Keeping an eye on Mum!

[peita]

hi I joined because my Mum [87 years] has been diagnosed with B12 deficiency, amongst other things!! And I wanted to better understand the condition, and what can be done for her.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Welcome peita . You can post as many questions as you like on here and there are many who will be able to give you good advice.

Well done for looking after Mum so well.

P.S. Lovely Picture

[Foggyme Administrator]

Hi Peita and welcome. Your mum is really lucky to have someone to watch over her.

B12 deficiency is a very complex condition and GP's are, on the whole, extremely ill informed about the condition. For this reason, many here attempt to become their own experts so that they can help their GP's to help them.

There are a number of PAS pinned posts to the right of the page when you first log on. These give lots of valuable information about the condition and are certainly worth a read - especially those about treatment regimes. GP's very often get this wrong so it's really worth checking to make sure your mum is on the right treatment regime. Don't want to overload you with information at this.point, so I won't go into this right now 😀.

You've certainly come to the right place. There are lots of people here who can pop along to help you, so please do post again whenever you want support or have any questions.

We look forward to seeing your posts in the future and the very best of luck to you and your mum x

[Polaris]

I'm so glad your mum has a diagnosis and you to advocate for her, Peita, as many GPs are not aware that older people can become B12 deficient owing to a reduction in hydrochloric acid (leading to lack of absorption issues), not to mention various medications which may also deplete vitamin B12.

This is a helpful site for information with an excellent film that explains these problems:

b12deficiency.info/what-are...

Very best wishes to you both

[Polaris]

PS. Just came across this piece on hydrochloric acid and thought you might find it interesting, if not already seen.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

I found the following useful to read...

1) The book "Could it Be B12" by Sally Pacholok and JJ, Stuart.Has many case studies of b12 deficiency including some of elderly people with b12 deficiency.

2)Martyn Hooper's latest book "What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency". It is up to date with UK guidelines.Martyn is the chair of the PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society). He has written other books about PA and B12 deficiency. I found his book "Living with Pernicious Anaemia" good too.

3) try googling "BCSH Cobalamin and Folate Guidelines"

These are UK guidelines that came out in 2014. Unfortunately some Gps may not have read them. Page 8 has details of UK B12 treatment. Page 29 is a diagnosis flowchart that shows the recommended process, doctors should follow with someone who they think has B12 deficiency.

4)bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5226

Do you know what is causing your mum's B12 deficiency?

Has she had an IFA(Intrinsic Factor Antibody) test? This test can help to diagnose PA (Pernicious Anaemia) but it is not very reliable and a person can still have PA even if the IFA test is negative. it's possible for a person to have more than one cause of b12 deficiency at the same time.

b12deficiency.info/what-are...

UK b12 websites

b12deficiency.info/

pernicious-anaemia-society....

martynhooper.com/

b12d.org

b12 Treatment

What treatment is your mum getting?