B12 injections

[Lotuspink]

Hi,

I take B12 injections for B12 deficiency symptoms which did go away after being given the shot. I am negative for intrinsic factor antibodies.

I also take folic acid 5mg which has just been prescribed to me for folate deficiency. The folate was even deficient years before the B12 injections were given to me but missed by doctors.

I am getting very worried about some really bad fatigue - I’m spending almost 12 hours in bed sleeping. I ache all over sometimes and yesterday one of my legs has been so stiff and painful I had to rest it before it loosened up again.

Any ideas if my doctor needs to do any further investigations? Thank you.

*SERUM VITAMIN B12 1103 PG/L (190.00 - 900.00)

*SERUM FOLATE 2.38 UG/L (2.50 - 19.50)

[wedgewood]

Perhaps you need more frequent injections? I could never get enough from my GP - only every 3 months , which was not often enough to keep symptoms at bay . So I was forced to self -inject like many people on this forum . Once a week is what I need . We are all different and need different frequencies of injection. But the medical profession will not acknowledge that .So we have to take our treatment into our own hands if they will not budge . Also the fact that you tested negative to the Intrinsic Factor Antibodies does not mean that you don’t have Pernicious Anaemia. This test is notoriously inaccurate if it come up negative. About 50% so.

I will send you some information, in case you are forced into self-injecting .

[B12Turbo]

Lotus pink, from what you say and the assay readings you provide, it appears that your B12 is fine. However it may also be that it is not being taken up into your bodies Methylation Cycle and there may lay the problem. Your Folic Acid level is low and the Methylation Cycle requires both B12 & F.A. to function. Now you seem to feel you have had a F.A. Problem for some time, if so there could be a problem with Polymorphisms (faults) in your MTHFR gene ie 677 - 1286 or 1289. This would mean that you may have a problem in the Enzyme chain that is responsible for converting F.A. Into 5-MTHF, which is what is needed before it can enter the bodies Methylation Cycle. In turn this could result in a major rise in your level of Homocysteine, producing if so, a major danger of Strokes - Heart Attacks - Brain Atrophy - Spinal Problems resulting pain in almost any part of the body. You have been prescribed F.A. at 5mg, continue to take this for 6weeks, then return to your GP and request a Folate assay. If this shows a major rise, then all is well, if not, then talk to your GP about an assay of your MTHFR gene. He will understand that unless your Methylation Cycle is functioning due to low Folate, then your Methylation Cycle will not be converting Homocysteine into Methionine, which is a harmless Amino Acid and as already mentioned high Homocysteine is a dangerous condition. The other way for your GP to go during the next 6 weeks, would be for him to assay your Homocysteine level, which should be below 15 and depending on your age approximately 8. I think if your GP will work on the above, then you should have little to worry about. However; if he is not willing to follow the above, then ask him to contact the Viapath NHS labs at Guys/StThomas’s Hospital Trust. Otherwise i would suggest you do that yourself and take the test privately on their advise. You or your GP can contact Denise Oblein on 0207 188 7188. Denise will direct your call, she is the PA to the Director of Medical Research, you may state that Brian has given you her details. Hope all goes well, In addition, if your Folate does not rise whilst using F.A. Then I would respectfully suggest that you begin taking Methylcobalamin along with Methylfolate, with is not only already at the 5-MYHF stage, but both these medications, will be capable of entering your bodies Methylation Cycle without any problem and in further addition they will be capable of becoming Methyl Donors into that system.

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