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Who best to refer to? (Endocrinology, Neurology etc?)

macduck1 profile image
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Despite injecting weekly, taking folate and other B vitamins. My husband still continues to experience crushing fatigue and mood swings (amnesia etc) when not rested i.e. sleeping 11 hours plus at night and 2 hours in the day. His pins and needles, psoriasis, brain fog and pallor among other things have improved though.

His doctor has referred him on to haemotology but they have refused the referral not sure why as yet. Who would you reccomend he be referred to?

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macduck1
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designer8 profile image
designer8

Hi mackduck1 - I was just saying to someone today that despite seeing two GPs and a haematologist (and paying over $1000 for the privilege) the only person who's been able to help me has been a naturopath. The haematologist I saw (not my idea) was of no help to me in the short term and, when you've got bad symptoms, as your husband does, and as I did, it's now you need the help! I've had myriad symptoms and was astounded at how quickly she knew what the problem was and how to start to helping me. I know what it's like to be so desperate that you'll try anything, but if you find a good naturopath who really knows their stuff, I'm sure it will help. Good luck :) BTW - before I started seeing the naturopath, my idea was to start taking all the B vitamins, including folate, etc. Thankfully I didn't, because I would have taken them in completely the wrong order (Google folate trapping) and probably made my symptoms worse.

Foggyme profile image
FoggymeAdministrator

Hi Macduck1.

Usual to refer to a neurologist for ongoing neurological symptoms to rule out any other potential underlying condition (neurolgical symptoms can have many causes, not just B12 deficiency).

Take care if supplementing with vitamin B6. Over supplementation with B6 can cause neuro-toxicity, neurological symptoms, and (potentially) neurological damage (which may or may not be reversible). Many vitamin B complex preparations or multi-dose B vitamins contain hugh doses of vitamin B6 (sometimes 300% of the RDA) and even 100% RDA is too much if the body doesn’t need it. Worth checking the dosage he takes. Also think about cutting out the B6 for a while to see if it makes a difference. And perhaps take B vitamins separately, if needed (to exclude the B6).

Referral to an endocrinologist would not be usual for further investigation of B12 deficiency. An endocrinologist specialises in treating disorders of the endocrine system (i.e. hypo/hyperthyroidism, diabetes, pituitary disorders, adrenal disorders, Cushing or Addison’s disease etc.). So, not really appropriate for PA/B12 deficiency but could be useful if you or your doctor suspect an underlying problem with the endocrine system.

Ongoing gastric or intestinal issues would usually be investigated further by a gastroenterologist (though from what we hear here, it appears that many of them have a poor understanding of PA and B12 deficiency - unless you're lucky and hit on a good one).

I also note that you say he’s has psoriasis (an autoimmune condition). Autoimmune conditions tend to occur in clusters so it's possible (but not certain) that something else could be going on in the autoimmune department. Might be worth asking his GP to run a routine antibody screen (along with CRP and ESR) to rule out the possibility of another underlying autoimmune condition (if he hasn’t already done so, and especially if your husband continues to have unresolved symptoms).

An antibody screen cannot be used to diagnose any specific condition, so if any of his antibodies are raised, this would require onward referral to a rheumatologist for further investigations (they have access to more complex and specific antibody tests).

Good luck to you both.

👍

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