need to go by symptoms.

Take a look at the PAS forum on this site for more information.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Enuffisenuf]

Agreed - it would make far more sense to ask on the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum:

healthunlocked.com/pasoc

[Francis1957 in reply to helvella]

Thank you for that I asked Medichecks whom I use for blood tests and they said the same not many mins. ago.