First injections

[wildbri]

I am my wife's carer, she has been ill for three years. She visited a doctor at the hospital who did blood test and wrote to her to say she needed b12 injections. I must say that I am pleased that they have found something that can be treated. My wife does nothing but sit in her chair, says she is unable to even make a cup of tea. She has had two brain scans that came back clear, it has been suggested that she has dementia but I see no sign of it.

I take her a walk each day but she walks carefully as she is afraid of falling as she sometimes drags her feet. The skin on her face is peeling all the time and her eyes water constantly.

Now the question, after waiting three days for her own doctor to call us back, two days for the receptionist to call back to make the six appointments which were two weeks ahead so they could fit the six in, today was the day for them to start. Just had a phone call to cancel there is no one to do it! Now it is tomorrow so that means the second one is the day after not one day apart. DOES IT MATTER?

I have great expectations of these b12 injections and feel I may be rather pushy tomorrow if they try to fob us off.

Thanks and regards bri

[fbirder]

If your wife is B12 deficient then she wants to get the vitamin inside her as quickly as possible. It won't matter if the loading doses are on subsequent days. It may be a good idea to get one of the sublingual sprays to tide her over.

The next thing you need to do is get the doctor to investigate the cause of her deficiency. If it's Pernicious Anaemia she will need regular injections for life. The doctor will almost certainly try to tell her she needs no more than 4 injections per year. If this isn't enough - tell him. And don't be fobbed off.

[Sleepybunny]

Are you in the UK?

Some people find it helpful to talk to the PAS. lots of useful info on website. lifetime membership costs £20.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

01656 769 717

Also

b12deficiency.info/

and

b12d.org

martynhooper.com/

When I first joined this site I spent time looking at other threads besides my own and learnt a lot.

Does your wife have neurological symptoms? The treatment for B12 deficiency with neurological symptoms is more intensive including loading injections for a longer period and maintenance injections at shorter intervals.

patient.info/doctor/pernici...

See Management section.

Info on treatment is also in BNF (British National formulary) Chapter 9 section 1.2.

GPs will probably have a copy in their surgery...

and in "BCSH Cobalamin and Folate Guidelines"

symptoms lists

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

pernicious-anaemia-society....

See Symptoms Checklist

useful books

Could it be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses

by Sally Pacholok and JJ. Stuart

Very detailed book about B12 deficiency.

What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency

By Martyn Hooper

I gave a copy of this to my GPs. it's up to date with most recent UK guidelines.

Martyn Hooper is the chair of the PAS.