b12 deficiancy pernicious anemia MMA blood result

[chrissytipps]

hello

after struggling for many years my hospital that i see for migraines decided to run bloods and then do a mma blood test.

i am confused by this reading,i have been told it is elavated and shouldnt be and is a good indicator that i have pernicious anemia,which my father has also,which he went undiagnosed for years as his results showed all ok,but like myself is unable to absorb at tissue level.

my gp is now doing extra bloods which we are unsure of why as the mma should be enough?

any help would be appreciated,thankyou.

my mma result is 294 nmol/L

[clivealive Forum Support]

"Methylmalonic acid is a chemical used up in one of the cellular reactions mediated by B12. If there's not enough B12 in the cell then MMA levels will rise. If they're not high then it means your cellular levels of B12 are OK. High levels of plasma MMA (>0.75umol/L0 almost invariably indicate cobamalin deficiency."

I cannot remember where I got the above quote and as I'm not medically trained cannot "interpret" what it means. Hopefully someone on here will be able to give you advice.

Have you been tested for Intrinsic Factor antibodies?

[chrissytipps in reply to clivealive]

thank you for your reply..

im not aware that i have been tested for intrinsic factor...this is all new to me..

just hoping my gp may show a bit more interest...as at the moment it is minimal...

[fbirder]

High MMA is a good indicator of insufficient B12 getting into the cells. But that's not the only possible cause. Kidney problems can also raise MMA levels, and I'd guess that your doc is testing for that.

It's also likely that your serum B12 is being tested as is the presence of antibodies to Gastric Parietal Cells or Intrinsic Factor.

Do you have any other symptoms apart from the migraines?

[chrissytipps in reply to fbirder]

Yes symptoms of hair loss scoriasis muscle aches vision not good extreme fatigue tingling in hands and feet