Should I get tested?

[Rent45]

Hello, I am new to discovering what PA is. When I was born I was told I was anemic, however my mother never said or now cannot remember which form it is. However I have a strong hunch it PA. Here are the symptoms I am having:

-heart rate increase when cold/ I was born with a heart murmur

-my feet and hands if not covered will get cold and stay cold. Just yesterday my feet got cold while I was outside I came back home and stayed under covers with socks on from8:33 am to 2:00pm and my feet remained still as cold.

- tiredness

- shortness of breath

-stomach aches/ nausea

- chest pains (happening a lot more frequently)

- I have poor balance. I walk into everything and can slip on air.

It never when I was 19 my doctor wanted to but me on B12 but my family was having a ton of issues and I ended up moving to a different state and for years couldn’t get healthcare so now that I’m 23 I finally have insurance.

Should I get checked for PA?

[fbirder]

You need, at a minimum, the get your blood levels of B12, iron and folate measured. A deficiency of any of those could cause anaemia.

[wedgewood]

It is quite possible that you have Pernicious Anaemia .Your symptoms point in that direction . You need to have a blood test that reveals the state of your B12 and also if you have antibodies to the Intrinsic Factor .This test is unfortunately very unreliable if you test negative , which is quite a common occurance. There are many symptoms for P.A. Tiredness , shortage of breath, poor balance , walking into everything and stomach aches with nausea are some of the common symptoms . Pernicious Anaemia is an autoimmune disease , and the antibodies attack the parietal cells in the stomach , which affects the body’s ability to absorb B12 ,resulting in low /no stomach acid and no Intrinsic Factor . The lack of stomach acid —Achlorhydria/ Hypochlorhydria upsets the flora of the stomach , resulting in stomach aches and nausea . ( it’s horrible — I had that too ) You need to get tested ASAP . I recommend that you read Sally Pacholok’s book “ Could it be B12 ?” ( Amazon ) Also our Chairman Martyn Hooper has written 3 books on the subject “What you need to know about Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency “ , “Living with Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency “ and “ Pernicious Anaemia : the Forgotten Disease : The causes and Consequenses of vitamin B12 Deficiency .” Sally Pacholok is an American nurse , and so l believe she is a compatriot of yours . All the books are obtainable from Amazon.com Very best wishes .

[deniseinmilden]

Definitely. If you need treatment you should get it ASAP after your levels have been established.