Wisdom on blood levels - wondering if a bus drove into me??

[118jupiter]

Hello,

Wondering if any collective wisdom on blood tests out there please? In brief combo of: emergency appendix removal (6 weeks ago and small, bleeding ovarian cyst removed at same time for good measure...) and periods going haywire (assume my age... 40 as gynae investigation clear) 3 in 7 weeks has left me feeling shockingly tired and total mental fog. Blood tests all officially in normal range, but wondering if I might need to buy the contents of Holland & Barratt in an attempt to feel better.

Any opinion on the bloods much appreciated (waiting to discuss with GP):

Haemaglobin 141 g/l
TSH 1.26
T4 16.5
Ferritin 27 ug/L
B12 347 ng/L
Folate 6.48 ug/L

Or tips on good vitamins etc?

Thanks in advance!

not sure about most of them but when my ferritin was 23 I felt awful, tired and whiped out. I took iron and once I got over 50 I started to feel human again. 27 is as the low level of normal but way below optimal.

no clue about the rest.

I took ferritin Sulphate from the pharmacy OTC. nothing from h&b.

Forget going to H & B.

I think you should be referred to an endocrinologist to determine further whether you have problems with your thyroid gland. Tiredness and brain fog are certainly linked to thyroid problems.

Thank you. Nice to know the ferritin is on the low side of normal and that I'm not going crazy.

Thank you also for suggestion that thyroid might need a more thorough look - I though as the TSH was near 1 that it would be ok? I know nothing about this though.

Any tips on the vit B12 and folate would be appreciated,if anyone else knows about that.

TVM

I would say your ferretin and b12 levels are low but in the normal range. Energy wise you might feel better if you took iron and a sublingual b12 supplement and tried to improve your levels through an iron/folate rich diet.

Ps the healthy range for b12 is quite wide and I got mine from 300 ish to 900ish and felt a lot better.

The ranges for the thyroid tests would be useful. On the range where I live, that FT4 would be a possible cause for concern. In other areas it might be top of the range.

Other than that, your ferritin is way too low. It needs to be at least 70 and preferably a bit higher. Whatever iron supplementation you can tolerate will fix that.

B12 is also too low. Sub lingual lozenges from Jarrows (available from Amazon) will fix that. It needs to be at least 500 and possibly double that. It's water soluble so you can't overdose.

Again, without the range, I can't say about the folate, but I think more green leafy vegetables may be in order.

Beware GP saying all is 'normal' because all these results will all be within the reference range. The important thing is where within that range you are.

I'm wondering what your vitamin D levels are too.

I knew there would be people with knowledge her

I didn't get a Vit D test, perhaps one to ask for if I feel continually crap?

I managed to get some sub-lingual B12 in H&B and feroglobin so will take those in the meantime. Can I take more than one feroglobin at a time? Good to know you can't overdose on B12!

Re:ranges

TSH range says 0.3-4.5ml U/L mine was 1.26
T4 range 10-22 pmol/L
Folate range 4.6-18.7 ug/L

Thanks!

Vitamin D3 is a very useful supplement, but don't go daft with it - or with anything else, really.
I also take K2, magnesium, CQ10 and a good all round vitamin and mineral supplement.
Rest as much as you can, don't push yourself, or your immune system could get stressed out and throw a hissyfit.
I have M.E. and the above mixture has helped me clear my head quite a bit

Another person saying try to increase your B12 & Iron stores. Healthspan do an online service, cheaper than H&B. The Iron compound is stomach-friendly too!
I think your GP is very unlikely to refer you to an endocrinologist FWIW, your TFT results look ok.
Definitely ask for Vitamin D blood test, if persists. Try to get outside in the fresh air, as much as possible, weather permitting!!
Also, it's only 6weeks since your appendectomy, so it will take some time to get back to normal. I seem to remember it took me about 4/5 months to feel recovered. Get plenty of rest, eat well and build your strength back up xx

Vitamin B12 isn't great, ferritins pretty dire and folate isn't too hot either. Would be interesting to get your vitamin d tested too. Your thyroid results look OK, but really you need FT3 testing which is the active hormone to see what's happening, That could be rock bottom and would explain your symptoms. Many NHS patients can't get that tested though so don't be surprised if you can't. I would suggest you start supplementing iron, b12 and folate. I found a supplement called hema plex very good when I first got my act together in the face of the Doctor repeatedly telling me all was normal when I felt dreadful.