GP says my routine bloods are normal. Really?

[NotSoIronMan]

Their guide was that Ferratin levels should be between 15 and 300. Mine were 36.
My serum folate was 3.3 (should range between 2 to 9000).
My b12 was 147 (should be between 120-900)
My vitamin D was 47 (should be 50+).

He said it was satisfactory with no further action, but I could take iron tablets if I wanted to.

I have felt very low in mood and with brain fog etc and he said this is unlikely to be why.
I’m 28.

Surely it’s a bit worrying still?

Can anyone answer this. My bloods show Active B12 at 150 plus. Which is actually at the high end of 'their' range- but it doesn't show the actual B12 level- so for all I know it could be off the scale 'high' it wasn't highlighted though at all has anyone else had this ?

You need to take Vit D & B12 (b complex better as it contains folate, which is B9)

Good point - TSH 1.07 (average range 0.5 - 4)
FT4 15 (range 10-20)
FT3 5.7 (range 2.8-6.8)
Reverse T3 446 (range 170-539)

My guess is that it's your vitamin D. I had a vit D of 50 and I felt beyond awful - painful joints, brain fog, exhausted like I had to lie down just because I walked up the stairs.

Look into what loading dose you will need. It's not as simple as just popping a supplement you find in Boots: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/vitamin-d-deficiency-in-adults/prescribing-information/vitamin-d-supplements/

I felt considerably better within about 3 weeks. Yes, to iron, folate, b12 too, but even when I had folate deficiency anaemia, I never felt as awful as I did when D was low. So that's the one I'd focus on.

Same. GP looked at all my bloods over 15 yrs and said my ferritin wasn't over 30 since giving birth. No wonder I always felt knackered.

Got ferritin from 16 to 77 in 3 months, took a ferrous sulphate every second morning with high strength vitamin C tablet and a full glass of water, didn't consume anything else for 2hrs.

I'd go and speak to a nutritionist. I spoke to a woman called Helen Jones on zoom and it honestly changed my life. I will link her Instagram if I can but she specialises in perimenopause and menopause. I wish I'd spoken to her sooner.

www.instagram.com/helenjonesnutrition?igsh=YTFuNjM5N2xoM2Z6

Your blood tests are within the normal range, apart from the Vit D. Low Vit D is really common for people in Northern Europe during the winter and you can take a supplement to address that. And yeah, as your GP said, you can take an iron supplement too. Low iron and low Vit D can make you feel tired.

This is typical of GPs

absolutely get on iron, folic acid, b12 and vitamin d. I’d also take magnesium too.

You can definitely have low iron symtoms with a ferritin of 36, @NotSoIronMan.

Some pp are being unhelpfully black and white in their approach. Acceptable ferritin is a range, but of course you don’t feel fine until you drop below 15 and then suddenly feel ill. Many doctors advise women to aim for a minimum of 50, preferably over 75. You are unlikely to get told that in the NHS though.

Ah the wonderful world of NHS blood tests - GP said all was fine despite me being exhausted, palpitations, dizzy and low mood. Put me on antidepressants. I went to give blood and was told I was severely anaemic and needed bloods done....were shocked when I said I had been told that same week all was fine. Went back to doc and he very begrudgingly gave me folate for 30 days without any other checks. I had to wean myself off the antidepressants with zero suggestion from him that it was in fact a deficiency causing my "depression". I've had a very bad week of not being listened to by men in NHS and am pretty angry that women get so easily dismissed and put on medication that is damaging and unnecessary while proper tests that would give long term benefit and prevention of future disease are deemed too expensive.

No it doesn't. You can ask the pharmacist. I get ferrous sulphate 200mg, same as I was originally prescribed. I had ferrous fumarate once, as they didn't have ferrous sulphate in, so that's also an option.

I take it when I'm on my period, but not the rest of the month, and that is usually enough. I did fail to give blood last week as my iron was too low, but I did have a horrifically heavy period the last one, and it wasn't much below, and the blood service has higher thresholds, as donations deplete it.

Happened to me and got worse and worse but it was in the “normal” range to my dr. Then it only got picked up on in pregnancy.

A family member just had the exact same issue they signed everything off as normal even though she had a lot of issues including pre-diabetes!

