Blood Work For Vitamin/mineral Deficiencies

[Roda]

I was wondering if it would still be beneficial to have blood work run to check for vitamin/mineral deficiencies? I have had chronic low ferritin levels for about 1 1/2 years (has never been above 6) that lead me to get tested for celiac. I had a positive IgA tTg in Sept. 08 with a positive biopsy in Oct. 08. I went gluten free Oct. 30th. I never had any other blood work for vitamin/mineral before going gluten free. I thought my endocrinologist ran some in Dec. 08 but all she checked was vit. b12 and it was in normal range. Should I still get others checked and if so what ones? I do bruise easily and was wondering if that could be related to something. I am also curious about what I should do for the low ferritin. The only meds/supplements I take is levothyroxine, cytomel, and probiotics. I did note something interesting on my chemistry profile though. My calcium has gone back up into the normal range. Before it was always low. Thanks!

[rinne]

Sure, why not? What were your B12 levels?

I ask because mine were at 228 and my doctor told me they were fine, she even prescribed medication that would have stopped all absorption of the B12. She is not my doctor anymore.

I was not fine, I was critically low in B12 but the test in front of her said that normal was anything above 178, NOT normal should be around 500.

Welcome.

[rubyred]

I think it would be beneficial to get full bloodwork done. Just to check your levels, even if you are already gluten free. It's also good to get a baseline count, so then you can compare future bloodwork to your baseline to see if you are where you need to be (in regards to the diet).

Rinne - are the blood tests for B12 standardized? I got bloodwork done, which included B12 and my level was 582, but the range says 200-900. So, this should be well within normal rates, right? I got this done about 5 months into being gluten free.

[rinne]

Hi, the range on the tests up here (Canada) said something like between 180 and 880 so very close to your figures, I think 582 sounds great!

[Roda]

vit b12 was 315 ref range 180-914. I see the gi doctor the end of this month. After my diagnosis over the phone all I was told by him was to see him after 3 months on the gluten free diet. Now I am wondering if I should have had more things done before. Heck, I figured out it was celiac I shouldn't have to think of everything! Anybody have a bone mineral density test done? Should I have one? Is there any link with very low total cholesterol and triglicerides? I had those checked appx 4 years ago and had a doctor tell me she never seen a patient with as low triglicerides as mine before. I don't have the exact results but I am going to get them next week out of my medical record.

[Mother of Jibril]

The low cholesterol and triglycerides were probably from malabsorption of fats. I bet your numbers are climbing back to an appropriate level now. Interesting and easy to check. A lot of people (even doctors) are so worried about high cholesterol that they forget it's dangerous to have really low HDL cholesterol! It's recommended to have a level of 50 or higher.

I'm wrestling with the same question (about checking vitamins and minerals) especially since I couldn't get an official diagnosis. I think the big question is... how are you feeling? You could have some deficiencies that don't resolve on a gluten-free diet (like B-12 if you've developed pernicious anemia), but the rest should be returning to normal levels. If you're worried about certain symptoms you could always google the different vitamins and minerals and see what symptoms are expected when you have a deficiency.

[Jestgar]

A lot of people (even doctors) are so worried about high cholesterol that they forget it's dangerous to have really low HDL cholesterol! It's recommended to have a level of 50 or higher.

I actually tried to look this up one time and couldn't find any reference for HDL being too low, when in conjunction with overall low total cholesterol. Do you have a reference for this?

[Mother of Jibril]

Hmmm... good question.

The American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic both mention low HDL as a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

But... this seems to be based on HDL as a protective factor against high triglycerides and LDL. Looking at the issue of cholesterol from a different perspective, here's a recent abstract from the NIH database about low HDL and memory loss.

Open Original Shared Link

[Jestgar]

Open Original Shared Link

Interesting article. Curiously, their memory did not improve, even if the HDL went up, but their memory DID improve when the triglycerides went down (Table 4) and those with high total cholesterol had a better memory than those with low.

I'd be interested to see the ratios of HDL to triglycerides to see if that made a difference. They also didn't relate HDL to total. Maybe someone else will do a more complete study.

[neesee]

vit b12 was 315 ref range 180-914. I see the gi doctor the end of this month. After my diagnosis over the phone all I was told by him was to see him after 3 months on the gluten free diet. Now I am wondering if I should have had more things done before. Heck, I figured out it was celiac I shouldn't have to think of everything! Anybody have a bone mineral density test done? Should I have one? Is there any link with very low total cholesterol and triglicerides? I had those checked appx 4 years ago and had a doctor tell me she never seen a patient with as low triglicerides as mine before. I don't have the exact results but I am going to get them next week out of my medical record.

My cholesterol has always been pretty low due to the celiac. At it's lowest, it was 96 total. Several years later into the diet, my triglycerides tested at 28. Twenty-one years later my cholesterol stays at around 150. I don't know the hdl,ldl or triglycerides anymore. My newer drs choose not the share that with me. Makes me kinda mad. I like to know what's going on with me.

[Roda]

I did a google search for abnormally low triglyceride levels and not a lot comes up. I did find a mention at this site

Open Original Shared Link

Interesting was the last paragraph. For some reason I think mine was in that range. Hind sight is 20/20. Any suggestions to raise ferritin levels. I'm not anemic.

[rinne]

vit b12 was 315 ref range 180-914. ....

I read this as a very low score, it seems your doctor was doing as mine was and assuming that the "normal" range is healthy. Do you have any dizziness, or the feeling of walking drunk, or strange tingling?

[Roda]

I read this as a very low score, it seems your doctor was doing as mine was and assuming that the "normal" range is healthy. Do you have any dizziness, or the feeling of walking drunk, or strange tingling?

I have been having (what I percieve) an issue with my blood pressure. It tends to be on the lower normal spectrum now. It was always aroung 112-118/75-80 so as normal as one can get. Now it depends what I am doing but it has gone as low as 96/58 before. It usually does this right after getting up from to fast from bed or resting. I have to be careful because it drops and I get light headed, dizzy and feel like I could fall down. The only tingling I get is in my arms that radiates to my last two fingers. I believe I have a rotator cuff problem since it usually happens when I raise my arms up. I took lopressor a for 4 mo starting in Feb. 2006 for tachycardia. Unfortunatly it had an effect on my bp and really made it drop. I don't know if that has affected it now or not. I wonder if lower blood pressure and celiac have any relation? Just curious.

[Jestgar]

Interesting was the last paragraph. For some reason I think mine was in that range. Hind sight is 20/20. Any suggestions to raise ferritin levels. I'm not anemic.

Ferritin levels take a long time to change. If you eat meat, they'll go up over time. You might want to consider taking iron for a few months as well.

[rinne]

.....I wonder if lower blood pressure and celiac have any relation? Just curious.

I don't know but my blood pressure was always normal until I got sick, it dropped then and I haven't had it checked recently.

[Mother of Jibril]

I wonder if lower blood pressure and celiac have any relation? Just curious.

I don't know about celiac... but there's definitely a connection to thyroid disorders. My blood pressure has been as low as 70/40. I've also experienced dizziness when changing positions. My ten-month-old son is still breastfeeding at night and I keep his crib right next to my bed... even then, I worry about dropping him because I'm so dizzy

[Jestgar]

I don't know about celiac... but there's definitely a connection to thyroid disorders. My blood pressure has been as low as 70/40.

Is this with hypo- or hyper-?

[Mother of Jibril]

HypOthyroidism is associated with low blood pressure and a slow heartrate. A high level of thyroid hormones (hypERthyroidism) can lead to palpitations and an accellerated heartrate.