Can you be free of pa

[mjm1929]

Hi all can anyone let me know I was told in 2008 I had pa and posted my folic acid daily dose plus my daily cal-d and been told by a lot of people on here the dosage is far to much so would this give false blood readings also once you have pa is it something that can go or is it a condition you have for life I sleep night and day just can't do a thing I am so depressed feeling like this don't want to go out even to doing daily house work ain't in me never feel like my old self I just want to feel happy thank you

[taka Administrator]

Sorry I don't have time to go through your posts to work out what amounts of folic acid and cal-D you are on so someone else will have to answer that bit.

I just wanted to jump on here and say that PA can't be cured. It is an autoimmune condition that you will have for the rest of your life and consequently you will need B12 injections to treat it for the rest of your life in order to keep you well.

Are you getting regular injections at the moment? Have you had your ferritin / iron levels checked recently? Low iron can make you feel very tired and very unwell too.

[taka Administrator in reply to taka]

Lunchtime! I've had a read of your previous post now.

Did you manage to get an appointment to speak to your GP about the folic acid and Cal-D (Vitamin D) tablets? Blood tests looking at these would just show the levels of these in your blood as far as I know. Folic acid could possibly mask signs of macrocytic anaemia (large red blood cells) that can be a sign of untreated B12 deficiency / PA but this is unlikely to be the case for you as you appear to be having regular B12 injections.

I would go see your GP and discuss whether you still need these supplements after so long, and whether they may be causing some of the tiredness / depression symptoms you have. If you still need to take these doses (eg in light of other medical problems you may have) your GP may be able to change you to other medication / versions of them that may cause less side effects.

Good luck.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

just to add to what taka says about PA being incurable ...

PA is an autoimmune disorder that causes a B12 deficiency. The symptoms of PA are the symptoms of the B12 deficiency that it causes. You can be cured of a B12 deficiency by receiving B12 shots. You can't be cured of PA, which means you will always have problems absorbing B12 from your food and you won't be able to store B12 in your liver. Eventually the B12 you receive in an injection will be used or removed from your body by your kidneys ... and most of it gets removed. That is why you will need maintenance shots for life.

[mjm1929]

Thank you all so much for your help does anyone know of any good supplements that I can take that will help me with my tiredness and give me some get up and go I just want to be able to be awake in day day time and be able to do things

[Raven321]

I don't know if PA is something that can go away. But it is manageable with the right medication and support. If whatever your on isn't working maybe see your GP again and change meds? You have to find the strength within yourself. I really advice you change your medication or GP as gp's these days haven't got a clue about PA. Good luck and stay strong