In other countries the normal ranges are wayyyyy different. NHS give a lot of leeway so they don’t have to fix anything.

this is good advice. however I would reccommend a registered dietician and not a nutritionist (although some dieticians call themselves nutritionists). @NotSoIronMan you can visit the British Dietatic Association Website to find a dietician in your location. they will advice on optimising Diet as well as supplements. also need to think about whether there may be other causes for your symptoms eg. poor sleep due to sleep apnoea? thyroid or autoimmune issues?

I always ask for a print out now
Spent 8 years back and forth with constant infections, loads of bloods, told all normal, no reason for my infections
Back at the doctors again and saw a locum GP as I was now having night sweats and had bloods done. Got a phone call that evening from her telling me I needed to go to hospital now and sending me to haematology

Severely neutropenic. Had been on and off for years and nobody had noticed it. I kill off my neutrophils. This was 2016 ish

I got a print out of my bloods from 2008 and it says on there I had low neutrophils with left shift, which is because I kill them off. Nobody mentioned it. Changed doctors as I had lost all faith in them

@MumblesParty I think op gets the messsge, no need to keep kicking.

Please go and see another GP with a copy of your bloods so you can discuss further. There is so much anecdotal advice on this thread and it's quite dangerous to make medical decisions for yourself based on this. A good GP will look at other factors with you ie heavy periods, the possibility that you are not absorbing iron properly even intestinal bleeds. Your family history is an important part of the puzzle too . Waiting until bloods fall below the lowest level before starting treatment is terrible tertiary medicine. Good luck with your health and I hope you get some proper support.

Right well that makes perfect sense !
Interesting perspectives on the thread.
Of the bloods are in range, they really are in range- can be rechecked after a few months but the range is there for a reason.
A private dermatologist who can't even prescribe- great.

Another sweeping statement. Ranges on different labs and with different testing methods and analysers can give different ranges.
But yes if you have your own private medical degree, experience abd biochemistry/ haematology technical knowledge please enlighten us all ???

This is why I think anyone who is luckily enough in a position to do so should get regular blood work done as a routine. One random blood test tells us absolutely nothing about our health, yes you may be in the reference range for everything but without regular tests you could have slipped from the very top end of said range right to the bottom. While still technically being acceptable I can guarantee you'll feel a hell a of a lot different.

Take some vitamin D supplements and accept the results are within range ( apart from vitamin D).

If you want to take other supplements- then do so.

Getting blood tests privately is not going to be any different as the ranges are the same.

Yes the ranges are the same but the explanation behind the results is vastly different. Especially if they have many previous tests to compare with. A private endocrinologist would be alarmed if hormone levels dropped off a cliff despite still being in the reference range.

I'm not knocking the NHS/GP's they can't and don't offer the intricate level of detail they would like to provide every patient with because they'd only be able to see about 4 people a day at best.

@Nttttt is correct about different countries having different ranges (certainly for vitamin d) and it’s nothing to do with different equipment or measuring systems. The nhs seems to look at a deficient/sufficient level cut off where as other countries will say there’s a deficient/sufficient cut off but also a higher optimal range. Which the nhs ignores. There’s also a lack of holistic care, maybe some people are ok with a vit d level of 30, others won’t be. Experts say that the UKs vit d cut off is not evidence based and should be higher.

https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2021/05/06/UK-vit-D-sufficiency-threshold-set-too-low-say-experts#

https://www.vitamaniathemovie.com/vitamin-d-levels/

Agreed. I suffer from restless legs and started taking Floradix which is liquid iron with vitamin B complex and Vitamin C. Big improvement!!
OP I suggest you take this as well, Boots do their own version which is cheaper.

Alright then let me rephrase. The NHS uses too low of a range for blood results and has been widely criticised. They will tell you your result is ok but in other countries the same result would put you on supplements. Many people report being told by the NHS they’re within normal range and don’t need supplements, but they have all sorts of symptoms that are subsequently cured by supplements. I advise ignoring the NHS and supplementing yourself, because the NHS ranges are set too low.

When I was in this position and my doctor told me I was being silly (was actually a lot more patronising) My pharmacist said no, not without prescription. It was off the shelf 15mg or nothing.