Undiagnosed, wondering about levels - Pernicious Anaemi...

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Undiagnosed, wondering about levels

startagaingirl profile image
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Hi everyone, I have just been diagnosed with auto-immune thryoiditis after doing a private blood test (also have vitiligo another auto-immune). As advised in Thyroid UK group I included B12 levels in the assay. This came back as a level of 278 - not massively low apparently but TRUK advise 500 min, 1000 ideal. So I have started daily Solgar 5000mcg sublingual lozenges. I am not vegetarian and eat plenty of meat, eggs, fish and dairy so a low B12 would be unexpected. Question - is that low enough to be suggestive of an underlying disorder like PA? If so is that an appropriate supplement? How long do I have to be off supplements for another blood test to be unaffected?

Thank you

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startagaingirl
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fbirder profile image
fbirder

Before you start injecting yourself unnecessarily - with unnecessary hassle, pain and expense, there are a few things you need to do.

Firstly, do you actually have any symptoms of B12 deficiency that cannot be explained by your existing conditions?

If yes, ask for a methylmalonic acid (MMA) blood test. That will determine if you are suffering from a functional B12 deficiency. (MMA is a chemical used up in one of the important reactions mediated by B12. If you don't have enough B12 then MMA levels increase).

startagaingirl profile image
startagaingirl in reply to fbirder

Hi fbirder,

Thank you for responding. I am not necessarily keen on injecting - seen enough needles recently to last me a lifetime!

I actually found out about the thyroid problems when ongoing (hard worked for!) weight loss slowed then just totally stopped in April. I then started getting unexplained fatigue and some slight breathlessness at times. The only nerve type symptoms I have are tinnitus (have had for years but maybe slightly worse recently), occasional episodes of dizziness and a failure to recover from nerve damage from surgery and chemo (was expected to have recovered more than has by now). Have already started to feel much better with iron/vit c/b/b12/magnesium combo (had been on d3 for a while) along with some levothyroxine. So I am probably not a major case and was just looking to learn a bit more.

These auto-immunes seem to run in my family as I am just becoming aware now so I want to learn on behalf of all of us.

Thank you

Gambit62 profile image
Gambit62Administrator

your current level is in the grey range - where people can be symptomatic of B12 deficiency but are still within the statistically 'normal' range. As you seem to have plenty of B12 in your diet that would imply that there is an absorption problem. PA is one possibility. The symptoms of PA are the symptoms of the B12 deficiency that it causes.

startagaingirl profile image
startagaingirl in reply to Gambit62

Thank you, I will keep going as is for now to keep improving symptoms. Will also ask close relatives if they have/to be tested. Can then go on from there.

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