This hypochondriac is starting to believe in herself

[Justified]

Well,well,well...what can I say......after years of asking for help with my exhaustion, fuggy head, nausea,bloating etc and being fobbed off, eventually being given blood tests for thyroid at my sister's persuasion, we discovered B12, VitD & folate deficiencies. Got loading doses of B12 and felt normal for the first time in years. When I asked for them to be given regularly I had a fight on my hands, but doctor relented due to the fact that I had said that my neurological complaints had definitely improved after loading dose, but that it would only be for a few months trial. I had also shown photographs of my strange spontaneous bruising all over my legs to which the reply was "hmmm, never seen that before"...end of ! Recently I had a bad reaction to Metronizidole which had been prescribed for an abscess on my back. I read up on this antibiotic and learned it was used to treat H.Pylori, which is a major player in causes of B12 deficiency and this medication can cause thrombocytopenia. I had recently read up about causes of bruising and had discovered the existence of thrombocytopenia. Light bulb moment !!!

Still feeling awful , I made an appointment with my doctor and handed her my mapped out detective work, kind of like an equasion lol. The doctor looked at me like she believed I was definitely quite insane but did the little fake smile & perfunctory "okay, let's do a test, just to rule out"

This morning I got a call from my surgery to pick up antibiotics to treat Helicobacter Pylori !!!!! Boy, am I glad I learned to self inject from you guys as I was on my knees (still am but improving...second SI yesterday). I hope not too much permanent damage has been done, but very importantly, I KNOW I'm not just a hypochondriac, which even my family were starting to believe

[Foggyme Administrator]

Hi Peggylally66. Wow...that is such brilliant news 😀. And after so long. And just for the record, we believed you.

So very well done. It's really difficult having to challenge doctors and so sad that this is necessary. But you've done it...hurrah.

Hope your GP is also treating your folate and vitamin D deficiencies...but sure you'll chase them, if not 😀.

With respect to the HP, your GP should do a breath test two weeks post treatment to check that the treatment has been successful (mine took two successive courses of treatment before the HP was finally cleared).

Doctors are not very good at thyroid results / treatment either so when you get the thyroid results back, ask your doctors for a copy and post them on the Health Unlocked Thyroid Forum - very knowledgeable folks there will be able to help with interpretation and advice (since GP's often fail to treat appropriately).

Your success will give us all a real boost, so thank you for letting us know. And please do keep posting, especially if you need any more help with anything.

So a result! And onwards to better health. Well done you 👍😀😀 x

[Justified in reply to Foggyme]

Foggyme Thanks for that information. I absolutely know that you all believed me...it helped me retain my sanity. I know some people will start to think every ailment is due to their B12 but I'm not like that. That is why it was so frustrating. I just feel so indebted to you all, I honestly don't know where I would be without you. You, personally, have helped me more than you could know

[Marz in reply to Justified]

Foggyme has mentioned posting your Thyroid results when you have them. Many of us frequent both Thyroid UK and the PAS forum. I have Hashimotos - diagnosed at 59 back in 2005 - after a lifetime of illness - and also have a B12 issue so have weekly injections.

Often the GP will only test the TSH - and if in range they will say you are normal. The word we all love to hear. Sadly that is only a small part of the Thyroid story and due to cost cutting the more important FT4 and FT3 are very rarely tested. Low thyroid often goes with Low B12 and Low VitD.

Also Hashimotos is auto-immune and is the most common thyroid condition throughout the world - so it is important to have the anti-bodies tested too - Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg. I have read about some people having struggled for years and years without having their anti-bodies tested - only to learn at a very late stage. Yes of course the treatment is the same regarding thyroid treatment - but there is so much one can do to support the immune system.

So do try and obtain copies of all your blood tests - you are legally entitled to have copies so you are able to monitor your own health.

Happy to help. I am not a Medic - just a Hashimotos gal with a B12 issue

[Foggyme Administrator in reply to Justified]

Bless you Peggylally66. In truth, it's a collective effort. When I arrived here I was in much the same position as you, and the fine folks here gave me the tools to start fixing myself. And I learn something new every time I'm here. So really, I'm just recycling from the collective...😀

Take very good care X

[pvanderaa]

If you haven't already, start a logbook of all your symptoms. Try to make your own severity score assessment of each symptom.

The logbook serves several purposes. It supplements your memory for any short term memory loss which is a neurological symptom.

The repair of nerve damage is very slow. Any disruption can set you back.

The log lets you monitor progress and have rational discussions with your doctor about what is working and any new meds that set you back.

The hypochondriac phase is something we all go through. I kept finding new symptoms.

My GP prescribed antidepressants for my "anxiety". This just caused more neurological issues - tinnitus in my case.

Once you become familiar with which symptoms are from the deficiency and which ones are from the jab, you can calm down and de-stress.

One symptom from the jab that is counterintuitive is pain. As the nerve heals, the signal to the brain gets stronger. It takes a few days for the brain the recalibrate to the stronger signals. Worry about this symptom also seems to make it worse. Telling yourself it is a "good" symptom and working through the pain seems to make the pain go away faster.

Hunger is another symptom I get on the day of or day after the injection. I can eat like a horse.

[Allyson1 in reply to pvanderaa]

I agree, and as far as side effects of the shot go, I'd also add to make sure to eat potassium-rich foods, because the creation of new blood cells increases your need for electrolytes. My first symptom of low potassium is a tightening of my neck and arm muscles.

[fbirder]

Yipee!

I'm not at all sure if this is correct - and I've not been able to find out for sure, but I think Helicobacter pylori infection may be one of those causes of a B12 deficiency that are recoverable.

If it is the infection that causes the gastric atrophy with loss of parietal cells, then I would imagine that the GPCs should be able to grow back once the bacteria have been deaded. If that happens then your Intrinsic Factor should come back, enabling you to absorb B12 from your food.

However, it may be that the infection is what kicks off the production of antibodies - and the body continues to make them even after the bugs are gone.

Anybody else know which is which?

[Justified in reply to fbirder]

@fbirder...I was hoping that might be the case. I have probably had it for quite a long time so hopefully no permanent damage done. in saying that I have always had low energy although not been ill through it. in past years was often put on iron tablets