What to ask.....?

[Natty91]

Hi guys,

I have a doctors appt booked for tomorrow regarding my B12 levels.

As you can probably see from my previous posts I had a blood test done in October last year and my level was just 120 (range 200-900). I had my loading injections and a follow up blood test in May. I rang the surgery to get my results was was told no further action was required as I was now within range (my levels had increased to just 208)!! So i bookedbthe appt as i personally thought my levels would have increased more after 5 injections. My folte level also dropped from 9.2 which was october and now only 4.9. I am taking follic acid tablets now and a B12 mouth spray. I still feel fatigued and get heart palpitations occaasionlly and the odd tummy upset here and there but other than these things i feel fine.

What questions should i be asking my doctor tomorrow?

Thanks 😊

[Gambit62 Administrator]

main q would be what they think caused you to become deficient in the first place. If it wasn't diet then it has to have been an absorption problem.

As B12 is absorbed in the ileum it will have been a problem there. whilst the body may store b12 in the liver it is released in bile into the ileum for reabsorption so this will at best be very inefficient and stores in the liver will be quickly depleted - so you will become deficient again.

BCSH guidelines (unless the absorption problem is treatable (eg h pylori infection) is treatment with maintenance doses. They do not support maintenance treatment on the basis of serum B12 results - further testing is deemed unnecessary unless there is reason to believe there is non-compliance with treatment.

[Natty91 in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you