Diagnosis Pernicious Anemia

Thank You For The Add...I Have Been Sick Since August 2016...B-12 Levels Were Low 300's...I've Had Symptoms For Years...25 Years...Neurological, Gastric...Shortness Of Breath & Periods Of Depression...Our Body Is A Complicated Amazing Machine...The Liver Stores B-12 For 6 Years After The Onset Of A Deficiency...I've Been Misdiagnosed With Asthma...Since My B-12 Shots & Levels Back To Normality The Shortness Of Breath Has Disappeared...I've Had Blood Work That Shows My Red Blood Cells Are Oval Shape...Palatial Test Positive For Pernicious Anemia...This Coming Wednesday I Am Going In For An Endoscopy & Colonoscopy...I'm On Weekly Shots Until Complete Diagnosis...& Yes I Had To Advocate For Myself Because Unfortunately The Medical Knowledge Within The Field Is Disappointing...I Had Mohs Surgery In November Because I Had BCC Skin Cancer (Nose)...When I Filled Out My Medical Forms With The Dermatologist It Asked If I Was B-12 Deficient...So Somehow There's A Connection With Autoimmune Disease & Cancer...Not Just Stomach Cancer...My Levels For Iron Are Normal...So The Risk For Stomach Cancer Is Low...There Are Many Factors That Can Contribute To Pernicios Anemia...Celiac Disease, Etc...This Has Been Going On For Over 25 Years...But As A Woman We're Told It's All In Our Head...Easy Statement Made By A Physician That Doesn't Have An Answer...I'm An Recovering Alcoholic...28 Years Sober...So Not Sure If The Damage Was Done That Long Ago...So Hopefully I'll Have A Diagnosis Within A Few Weeks...♡

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

You've been through a lot Linda and for a long time. Glad you can breathe again!

Do you know if anyone else in your family had Pernicious Anaemia ?

"We're told it's all in our head" : It would be interesting to know how much being a woman is likely to contribute to a diagnosis of depression (for example) instead of B12 deficiency, even if your GP is a woman herself, and whether age is also a factor or not? In other words, are men more likely to get believed by GPs, male or female? Are post-menopausal women more likely than anyone else to be given anti-depressants? Only saying this because I've been offered them 4 times now !

"28 years sober"- well done for that. The liver is supposed to be really good at self-repair, so hopefully, any damage that may have been done has had plenty of time now to do that.

Wish you luck on Wednesday with your -oscopies !