Advice much appreciated

[SusieR68]

Hello everyone,

I have been told today that I have a vitamin B12 166 (197-771) and also that my ferritin levels are below par 9.6 (20-130).

This is coexisting along side a vit D deficiency (medicated for the past 2 years for), recently diagnosed hashimoto disease/ hypothyroid problems.

I have a family history of my dad having pernicious anaemia and vit d deficiency, plus my older brother having vitamin d deficiency. Both my son's have low vitamin d, and youngest had hypothyroidism.

Any newby advice would be fab.

Thank you

[Gambit62 Administrator]

very common to have both hashis and PA - seems possible this is because the cells that make up the thyroid and those in the gut share a common source when you are an embryo.

My journey was the other way round - from PA to hashis ... and currently very much struggling with hashis.

Although the guidelines that most GPs follow in treating B12 can be problematic the good news is that B12 is something that is much easier to treat without resorting to endless tests than thyroid seems to be.

You may find this article on thyrogastric syndrome useful - think it is relatively easy to read.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[SusieR68 in reply to Gambit62]

Thanks for your reply. It all seems very interlinked and possibly genetically linked too?

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to SusieR68]

P.A. may "run" in families SusieR68

Has your doctor suggested testing you for Intrinsic Factor Antibodies (IFA)?

Sadly the IFA test is unreliable in that it gives false negatives in people with PA half the time. So a negative result doesn't mean that you don't have PA. However, a positive result is a sure-fire, 95% certain indicator of PA.

You may also need to have your Folate level checked as this and B12 help your iron to make red blood cells.

I'm not a medically trained person but I've had P.A. for over 45 years and I wish you well.