Desperate Low Vitamin D Low Ferritin
 

Hi,
Long story short on my recent health history, I bled from non-stop heavy periods after a ruptured ectopic for almost two years straight. Needless to say I became very anemic and iron deficient. Had a hysterectomy in Dec. of '07 and thought my problems were over. WRONG! No one told me to take iron after my hysterectomy. A little over a month ago I started experiencing numbness in my face, then my hands, then my feet. Same on both sides. Then my mouth and tongue became involved as well. Thought it was anxiety. It didn't go away. After 3 weeks of it going on I went to the Dr. Found out my ferritin level is 6 and my Vitamin D was 23 and should be 32. Dr. put me on 2 iron pills a day and one Vitamin D green softgel a week for 8 weeks. I DO NOT FEEL BETTER!! The first week, I felt great, everything got better. It's been back and worse ever since. They did check my B12 and folate, said they were normal. I am getting really, really scared!!! My face and mouth feel numb, my facial muscles feel tight at times, I guess the numbness in my hands and feet is better than it was . . . i am really tired and my body hurts. My tongue burns and hurts.
Please note that I have EXTREME health anxiety and I fear death and illness to an overwhelming degree. I have called my naturopath but he is out of town until next Tuesday. The dr. says the low iron and low vitamin D explain the numbness. Is this true? And if so, how long before I'll feel better? Am I going to feel this way forever??? I have 3 kids and I am really scared.

Sorry, I should add that I have only been on the Dr. prescribed iron and Vitamin D capsules for 2 1/2 weeks.

I would make sure
 

you are getting enough folic acid and B12 as well.
(some iron products have these added to the formula)

These both help with anemia.
Low copper will also cause anemia. Your doctor can test for this.

People with malabsorption due to intestinal inflammation/Crohn's, or
gluten intolerance can have many nutrients poorly absorbed.

Also when your body starts making red blood cells --being stimulated by
the nutrients, it robs the serum of potassium, which then may go down enough
for you to feel tired/weak. So pay attention to your foods and select high potassium
containing items. Cantaloupe, bananas, orange juice, potatoes, yogurt, beans

Mrs. D
 

Thank You Mrs. D.
So would you say that this numbness is a normal symptom of what I have going on? I am so scared of it being something more scary and horrible!

can't say...
 

Many things cause mouth problems, besides nutrient issues.

But it is possible that low calcium (resulting from low Vit D) is doing it.

When you begin to fix deficiencies, there is no quick fix. It takes time
to restore things.

There is no way to predict what else is going on with you. Only your doctor
can do that.

Hello kat1228,

I suspect that your numbness could be peripheral neuropathy (PN) caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency. This is despite your information that:

Here is why:

1. Numbness is not a typical symptom of iron deficiency - fatigue and sore tongue are common
2. Numbness is not a typical symptom of vitamin D deficiency
3. Numbness is a typical symptom of vitamin B12 deficiency; so also are fatigue and painful tongue, as well as many other symptoms

So, I think that the answer to your question:
is that you are right to question it.

I should point out that PN can be caused by many problems other than B12 deficiency. I also am not suggesting that you do not have iron and vitamin D deficiency; just that they do not explain the numbness.

I suggest that you read some of the information provided by Mayo. Here are links to the most relevant pages:

Iron Deficiency - symptoms
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/iro...323/DSECTION=2

Vitamin D Deficiency: What a Pain it is
http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com...a=1&ref=7812e1

Peripheral Neuropathy - causes
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/per...131/DSECTION=3

There are many other useful sources of information about iron and vitamin D deficiency, and PN, available on the Internet, but I suggest that you read these ones first.

If you do investigate the possibility of vitamin B12 deficiency, then I suggest that you read my post #27 on this thread first:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread43009-3.html

I also invite you to visit my web site (URL and link at end of this message), and read all of the pages in Information and Advice for Patients.

As you will see, serum B12 is not a good indicator of vitamin B12 deficiency, and I recommend using methylmalonic acid. As I have said, in the above thread and on my web site:

It is essential that, for diagnosis of B12 deficiency, you do not take any form of B12 supplements or injections before having these tests.

Please tell us:

1. What were your serum folate and B12 results, and the date of the test? Please include the units, because the labs have not all adopted the newer SI units. For example, for serum B12, some labs use pmol/L while others still use ng/L (= pg/mL).

