Ferritin/B12 woes

[MilliePotts]

Hi everyone,

I’ve not felt right for some time. Exhaustion, feel cold and low, I’ve stopped feeling pleasure during orgasm (sorry TMI), I’ve even had some hair strands grow in white - not even grey, just white (I’m a 25 y/o female). I’ve been suspecting it could be B12 related, so I’ve been supplementing it. I’ve always been very healthy up until now.

I had bloods done, my ferritin is 13 (normal range 12-150), VitD is 30 (normal range 40-100), Haematocrit 0.35 l/l (normal 0.35 - 0.5), and my iron binding capacity is “insufficient”.

Thyroid and HB are normal. B12 was high, which makes sense as I’ve been taking it, but it puts an end to my theory.

My GP wasn’t concerned by the results and said I could buy my own VitD tablets if I wanted, but it wasn’t essential because most people in the UK are probably deficient. I feel so lost. Has anyone else had symptoms with borderline results like mine?

How is your diet? A healthy diet is not the sum of minerals and vitamins but the thousands of polyphenols that are present in fruits and vegetables.

If your diet is alright (not extreme in any way ( paleo, keto , badly-planned vegan, fast food and take away, ...) you don't have a crazy stressful job, I would go back to the GP and explain that it is not normal to have such low energy level at 25, that it is affecting your everyday life and that you want to have further test to come up with a plan. Tell him you feel like an 80 year old woman

Did you have the basic blood count, white blood cell, red blood cell and platelet?

Do you have a diet high in gluten? Without being fully coeliac you might be sensitive. Consider also that some people are silent coeliac, it is called asymptomatic coeliac disease, and you might have some symptoms such as exhaustion and depression without the abdominal pain.

Another suggestion I would have is to test your omega 3 levels, it is a blood test called 0mega 3 index, and you will probably have to pay for it. Anything below 13 needs supplementing. Ideally a liquid form of EPA - DHA or an algae form of EPA - DHA. Most fish oil is useless. Many people do not convert ALA into EPA - DHA so you need these.

I do not agree about your doctor's view on Vitamin D and would take 2000 iu especially as your are going into winter in the UK. DO not take crazy high amount as some posters suggest on MN as it would cause hypercalcemia.

Have you taken many lots of antibiotics in the past?

Consider also buying brazil nut. Just one brazil nut will cover your daily needs of selenium.

Have you had your iodine tested? This would explain the cold your are feeling. You can either eat some roasted seaweed or buy iodine drops and take 3 drops daily.

But all these supplements are guesses and I would really go back and ask for a second and wider set of blood test.

It is very important to only supplement if there is a deficiency as the research shows it is harmful to supplement if not needed.

Take Vit D! You are very low on it and going into winter won't help. Most people on the UK are low in vit D and it can make you feel like shit. You shod start feeling better within weeks.
My GP also recommended a SAD lamp. It Def helps me with energy and moods during times of low sunshine.

Your ferritin levels are very low. My consultant said they should be above 50, or better would be 70. Mine were 20 and I was exhausted with hair falling out so I’m not surprised you feel terrible. You need to get a supplement - I had ferrous fumerate from the doctor.

@LeGrandBleu Thanks for all the info. My diet is normal and I like to think varied. I'm not veggie and no history of antibiotics.

Sorry I should have said above, I had a full blood count plus a few extras (VitD, etc) for energy, plus others - a urine test, body composition, blood pressure, resilience testing. I just narrowed down my post to what was "borderline". Everything was in the normal range - including white and red blood cells and platelets. Overall I seem very healthy, but I don't feel it. Depression is something I may have to consider. I work normal hours (around 40 a week) but do sit exams on top of this.

Thanks @Star8181 that's interesting - I wonder how they establish these "normal" boundaries. Do you think regular multivitamin/iron tablets would work? (I'm assuming ferrous fumarate is prescription only). How are your levels now? Did it take long for them to rise?

@MilliePotts do you drink a lot of tea at mealtime, straight after or even in the hour before? Tea (and coffee, even decaf) almost completely blocks iron absorption, this is why I tend to have my iron high food in the evening as I don't drink any coffee or tea after 3 pm.

Also do you take curcumin supplements? Curcumin is an iron chelator, which means it removes the iron from the cells.

Always go for single supplements rather than a general multivitamin. Some iron supplements cause abdominal pain. I take iron amino acid chelate at night just before going to be, and have no issues at all. In Australia, you buy them over the counter in pharmacies or even supermarkets. I don't take it everyday, because all iron supplements contain betacarotene which I try to avoid.

An alternative is lucky fish luckyironfish.com

Are you getting proper sleep? If you are mentally under pressure, it could affect the quality of your sleep and could explain your feeling low and exhausted.

Agree that increasing your iron and vit D levels should definitely help.

Thanks @forkfun I'm going to look at some VitD tablets this weekend. Do you notice a big difference using the lamp?

@swingofthings It's usually 7 hours on week nights and I tend to overcompensate at the weekend due to how tired I am, so 10-11 hours. I can't really go to bed any earlier during the week as I have to study in the evenings. Honestly, if I didn't have an alarm set I would easily sleep 10-11 hours every night. I've tried limiting myself to 7-8 hours at the weekend but it just exasperates the tiredness, especially when I've been to the gym a lot that week.

@MilliePotts my GP was more than happy to prescribe iron tablets because I was feeling so exhausted, maybe go back again? I also had a similar vitamin d level to you too, and had a 7 week course of tablets from the GP, then I bought a vit d spray to maintain my levels. I think it too me about 2 months to stop feeling as tired and for my hair to stop falling out.

Also, another PP mentioned coeliac disease - low vit d and iron can be indicators - My blood test has come back positive, I’m waiting on an endoscopy to confirm, so maybe worth asking. I don’t have any stomach problems, just vitamin deficiencies, joint pain and exhaustion.

If you go to sleep right after your studies, it's very likely that your brain is still being stimulated hence not getting enough deep sleep.

You naturally overcompensate over the weekend to try to make it up but you probably still don't get enough quality sleep.

Can you try to stop studying one hour before bed and totally relax before, with a bath or listening to relaxing music?

Hi, hope not too much of a zombie thread to ask if you could recommend any of the algae omega 3s LeGrandBleu please?