3 year old low iron, high b12 WWYD

[Tadah2]

Hi,

thank you for taking the time to read this. My DC has had 4 repeat blood tests and every single one has shown low iron and higher than normal b12. DC has been placed on iron supplements from the first bloods (in Jan), but the iron has only increased minimally - so the Drs are saying they think it’s diet (I got a text message from the Drs saying DC is a fussy eater). I’ve spoken to nursery and they’ve said DC eats everything there and I know DC does at home, so I don’t think it’s that.

WWYD - should I push for any further investigations, can iron just be low for no reason? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Don’t want to drip feed, the b12 I’ve taken DC off the previous supplement that included it - but it’s still high. I know it’s added to milk etc. I’ve cut DC’s milk down though, as I was concerned the iron might be linked to too much dairy

There's been a few previous threads mentioning this - high B12 isn't that uncommon and incidental finding in children and is very unlikely to mean anything in itself.

Are there any symptoms you're worried about in your child, or are they well? Why were the bloods done to begin with?

Regarding the iron stores, worth making sure they got the full dose of supplement for their age. Some people absorb iron better if you give a doubled up dose on alternating days.

Have they definitely been prescribed the appropriate iron supplement dose? My 6yo was recently prescribed a too-low dose by the GP - luckily her dad is a HCP so noticed immediately and got it changed. We saw a difference in her behaviour by the end of the course which I think was 3 months. It's been a few more months and just the last couple of weeks her behaviour has started going back a bit like it was before so I'm suspecting it's dipping again, Ive found Holland and Barrett sell a children's supplement so I'm going to try them in the first instance and see if that helps. She isn't a great eater but I'm going to make an extra effort to meal plan a bit better and see if I can get any more iron in her, especially as my 2yo recently had bloods and theirs were very borderline too. Have you tried orange juice with supplements as that helps absorption? That's something I'm going to try this time round.

Definitely worth looking at food combinations - some food prevents good iron absorption so try and work out the best way to get iron rich food in. No experience in children and iron but personally I only saw my iron levels actually increase once I cut out tea and coffee and took it first thing in morning with vit-c then waited at least an hour to have anything to eat. (Don’t do that for your child though, but do work out what to eat with it - not dairy. )

I just wrote on a similar thread.

You need to get the doctor to investigate the why for the iron. We don't just have low iron, and yes, food is a contributing factor, however, it could be your child cannot absorb for a multitude of reasons.
I would be looking at the why it's not being absorbed rather than just the fact it's low, and, you need to know the ferritin levels too, that's really important.

Hit send too soon.
For context, I was anaemic from the age of 6, no one ever told my mum why, just to sort out a more fortified diet.
At 40, I've been diagnosed as coeliacs in October last year. I can't absorb anything and all my hair was falling out (hence why I went to the doctor) as I've killed the villi in my stomach for 40 years!
My haemoglobin was 80 and my ferritin (the stores) had gotten down to 3.
Ask for more tests ☺️

I totally agree with poster above. It needs to be investigated as to why the iron levels are low. This is what annoys me about gp’s they just want to fob you off by giving you supplements instead of investigating. I would definitely ask for a repeat blood test after a few weeks of taking the iron tablets.
Other poster is right you don’t have low iron for no reason.