I haven't had a regular GP for years because a/ we haven't been in the country and b/ I don't trust them!
However, in order to get to the bottom of what I think is low B12 I was willing to go down the GP route.
Living in a rural area means surgeries are few and far between and there is just one in our 'catchment' area that we can register with. This in itself was a task that took time and immense amounts of patience!
Once I finally got to see the GP he decided that I didn't need a blood test as my diet (I am a raw vegan) was to blame for any/all ills and I should just eat better.....oh, and the fact that I am peri-menopausal also explains my symptoms apparently and I should consider HRT.....
Ok, then time well spent I would say!!
My symptoms are:
Extreme fatigue
Memory loss
Foggyness/jumbled thoughts
Tingling in my finger tips (when I get really tired).
Numbness in my toes.
Unable to catch my breath (again when I am really tired).
Finding this forum has been a godsend and I have been taking B12 sublingually for about a month/6 weeks now.
It helps a little, but my job is very active and long hours and it is not enough. So, I am looking to self - inject.
However, I am thinking that I should really still get a blood test done before I go any further.
I am happy to pay for this privately and have been looking online to see if this would be a good option.
In order for the test to mean anything you would need to stop taking B12 for a while before hand - if you are looking at serum B12 then this would be 3 to 6 months. I think the period for active B12 is a little less but if you have the tests done without stopping then the results aren't going to mean anything.
There is a huge overlap between symptoms of B12 and other conditions so is good to look at other things like thyroid etc.
What type of supplementation have you been using to date? Might be worth trying a few other forms of supplementation before resorting to self injection.
Amazing how little GPs know about B12 ... and amazing that it never occurs to them that even if diet isn't rich in B12 that doesn't necessarily rule out an absorption problem as well - particularly as the body is very efficient at recycling B12 so a deficiency implies that recycling may have gone wrong as well ... and that's an absorption problem.
Number of people on here have used bluehorizon - think the main complaint would probably be around not being advised that they needed to stop supplementing before the test was done - but sure others will comment as they feel appropriate.
Other tests to look at in relation to B12 are
MMA (best done as urine test)
and homocysteine.
Both looking at 'waste' products that the body recycles if it has enough B12 ... and both are harmful, so not good to have them building up.
Sorry forgot to mention: HRT not necessarily a good idea - artificial forms of progesterone have been linked to B12 deficiency ... and artificial forms of oestrogen have been linked to higher rates of cancer.
B12D can certainly make symptoms of peri-menopause worse - from personal experience.
Thank you for your comments and knowledge. It is a big help.
I have been reading this afternoon about homocysteine and ordered a book by Patrick Holford so will read that well when it arrives.
My symptoms of peri - menopause have not been too bad to date and I can manage them well with supplementation - would not resort to HRT in a million years so no fears there.
Thanks again for your help, it all enables me to build a bigger picture of what may be going on and how to tackle it.
If you have Pernicious Anaemia, the test for that would not be influenced by your supplementing B12. Its how I found that I have P.A. I went to a Nuffield Hospital to see a private G.P. (£90 last year) and had a blood test(£70) which showed huge values for B12 because I had supplemented with sub-lingual lozenges, and was wearing several B12 patches(but my symptoms prevailed in spite of that!)! But the antibodies to the Intrinsic Factor showed up, and I started treatment with loading doses of Hydroxocobalamin,which worked very well. Unfortunately people with P.A. do not necessarily exhibit the antibodies.(there is a name for this sort of P.A., but it escapes me!) My homocysteine level was 20 before starting injections. It is now 7. I had to pay for those,as my surgery wouldn't.(£150 per test at York Laboratories. ) Don't know if any of this will help you.But I wish you all the best in your pursuit of good health.
I have had every one of those symptoms and the result was pernicious anemia. Please get another opinion immediately as this can lead to stomach cancer. It's a B12 deficiency. My health has deteriorate since being diagnosed with it 5 years ago. Got irreversible nerve damage in my leg and feet, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and I am obese at 5 feet 10 and 17 stone. The OAPs get up when I get on a bus to give me a seat. Hardly ever go out. Please get a second opinion before it's too late. I had to wait 2 years to see a neurologist to get a diagnosis. Damage was already done by then. btw I live in Scotland
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