MMA test?!

[Tara-]

Hi all,

Wonder if you can help me out ... around 6 weeks ago I started having some not very nice symptoms incl tingles/pins and needles, brain fog, memory problems, breathlessness, extreme fatigue and muscle weakness and needed to take a good few weeks of work to rest. On having bloods taken at that time my b12 came back as 241 (lowest on range 150) low iron of 16 (lowest on range 15), low vit d of 39 (lowest on range 50) and dr initially told me all normal get some multivitamins! I pushed further with my dr (she spoke to a consultant) and I was later prescribed high dose vit d and iron and she wouldn't do anything about my b12 despite me giving lots of info re: treating symptoms, grey area etc etc. As I was worried about neurological symptoms and any further damage being caused I started taking a good b12 complex with folate and lots of the b12 betteryou sublingual spray. I was able to get referrals to haematology, gastroenterologist and neurologist and although my symptoms have eased they still remain. Dr has since done the intrinsic factor test and that came back negative and she has now decided although I was told point blank 'it isn't b12 deficiency' to do the mma test. I've been taking lots of b12, so guessing this test at this stage would be of no use for a b12 deficiency diagnosis? Also, if the test comes back negative is this a good sign that b12 is getting to my cells? 🤔

Really appreciate any advice 🙂

[Hidden]

you need sufficient vit D3 ; Presumably you are not getting any sunlight . Lots of sun provide vit d3 free.

[Tara- in reply to Hidden]

I definitely need more sunlight Hidden .. unfortunately I'll need to settle for the vit d3 until they start prescribing holidays! Hehe! 🙃

[greenbexy]

As Hidden says, lots of vitamin D. The symptoms do overlap, mine was 12, range (50-250). It's best to get levels up first and recheck. Low iron will also make you feel pretty rubbish too.

[Tara- in reply to greenbexy]

greenbexy i agree all symptoms can overlap and feel rubbish ... numbers are going up though with supplements. It's just the b12 I'm working on now and hope the sublinguals wil be enough, as dr refusing injections. Take care 🙂

[greenbexy in reply to Tara-]

I'm pretty sure that any B12 supplements can also affect the MMA test. At least your GP has referred you to the right places, hopefully you will get some answers. 😊

[Tara-]

Thanks Hidden , I guess I need to give it some time yet. Take care 👍

[Gambit62 Administrator]

intrigued as your post mentions that the symptoms came on quite suddenly - this would point to folate deficiency rather than B12 deficiency. What are you folate levels like?

[Tara- in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit62 , sorry if not very clear in my post ... some symptoms have been creeping up for a while such as fatigue and brain fog, others weren't so obvious until they got worse, so muscle weakness has been there a couple of months and progressively became more severe, as did the tingling. My folate when tested at the beginning of June was 5.7 (range 3.10-19.90), however when tested again at the beginning of this month has risen to 8.5 with supplements, so hopefully on the right tracks 🙂

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Tara-]

thanks for clarifying