B12 deficiency or PA

[Alfabeta]

I was diagnosed as b12 deficient about three years ago and placed immediately on the injection cycle - injection every 12 weeks. I do not have the symptoms of pa as regularly expressed in this forum. My b12 deficiency (in my opinion) was likely to have been caused by my vegetarian diet coupled with my doctor prescribing me omaprezole which I took daily for around six years.

My question is - how do I know if I can absorb b12 from food and supplements or, like the sufferers of pa, I have insufficient stomach acid or whatever which prevents me from absorbing b12 naturally.

The only indication I was given was a retest ordered by the doctor in the eighth week after my injection which, he claimed showed my b12 was within range. I had been taking high dosage b12 tablets but stopped for 5 days prior to the test.

The injections do stop my symptoms but they recur regularly during weeks 6 to 7 then usually cease until my next injection.

I eat enough b12 foods daily and use a b12 spray and take tablets daily.

Can I I jest b12 or not based on this information?

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Alfabeta if you have recurring symptoms in the run up to your next scheduled injection the latest BNF guidelines say you are "entitled" to injections after eight weeks instead of twelve.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/hydrox...

I am not a medically trained person but hope this helps

[Alfabeta in reply to clivealive]

Thanks, Clive. Just been to the doctors and told him this. Sending me for a blood test. I told him this was pointless as I take b12 supplements. He said if you have enough b12 in your system and I still get symptoms then it’s not lack of b12 that is causing the symptoms. I don’t know how one gets round this logic. My fear now is that my b12 level will be within range and my injections will be stopped.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Alfabeta]

Your doctor should be treating your symptoms not just looking at the computer screen.

The British Society for Haematology guidelines say on the Diagnosis of B12 and Folate Deficiency "In the presence of discordance between the test result and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment".

google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j...

[Gambit62 Administrator]

having enough petrol available at the local filling station is no use if the petrol pump isn't working every time you go to fill up.

What really matters with B12 isn't the amount in your blood but the amount that is getting into your cells and how efficiently your cells are using it. Absorbing B12 from food and getting it into your blood is one step that can go wrong - the step that transfers B12 from blood to cells is another step and seems to be significantly affected in some people by having had injections, and the third step is using it in your cells (problems there tend to be genetic and rare).

[Alfabeta in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you for your response Gambit. Have you ever tried to explain a fact to an arrogant person who assumes they know what they are talking about? Reflecting on my doctors logic he was confusing a medicine with a vitamin. I think this is the crux of the problem with doctors and b12

[No_fixed_abode in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit, you say ' the step that transfers B12 from blood to cells is another step and seems to be significantly affected in some people by having had injections'

Are you saying having injections can impair future future ability to utilise B12 correctly?

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to No_fixed_abode]

cells still use B12 in the same way just that getting from blood to cells becomes much less efficient and some people need much higher serum B12 levels after loading doses - one reason why 3/2 monthly shots really doesn't suit everyone.

One symptom of conditions that raise serum B12 levels is functional B12 deficiency - symptoms of B12 deficiency but with high serum B12 levels - doesn't affect everyone but affects enough to be recognised as a pointer to liver and kidney problems.