Confusing Blood Test Results

[MummyLeprachaun]

Hello. I was wondering if could get some advice on my blood test results please? I got the results of blood tests on Wednesday.

Here's some background, I went to the GP last week because for the last nine months or so I have felt totally shattered: achy muscles, urinating frequently, poor energy levels, poor concentration.... and restless legs. I'm a teacher so I assumed that burning the candle at both ends was starting to catching up with me. However, now that exam season is over my workload is becoming much lighter. I'm now getting much more sleep but I still feel drained - I fall asleep on the sofa as soon as I get home from work.. Blood test results were normal except for serum ferritin of 6.7, serum potassium of 5.7 and serum sodium of 1.49. I have been researching the results and have a fair appreciation of what each result means "individually" but it is proving difficult to understand what the results mean "collectively". Can anyone give me their tuppence worth please? GP receptionist made another appointment for me for next week - it would be useful if I could understand what the "the three results together mean". Oh, my son loves curly kale so I eat that a few times a week....turns my poo black! Thank you, MummyLeprachaun

Cant help much except to say all serum results are very low.
I have regular blood tests for Haemochromatosis, and my ferritin should be between 50-100, at 6.7 yours is very low, so as to cause anaemia, not sure about the others to be honest,except they are possibLy much too low too
All i can think ios you have some kind of anaemia, which is why you are so tired
My last ferritin test was 31, and thats quite low, so yours is almost non existant not sure about the others, but i am having the same problem as you, cant sit down without falling asleep
Are you a vegan or vegetarian? i was urged to eat more red meat and green veg, to put my iron stores up
I would go back and ask your Dr to explain .
Sorry i cant be more help, but expect all three results together will make you feel extra tired

Thanks Princesstiasmum The GP receptionist who gave me the results said the sodium and potassium were both high and that the doctor would be best able to explain to me. The NHS website said that the level of potassium would suggest hyperkalemia which in turn could indicate kidney problems. No sure sure why sodium is high - I don't generally use it in cooking. Eat a fair amount of red meat and there is always curly kale in my house as it is one of the only veggies my DS will eat. Not sure if I should be worried...just want to be armed with knowledge so that the GP doesn't drop a surprise on me. Good luck with raising your Ferritin

The units in which they're measured are quite important (as is the normal range for the lab in which they were measured) - without those the ferritin is difficult to interpret.

A potassium of 5.9mmol/L and a sodium of 149mmol/L are both a little high but not terribly worrying - perhaps suggest you were a little dehydrated that day. Your GP may suggest repeating the potassium to see whether it's always that high, or if the rest of the kidney function is normal they may not. Probably best to talk to the doctor that actually knows you best.

Ferritin levels are totally unrelated to sodium and potassium.

So sorry MummyLeprachaun i was assuming the sodium and potassium were low too, i do know potassium that is too high can affect kidneys as had a friend with high potassium,
As the poster above has explained more than i can i hope your results are not as bad as you might fear,
I am surprised really that your blood test results were given to you before you saw your Dr, so he could explain at the same time
I really only know about ferritin
I got results of my last blood test after seeing a consultant, most of which was normal, except for the low ferritin, but it also said, Transferrin abnormal, but didnt say in what way, so i have to wait until i see him again
I agree its worrying when you dont understand what these results mean

Thank you everyone for sharing your ideas with me. I'll wait and see what the GP says on Friday which is the only time I could get off work. Whatever it is, I hope it is easily fixed - I have been to bed by 8.00 most nights for over a month and I still feel like a zombie....this really will not be sustainable when then new term starts in September.

Um. Are you 100% sure that it's the curly kale turning your poo black? Because blood in your poo can also turn it black, and if you were losing a bit of blood into your guts, then replacing those blood cells would use up your iron stores, causing your ferritin to drop... Unlikely, but just a thought.

What a cool username . Fairly sure it's the curly kale - my poo is brown on the days I don't have it. I tend to drink lots of orange juice as the vitamin C should help absorb the iron.... I'm so confused and I can't think straight. I had my annual cpd review at work today and I can't remember much of what my boss and I discussed - I just wanted to put my head on the table and have a nap.

Hi I think try to get your ferritin up over 70. I notice when mine starts to drop below 50 - fuzzy head and a bit out of it.

I had to cut milk intake anyway near iron rich foods and my levels went up quite quickly (more so than with prescription iron supplements).

There's new research on the best way to take iron too: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09ply54

(Described In the radio prog)

I visited the doctor this morning for my follow up appointment. He's ruled out kidney problems (hooray!!) - the raised potassium was probably a blip; but he admitted that he is puzzled about my ferritin levels. My periods are normal. He said that further investigation is needed but he doesn't want to rush into endoscopies and colonoscopies. I have been prescribed an initial dose of "iron" of 200mg twice a day (morning and bedtime) and Vitamin D because it now appears I'm also deficient in Vit-D - the prescriptions have been sent directly to my pharmacy.. He said he will need to have a think about what needs to be done and that he will phone me......I appreciate his honesty.

