Who knows about iron and B12 levels and anaemia?

[Kewcumber]

Just been to doctors - desparately tired not normal.

Iron level is 9 (maybe that was haemoglobin?)
B12 is 120

I've tried googling but not really getting far. How low are these - are they low enough to be causing the tiredness?

GP seems to think iron level is the problme despite saying that it is "technically" within the normal range.

Confused? I am...

Don't know about the B12 level, sorry. My

iron level was 9 and the dr put me on iron

tablets. She said I wasn't anemic, just low.

Has been two months now and I have WAY more

energy than I did before. I've started

taking b vits too. I can breathe properly

now too, which is nice, but don't know if thats related.

Hope someone who knows more can advise you, and that you feel better soon.

thanks - yes am on iron tablets now and injections for the B12 - do they know why you are low in iron?

No, I've been very anxious recently, so we discussed that mostly,

I'm supposed to go back to have my levels checked again soon, so I'll ask then.

My SIL found out she had coeliacs through low iron levels - she didn't have any other symptoms.

Are you having any tests to find out why your levels are so low?

I had issues with iron and they checked coeliac as well as other things.

Are you vegetarian? B12 is mainly found in meat. Marmite is great for it though.

My anaemia was according to my haematologist sister, not serious. The doctor hounded me for 2 years about it. I was tired though so it's very likely that's causing it.

yes - I'm being refered to a gastro enterologist to see if to quote my GP I have "malabsorption problmes". Seems likely that the B12 is caused by pernicious anaemia as my grandmother had it and my diet has plenty of B12. Not sure about the iron though, possibly related to a bought of bleeding I had in hospital back in Sept, he thinks its possible that my levels have been low since and haematology just haven't noticed!

definte carnivore (just polished off a juicy home made burger for lunch )

normal B12 range is 130 - 700 but it will depend on your labs reference range so call the Gp back and ask is it low for their reference range

If you haemoglobin is 9 you need to find out why

ferritin is the best measure of iron stores. if your ferritin is 9 then it is low and will need replacing. (it is especially low if you are post menopausal0
so you need to find out more facts from your GP - what exactly are the levels adn of what

if they are low then you need to find out why rather than just replacing - especially if its iron. these things rarely just happen - there is usually an underlying cause.

hope that helps

ring your GP back!

sorry typed all that before saw your latest reply - cross posts. looks like its in hand.

who are you going to see?? (used to work in your area)

It's difficult to comment when I don't know the units your iron and B12 levels are in. However, generally female Hb limits are 12 - 16 gm/dL, so 9 would be sufficient to cause tiredness. I've been at 11, and felt a significant difference in my energy levels after taking supplements.

Vitamin B12 is important in the manufacture of red blood cells, so is implicated in anaemia and specifically in pernicious anaemia. B12 is poorly absorbed, so you're getting injections rather than oral supplements.

Not a medic, BTW, a medical scientist.

yes 130 - something is right he showed me on the screen.

Can;t remember what the 9 was but range was 7-70 IIRC.

He is referring me to gastroenterology so I assume they will investigate reasons?

don't know yet - someone at Charing Cross.

charing x gastro are good

if range 7 to 70 it will be your ferritin thats low, maybe your hb is normal (thats prob what he meant)

b12 also bit low then

yes gastro will prob do a colonoscopy and scope looking into your stomach as well as more bloods (looking for pernicious anaemia etc) routine investigation for someone with low ferritin so don't worry.

sounds like your gp is on the ball

My B12 levels are low. I had to see a specialist years ago as I don't absorb it well.

Mine were checked again recently and were 201 and my GP said this is too low and I have been put back on B12 injections twice a year. Normal range is generally anywhere between 200 - 600 but anyone at the bottom end of this can suffer symptoms of low B12. i get extreme tiredness, dizzy spells and palpitations which are all pretty common side effects.

120 is low. I personally think that you should really be getting injections or some other form or B12 boost to bring you up into the normal range.

Mine was at this level the first time I was checked out and I had to have jabs every month until it increased.

