B12 Results
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi everyone
I just wanted some advice please - I recently went to my doctor as I have been feeling exhausted, complete loss of libido, generally mood-wise feeling down and worried, I was having difficulty remembering things, feeling cold all the time - getting worse over the last year.
My Doctor did a FBC and a thyroid test and everything was in the normal range except B12 was low (162 - range is 200-900). She said I would need to come in for B12 injections and did a repeat test 1 week later to confirm but this time the result was 230.
She said that was great news, it must be diet related and to eat more B12 and come back in a few months if I don't feel better.
I feel really down now, I was relieved that maybe there was an explanation for the symptoms and now I just feel like a hypochondriac. Is there anything else I should be doing?
1 like, 5 replies
clivealive Frog_Glacier
Posted
Oh dear! - your B12 level was tested one week after an injection? I would have expected it to have been sky high.
You do need to try and find the cause of your deficiency so I will send you a message with a list of possible reasons. Have a look at them and see if you can "see yourself" among them.
I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anaemia (a form of B12 Deficiency) for 45 years.
I wish you well.
Frog_Glacier clivealive
Posted
Thank you so much for your reply. Sorry I should have made it clearer - I never had an injection, it was just a second blood test done a week later so they cancelled the injections as I was within the normal range?
clivealive Frog_Glacier
Posted
You are still "scraping along the bottom" of the range.
We can only get B12 naturally by eating animal products such as red meats, seafoods, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy produce.
With the above you need to eat plenty of Folate sourced from leafy green vegetables, sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, beans peas etc.
Still, have a look at the message, it might provide a clue.
Take care now.
marion29181 Frog_Glacier
Posted
I am afraid your doctor doesn't really grasp the fact that 230 is only just within range, and if you are having symptoms you should be receiving injections. There is a very grey area at the lower end of the range, some countries will treat anything below 500, and my own GP felt anything below 400 should be treated.
Are you vegetarian or vegan? That could mean it is a dietary cause. If you are eating a good balanced diet including meat, dairy, fish, vegetables and fruit, then it is unlikely to be dietary.
There are sublingual supplements that you can buy, but once you go down this route it will be hard to get a proper diagnosis.
Only Twenty percent of the B12 that is circulating in your blood will ever reach the cells where it is used.
Dena58 Frog_Glacier
Posted