Recently diagnosed folate/B12 deficiency

[Christaf]

I am a fibromyalgia sufferer and when my dad passed away suddenly the other new symptoms I had were put down to grief by my GP. As things weren't improving I went back and it was a locum. He took bloods and few days later I had a call from my GP to say I had folate and B12 deficiency and this will be a life long condition. I have now to take folic acid daily and yesterday stated the first of 6 injections. My mother has the same deficiency but they didn't think to check me for this. My great grandmother had pernicious anaemia. Does this run in families? Can fibromyalgia make this worse. I'm 52 I am a lover of all green vegetables and fish which I eat a lot of but I am dairy intolerant. I do occasionally eat cheese. Are these added factors?

[clivealive Forum Support]

Do you know whether you were tested for Pernicious Anaemia as yes it can be "inherited",

[Christaf in reply to clivealive]

I'm not sure if I was. This is something I will ask next visit.

[BirgitteG]

Sorry about your loss!

Yes, PA runs in families - if you have family members with PA, it'll be a strong indicator that you can get it yourself.

It's an autoimmune condition, and you can get more autoimmune conditions eventually. Fibromyalgia is not at the moment classified as an autoimmune condition, so there doesn't have to be a connection.

We get b12 from meat, eggs, dayries and fish. But if you can't absorb it, it doesn't matter how much food with b12 you get. You have to get it otherwise.

I'll recommend that you find information on your condition. You can google 'b12 deficiency' and get a lot to read!

You don't write anything about your symptoms - if you have neurological symptoms you might experience them getting worse for some time, before they disappear! If you have anaemia it is very important to eat a lot of potassiumrich food (google!) - and I would recommend to have coconut water in the fridge in case you feel lightheaded and weak! I used to drink a liter during some hours. Keep doing that until you feel better!

Best wishes!

[Christaf in reply to BirgitteG]

Thank you for your information. I have had a lot of symptoms such as migraine headaches, dizziness, nausea, mouth ulcers, hair loss, lethargy, sleeplessness, joint pains to name a few. To be honest I just didn't know what was going on with my body. I just wanted to stay in bed some days but wasn't able to and was putting a lot down to being over tired and not dealing with the loss of my Dad. I have been reading about this and will do all I can to start feeling a bit normal again ☺

[ttull]

Do you know whether you were tested for mutation in the MTHFR gene?

[Christaf in reply to ttull]

I really don't know about that.

[mightydrunken]

Sounds like you may have been diagnosed with PA as it was described as a life long condition. Your low folate may be a consequence of low B12, with normal B12 levels your body can reuse folate used in the methylation cycle.

"Can fibromyalgia make this worse?"

I like being an optimist, and there is a huge overlap in the symptoms of B12 deficiency and fibromyalgia. So it is possible that you don't have fibromyalgia and treatment with B12 and folate will fix these symptoms You shall find out, it can take a few months though.

One thing to be aware of, if you are put on injections every 2 months, for the rest of time, some people find that isn't enough and symptoms begin to return before the next injection. If that happens then you can try to get your Doctor to increase the frequency or supplement with 1mg B12 sublinguals.

[Christaf in reply to mightydrunken]

Thank you for your information ☺

[MariLiz]

I have thyroid, fibromyalgia and Pernicious Anaemia. So it is possible to have these things together. Hope the injections will help you feel better, and my sympathy on the loss of your Dad.