Any ideas?

[Wornoutbody]

I have been suffering from exhaustion and iron deficiency anaemia for as long as I can remember. Drs only act when I am pregnant usually! I pushed for bloods a couple of weeks ago as I was struggling to cope with my day to day life and concentrating at work. My bloods came back at Hb 66 (6.6) and ferritin too low to read so I am now having an iron infusion next week as I cannot absorb iron. I requested before to be tested for PA is 7 members of my family have it but the GP said that as my RBC's weren't large then I don't have it but I have since read that this is not always the case. I have many symptoms... obviously a number of which could just be due to iron deficiency anaemia, exhaustion, shortness of breath, difficulty getting to sleep, brain fog, irritability, tinnitus, numbness in feet and tingling fingers as well as starting to go grey at 22. I do have extremely heavy periods so this is likely to account for the iron deficiency but I am worried that it is just distracting from the other issues whichay indicate pernicious anaemia. Any thoughts gratefully received.

[wedgewood]

You do not have to have enlarged red blood cells to have PA . That is definite .Your doctor should know this . Your symptoms are reminiscent of PA , and with your family history , that possibility should be explored. Best wishes to you

Next time at the doctors , take a friend with you . Read all the articles on this forum -they are very informative .

[Wornoutbody in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you for your reply. Yes I have read a lot since my cousin suggested I may have PA as I had exactly the same symptoms as her....I didn't even Know that we had a strong family link before that. Thanks for the advice,I shall read the suggested articles and perhaps have a chat with the staff in the haematology dept when I have my infusion 😊

[KimberinUS]

h pylori is a root cause of b12 and iron issues.

and it runs in families due to being contagious. since families kiss, and use the same silverware, plates and cups!!!

it is worth asking about h pylori, especially since he is poo pooing your b12 request!!!

i had h pylori with no heartburn which is the classic symptom.

if you are positive you can then get on a high horse and demand b12 testing as it is KNOWN to cause b12 def.

and yes, you can have a b12 def with low mcv if you also have iron deficiency.

best of luck and health