2. Were you tested for red-cell folate, as well as for serum folate (folic acid) and, if so, what was the result?

3. Did you take any form of vitamin B12 or folate supplements before the test and, if so, what type, how much, how often?

You asked:
No, you will not feel this way forever, but you do need to have a proper diagnosis of the cause of your numbness. Once you do that, and then commence appropriate treatment, you will improve. How long this takes will depend on what the problem is, how far any damage has gone, and how well you treat it, as well as many other factors. For example, peripheral nerve damage from B12 deficiency can take many months, or even years, to completely repair.

Paul

Hi,
My mom had to rush me back to the Dr. yesterday because I had a severe episode of numbness in my face and I felt like I couldn't swallow for a few seconds. I got very frightened.
The Dr. still suspects the Vitamin D deficiency and the Iron deficiency. I was wrong about my ferritin level, it was my Iron Saturation that was 6%. I will post my labs below. I told the Dr. that I am really scared and I need to understand what is happening to my body.
She explained that when the blood is thin from Iron deficiency that it doesn't circulate as well. She said the hands and feet and face are basically at the end of circulation so it's even harder for those areas. She also said we depend on Vitamin D to conduct electrical impulses in our body. She said what is happening to me is like a short circuit now and then or a damp area in an electrical circuit. She said it could take up to 3 months for me to feel better. That my nerves are getting what they need now and they are a little "shocked".
She is sending me for an MRI of the brain and neck. I just had one of the thoracic spine last month and it was all normal. Not a thing wrong. She said I don't have the common symptoms of a brain tumor or MS and that would be at the bottom of her list of things that it could be.
Her nurse had told me when she called with my labs a few weeks ago that when you bleed for so long and you are so low on Iron for so long that you start to deplete your other vitamins too?
To answer your question about have I been taking any B-12 before the test. Yes, I read about B-12 being a cause for what was going on and I wanted to try anything, so I was randomly taking some sublingual B-12 that I had leftover here from my naturopath. Nothing with any regularity, maybe one a day for a week or so? I can't really remember.

My labs:

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 23.2 Normal range - 32-100
Folates (Folic Acid), Serum 15.4 Normal range >5.4
Vitamin B12 892 pg/ml Normal range 211-911
TSH 3.385 Normal Range 0.350-5.5
Iron Bind. Cap. (TIBC) 403 ug/dL Normal range 250-450
Iron Saturation 6% Normal range 15-55
Iron,Serum 24ug/dL Normal range 35-155
UIBC 379 ug/dL Normal range 150-375

CBC with Differential was all normal
Basic Metabolic Panel (8) all normal

I am still terrified. I just want to feel better so badly. I have 3 kids, one is 2 years old and I just need and want to be a Mom and feel healthy. Any further guidance and help is much appreciated.
I plan to fax my labs to my naturopath, he is out of town until Tuesday.

anxiety
 

typically can make you breathe differently. If you hyperventilate, you change
the acidity of the blood and then you get alarming sensations.

You have 3 children. That says to me that your body provided many nutrients for their development. Many moms can be low in essential fatty acids since
the brain robs the mother of these nutrients. So it would be a good idea to
take some flaxoil or fish oil to see if that improves things for you.

Also you have to look at what you put in your mouth. Candies? certain foods make it worse? Even your toothpaste may be irritating you. Many people cannot tolerate triclosan which is in many toothpaste formulas.

You don't mention what drugs you may be taking.... Birth control pills?
Do you have migraines? Some migraines have auras involving the face/eyes and mouth.

So there are many other things to consider.

The new TSH guidelines have a different scale to isolate hypothyroidism.
You are over the new scale guidelines. (which only go up to 3.0)
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/testsfor...a/newrange.htm

These are just some other things to consider.

I have LOW ferritin, (16) low thyroid, low vitamin D (6) and high Parathyroid (PTH) and low ionized calcium. The low vitamin D is the culprit, in my case, causing all the other numbers to be out of whack. One can have normal calcium seen on a metabolic panel but the real answer is taking an IONIZED CALCIUM blood test. Since the Vitamin D is the culprit to all my woes, I have symptoms of all the out of range medical problems. The key is to keep the vitamin D up into the 40-50 range and everything else will fall back into place. Been there...so many times. This is also affecting my heart.

I do have mS and always blamed it for all my problems...until I found out my Vit D level was less than 2! this is the second time this has happened last time it was 8. I was on high dose Vit d and then got kidney stones...so not sure where I am heading right now.