Refused B12 test

[Sharcott]

I left my previous practice because after showing severe symptoms of B12 deficiency I was refused a B12 test because I showed no signs of anemia, I am now self medicating. My Mother nearly died from B12 d. My Daughter is displaying some early syptoms like pounding heart and anxiety also very tired, the same Drs have refused her a B12 test saying they will only test her if she show signs of anemia, I am beside myself and dont know what to do. I have called the surgery and have asked to speak with the manager but I am guessing I may not hear back.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Sharcott do you have the test results that determined that you were not Anaemic?

If you can post them on here together with the ranges <from - to> someone on here will be able to advise you.

[Sharcott in reply to clivealive]

This is more for my daughter I am self medicating. You dont have to have Anemia to be B12 deficient

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Sharcott]

Treatment for PA and non-dietary vitamin B12 deficiency is virtually the same.

The sympotms of PA are the symptoms of the B12 deficiency that it causes. If the cause isn't dietary then it is an absorption problem so you need to find another way of replenishing B12 initially. Most absorption problems aren't treatable but a few are - notably h pylori infection - which would mean that once that has been dealt with you would be able to absorb B12 from your diet so wouldn't need maintenance shots for life.

[wedgewood]

You don’t have to have Anaemia to have PA

[JoannePA]

I have had low b12 at 113ng/l and my gp said the same..... it is not a pre-requisite for b12d to have anaemia. If i were you i would get the test done privately for your daughter through medichecks or blue horizon and then you can take thst to her doctor. Dont give her supplements though as that will skew the results and the gp is likely to want to do tgeir own tests once they see the results.

[MoKayD]

I don't understand why any doctor would refuse to give his patient a B12 test. It doesn't cost very much and a blood test is the only way to determine if someone has a deficiency. My doctor says that everyone over the age of 50 should have their B12 tested yearly because a deficiency in people over this age is so common.

[EVMD in reply to MoKayD]

Wow who is your Doctor!

[MoKayD in reply to EVMD]

I live in the state of Maryland in the US. Is it O.K. with this site to give out the name of a doctor? If so I'll gladly give you his name. I've only been seeing him for a little over a year now. My former doctor retired after I had been with him for 30 years. I was lucky to find such a good doctor so quickly.

[Sharcott in reply to MoKayD]

Thats an amazing Dr

[MoKayD in reply to Sharcott]

When I go to my doctor's office for my monthly shot there is usually another patient there waiting for their B12 shot. I joke with the nurses that they should open a drive thru window for B12 shots. Patients could just drive up, stick their arms out of the window and get a shot without ever getting out of their car. We Americans love our drive thrus.

[Ellen-C]

don't wait for signs of outright anemia. the anemia part of it doesn't show up in your red blood cells until wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down to rock bottom on B12. B12 "deficiency" is the "before" bit that can be years of symptoms, before you get to the red blood cells enlarging to compensate, which is the pernicious part. by the time you're pernicious you've gone through years and years of symptoms. You can get B12 patches to wear daily and also get liquid B12 3000 mcg a day, or sublingual 1200 mcg, but if you're deficient to any degree you may need injections for a while, and if you're showing that you're gut is no longer able to absorb B12 through a parietal cell antibody test, then you may need injections life long, BUT you can do your own injections once you get stabilized and ask to do that. it's easy. I'm getting all my adult kids checked, as they all show signs of B12 deficiency. Get a B12, MMA and homocysteine test for accurate diagnosis. My grandmother almost died of pernicious anemia in the late 1930s, so we may have the gene abnormality also, which can run in families, haven't checked on that yet. But do get your daughter if not tested at least get her B12 patches or sublingual or liquid form to use everyday. You can't overdose on B12, your body just pees out excess. you have to take it daily though and might not notice any improvement for like a month on sublingual tablets, and get the highest dose you can like 3000 mcg a day. most tabs are 1200 mcg. Give it a try, see if it helps her. Also look at the moons in your fingernails, if they are all missing then you have B12 deficiency. It's a classic sign of it. You will likely be absent all the moons except your thumb.

[Sharcott in reply to Ellen-C]

Very interesting I have never had moons

[Sharcott]

Brill will prinyt off