Hope this helps - i am not an expert, I just happen to have B12 anaemia

oops - didn't see your updated post about going to the speciallist. Sorry

Be prepared for some fun. They made me drink a liquid preparation of radioactive B12 and then I had to wee into a a huge plastic bottle for a few days. Had to take it everywhere with me....

I was paranoid I was going to get knocked over by a bus and be found to be carrying a bottle of radioactive wee in my rucksack

oh joy will look forward to the radio active pee then I have 5 B12 injections scheduled for next two weeks so hopefully that will improve things. My grandmother had pernicious anaemia so I know all about that, and family link makes it more likely in my case I beleive.

I'm pretty sure I don;t have any of the nastier reasons for low iron becasue I think all would result in bleeding showin up in stools wouldn;t they? Even if old blood would make them darker I think.

Luckily (luckily?!) I had a bone marrow aspiration in Spetember so I know I don;t have dodgy bone marrow!

Interesting that 120 does make you really tired, GP didn;t seem to know whether it would and said the iron level would be more likely culprit.

It sounds like you have all the info you need
They can do more blood tests re the absorption before doing the scope stuff

so has anyone on here ever got an answer to why their iron is low when it isn't dietary or anything nasty like cancer or ulcers?

off to bed but will reply tomorrow

this might help in meantime

here

GI (gut etc) blood loss isn't always obvious - hence the need for faeacl occult stool testing in the lab that has just been brought out to screnn for colorectal cancer

if your B12 is also low I ouwld suspect you have a problem absorbing in your intestine - eg coeliac disease (you could ask your gp to do bloods for this)

Kewcumber - pernicious anaemia is a result of low B12, not a cause of it.

B12 malabsorption is mostly down to a lack of something called intrinsic factor (IF) - you can take in huge amounts of B12 but if you're not producing intrinsic factor then you won't absorb any of it, hence the need for injections. The gastroenterologist will check your IF levels and probably your sIgA levels. Coeliacs is a possibility as this can destroy the villi in the gut, thus reducing absorption of many minerals and nutrients generally - iron is the first one that is usually picked up. IF needs you to have good levels of hydrochloric (HCl) acid in your stomach as well - if you have low levels, or use antacids too much, this can affect IF function.

If you have low zinc levels, this can affect HCl acid levels as zinc is required in the manufacture of HCl in the stomach. Zinc absorption would also be affected by e.g. coeliacs.

If you are taking any other mineral supplements, these might interfere with iron absorption.
Vitamin C increases iron absorption so bumping your intake of that is useful.
Excessive tea drinking can inhibit iron absorption as it is bound to the tannins and passes out in the stools.
You might also be deficient in copper (which is required for iron storage and utilisation) - again, copper absorption could be affected by malabsorption issues such as coeliacs.

Hope that helps.
And hope they sort it out for you.

I had vitamin B12 deficiency following a visit to India when I got giardia and amoebic dysentery (I was young and foolish). It was a while after I came back that I was diagnosed, because my hair was falling out. I don't think it was very serious though as I just had tablets to fix it. My diet by then was perfectly normal, but I think the parasites had upset my intestines. I seem to recall being told to eat lots of live yogurt too. Anyway, I doubt you've been colonized by tropical parasites, but another reason for B12 deficiencies!

thats interesting Thumbwitch as I was on antacids whilst I was taking the steriods I wonder if that has casued the problem?

Nooka - spent 3 months in Kazakhstan a couple of years ago where giardia is rife but can;t beleive I wouldn;t have had any other symptoms of it.

It can be caused by autoimmune problems - I don't have antibodies to intrinsic factor but I have parietal cell antibodies. The parietal cells produce intrinsic factor

Hah! I think I qualify on virtually every count anyone has mentioned so far! I already have one autoimmune condition (blood related) which developed 6 motnhs ago

Just a quick update if anyone is interested. Looking pretty sure I have pernicious anaemia - positive for antibodies to intrinsic factor (though interestingly not to parietal cells)