Because of the help I received from a lot of the members on here I have now received my B12 injection, after 2 blood tests, ecg and a set of bloods that said in IF, b12 and folate were in the lower but normal range at the end of my consultation which was over 30 minutes the GP said on everything you told me I’ve decided to give you your injection, I will hopefully start to feel better in the next couple of days
MANY THANKS AGAIN
Well done Davepolo I’m really pleased for you must be a huge relief.
Stay well.x
Good to hear
How many injections are you scheduled for? Your post said your doc decided to give you your “injection” and it sounded like you were only getting one..?
I get one every 8/10 weeks but they had stopped completely due to corona virus
Pleased for you after my loading injections last November, December, sadly it took weeks to feel better. I am now SI as fell very low and didn't have energy to fight with surgery... started SI last week and not so breathless already. Still tired and heavy legs and brain fog, but feel im getting there. Do I tell my gp what I am doing? So sad to read all these stories.
Great news. It shouldn’t have to be like this.....
"Lower but normal" is the reason you should always ask for copies of blood test results- after all, what is your normal ? No-one knows because no-one tests a normal person, they only ever test you if they suspect there is a problem.
Direction of travel is important too: if your B12/ folate/ ferritin etc is dropping suddenly, there is no point acting only when it drops off the page. If something can be caught early, it can save any permanent damage/ more serious symptoms.
Some symptoms can occur for instance if your ferritin is below 60 ug/L, even though a test would give a "normal" range of 13-150 ug/L. My ferritin never went below 36 ug/L to my knowledge- and yet my GP believed that my hair loss and bleeding gums were because of this. I'd just thought of them as more B12 deficiency symptoms.
Similarly, folate is better if in top 1/3 of range.
BOTH of these need monitoring by GP if supplementing to get higher results, because both can cause problems if too high as well as too low. It often takes a while to get either of these to go up and then to get them to stay there.
Vitamin D should be checked too: I have D3 tablets on prescription because I was found to have osteoporosis of the spine. Thyroid checks too, since it can struggle if vitamins low.
If low B12 is from an autoimmune condition, sometimes people also have others: thyroid, psoriasis, vitiligo.
My MMA was "raised" (always 350-400 nmol/L , with a range of 0-280 nmol/L) long after my B12 injections had raised my B12 level from under 200 ng/L to over 2,000 ng/L. After testing MMA five times, it was decided that this must be "my normal", since it was not high enough to cause concern.
So you can be within range and symptomatic in some instances, not of concern when constantly above range in others - and no-one can be certain what your normal is !!
Glad that you got your injection. Davepolo . Stay well !
Thank you so much for this advice
The biggest thank you!
Thank you
need some help AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL , I AM VERY GRATEFUL FOR FINDING YOU ALL:)
Thank you Health Unlocked & Pernicious Anaemia Society & B12 Deficiency Support group