Just a thought- ask your GP to test your calcium levels. I was ill for 2 years with very similar symptoms to you and was finally diagnosed this year with hyperparathyroidism. I had an operation to remove the 'bad' parathyroid gland and im now fine. Havea look at hyperparathyroiduk.com - lots of useful info on there. Unfortunately it's a poorly recognised condition.

GP says my calcium levels are normal at 2.5 so it is not likely to be that. Thyroid function test came back normal too.

It was probably lack of vitamin d that caused your symptoms

Got a letter from the GP today asking me to make an appointment for more blood tests - this time to check for coeliac disease - and to provide a poo sample to investigate potential bowel problems. Also weighed myself this morning and discovered I put on ten pounds since Easter! Have no idea how. Up til now I didn't have the energy to care less but I sobbed for what seemed like ages. Felt like a real punch in the gut.

It's good he's checking out coeliac.

Did you ever get thyroid function done?

I'm sorry you feel rubbish. I do think you need that ferritin right up.

The GP said my thyroid was fine but I have no idea what the actual results were or what was tested - I'll ask the nurse for a print-out when I go for my next blood test. My sister has an under-active thyroid - not sure if that makes me more predisposed to it too. I'm losing more hair than usual and my nails have become quite brittle...There are so many little symptoms. Perhaps, I'm just grasping at straws and will end up a hypochondriac (sp??) . At the same time, I feel that I have brought a lot of this on myself - at Easter I had a bladder infection that became a kidney infection because I was so busy at work to do anything about it. My GP prescribed me antibiotics and drew me a graph of productivity versus number of hours worked per week to explain what would happen if I didn't slow down! I didn't really listen and here I am now.....knackered.

You have a lot going on - I have had burn out and it can cause general fatigue.

However you've a few "red flags" too - I'd find out what your thyroid test was just in case and perhaps mention family history. Yes it can mean you're more likely to have it if there's family history. I'd mention it to the gp.

My nails did used to flake but I'm not sure if that was thyroid or other things - since I got in a bit of a pickle with I'll health I now keep on top of vit d, b vitamins and iron and they're much better, plus I'm very careful about managing my thyroid levels.

Hair loss can be either ferritin, vit d, or thyroid. Low thyroid can cause anaemia but also not enough iron can affect how the thyroid makes thyroxine- so it's all a bit chicken and egg. Hypothyroidism has always caused me to become very constipated.

Coeliac disease is autoimmune like most thyroid issues so it can run in families. There's also a slightly higher incidence of hypothyroidism occurring if you have coeliac disease. But you need to keep eating gluten for any tests.

Did they test you for diabetes? You mentioned urinating frequently.

I believe they sometimes treat restless legs by raising ferritin too. I'd make this your priority - don't have dairy, caffeine or calcium near any iron rich foods and eat iron rich foods with orange juice.

Iodine is important for thyroid health; dairy and white fish is the main source. Selenium and iron are the others. To be honest, prenatal vitamins tend to have a good level of what you need there! And see what the gp says about iron tablets. You could boost vitamin d by a bit of sun before putting in cream and you can get high strength sprays from Holland and Barrett (and amazon).

Tbh a rare steak once a week with OJ will help hugely (if your gut is otherwise ok!)

Thank you! After I dropped my poo sample at the GP surgery today, I asked one of the receptionists for a print out of my blood test results - they are mostly gobbledy gook to me as I'm a Physics teacher. The thyroid results look fine to me TSH 1.33 miu/L [0.27 - 4.2} and Serum T4 13.5 pm/L [12.0 - 22.0] - no other thyroid related tests performed; Other results included red blood cell count 4.9 10*12/L [3.8 - 4.8]; Mean cell haem level 24.1 pg [27.0 - 34.0]; Red cell distribution width 17.0 [10.0 - 15.0]; Serum 25-Hydroxy Vit D3 27.6 nmol/L [25 - 50 = insufficient]; serum ferritin 6 ng/mL [13 - 150]. Everything else is well within the quoted normal ranges.

Your vitamin d is too low, that and the ferritin could be the issue but I must say your t4 is pretty low and tsh is usually lower in euthyroid people, below 1. However it could be that if you get your ferritin up, get some rest and your vit d goes up that this improves.

Make sure you're getting the rda of iodine and selenium too. (Not more as too much can cause issues).

I think I'd ask for your thyroid to be monitored esp as your sister has it.

Are you ttc at all? If you were it would be wise to check and monitor thyroid levels in early pregnancy.