I'm going up the hospital early Monday as I've requested the following tests and got the sheet to take with them listed:
MMA & Homocysteine
Copper & Zinc
Morning Cortisol & baseline ACTH
Is it OK for me to keep injecting or should I stop? I inject 2 or 3 times daily usually to keep symptoms at bay...
Thanks for any advice, been searching but not found the right key phrases to get good results!
Hmm... so as I posted that the related posts brought up some info suggesting that my MMA & Homocysteine may be normal due to the fact I've been injecting a lot of B12 (290-odd injections over the last 7 months). So not sure if there's any point in me feeling worse and stopping them!
My MMA levels seem to have stayed the same, at a level that is often called "mildly raised", no matter what the frequency of my injections has been. The important MMA level -after B12 deficiency diagnosis, but before any B12 injections, is unknown, as is my "normal" level.... since I am no longer "normal". MMA tests are not generally available or cheap, and so I'm guessing not many people get tested quite as frequently as I have (by Haematologists).
My results are always between 350 - 400 nmol/L (range 0-280) and I was once diagnosed with Functional B12 deficiency by GP, confirmed by laboratory once renal impairment ruled out. This has not helped me however, as various experts have tested homocysteine and found it to be "normal", active B12 and found that to be "normal", and was told that MMA would have been many many times higher before tissue-level transporter problems suspected. I'm injecting every other day. MMA and homocysteine levels are, so I've read, supposed to return to normal within a few weeks of B12 treatment.
It seems MMA can be mildly raised in the elderly, so if they all wait long enough........ at what age does "elderly" start ? I'm 60 soon !
As a metabolics consultant said, in all likelihood, I would have to stop injections completely for 3 months. Just to once again prove how "abnormal" I can get; I'm really not willing to lose partner, job, mind, hope etc. just to prove this again to someone else ! I already know what happens.
We're all different. Good luck to you, Steve, whatever you decide to do..
Thanks Cherylclaire - certainly is a nightmare to get anything sorted. I'm not holding out much hope for anything from the NHS but glad I can self-inject, just wish I could go two days without injecting, hopefully soon...
Still waiting after 3 years......
I'm currently taking antibiotics (1st time in over 20 years) in case raised MMA levels turn out to be SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) which steal vitamins from you and cause deficiencies. This is diagnosed (almost) by Lactulose breath test - I say almost because my diagnosis was " suggestive of either SIBO or fast transit" (meaning IBS I'm guessing) - which as diagnoses go, seems a little lily-livered !
We'll see.
It's all about the gut - I was pointed to Dr Myhill's work & got her books on kindle after watching a few videos. She's all about the paleo-keto diet - some pretty wise stuff there. I want to get my body into ketosis to burn fat instead of carbs. Worth watching her stuff, although she does "umm" a lot!
MMA and homocysteine 
Homocysteine mma.. . B12 help please
Homocysteine and MMA connected?
Homocysteine levels after injecting
