Any advise for my mother who is U.K. based would be much appreciated. For more than 15 years she has complained about a sore tongue and mouth and in her words that most food tasted like poison. I took her to see an oral Consultant who was a locum, he diagnosed sore mouth syndrome very quickly claiming it would not go away and a nerve ending painkiller was perscribed. The GP has shown no interest even when I had a telephone consultation to tell him my mother was losing weight because she could not bear the taste of most foods. I asked the GP to test her B12 as this forum helped me to make a possible link, l was expecting the result to indicate low levels however, her Serum B12 was 729 ng/l range ( 191.00-663.00 ng/l ) her Serum folate 15.7 ug/L range 3.30-19.30ug/L. I have over the years given my mother a multi-vitamin supplement to take when I noticed the corner of her mouth was cracked. Could it be possible that her body is not absorbing the B12.?
Just this week after consulting a Private Gastroenterologist my mother was diagnosed with Gastritis, she has no feeling in the tips of her fingers which she has had for many years. Her mental state has not been good for over 20 years.
My mother has taken a multi-vitamin for about 7 years. I felt it was necessary as she has no red meat in her diet and she has not eaten properly as so many foods taste poisonous in her mouth. The supplement contains 3ug of B12 per daily dose.
Actually b9 in multivitamin can get absorbed but b12 can't due to low acid or any other stomach problems so b9 masks symptoms of b12 until it reaches critical level and b9 can't do b12 task in our body then person suddenly fall in rbc megaloblastic situation which causes many bad symptoms like severe dizziness sever shortness of breath heart palpitation and nausea and many other symptoms like gastrointestinal problems like gastroparesis ,losing muscles ,severe weakness and so on. Currently multivitamin with such a combination is a disaster not only it shouldn't contain b12 but also just ten percent can get absorbed and some of vitamins can't get absorbed at all or don't let other vitamins get absorbed.It happend to me last year and I was fooled by taking multivitamin.
It sounds from what you have said below as if the supplement was just an ordinary multivitamin rather than something that contained large doses of B12 so it wouldn't explain the elevated levels.Does your mother have any kidney problems? These can result in the kidneys not being able to remove substances from the blood as effficiently and resulting in levels building up over time. If your mother has been substituting for not being eating by consuming energy drinks that have large amounts of B12 in them then that could possibly lead to a build up in serum B12 levels as well.
Some liver problems can also cause the liver to dump its stores of B12 leading to high serum B12 levels.
I think you need to find out more about the gastritis. PA is an auto-immune gastritis but there are other forms of gastritits.
In response to Gambit 62, l have just obtained a copy of my mother's medical records and they do show stage 3 kidney disease. The report from the Gastroscopy just identifies Gastritis. Does anyone know how l can investigate the cause of Gastritis?
No treatment recommended just a referral back to the GP. I have spoken with the GP and Gastric Resistant medicine was perscribed. She is still having lots of pain after eating despite following a low acid diet.
was she prescribed any anti-biotics?would the GP be able to provide more details of the gastritis and what was causing it. Gastritis is often caused by some sort of infection and it would be normal to prescribe a course of antibiotics combined with a PPI to allow the infection to clear and the stomach lining to heal.
Cracked, sore and bleeding corners of the mouth can be a sign that there is a vitamin deficiency, and is most often related to B12 deficiency. It is called angular cheilitis.
I had this almost constantly for so long that I thought of it as my normal (!)- pre-empted any other symptom that I had by a decade. I did nothing about it and if I thought about it at all, blamed very dusty work conditions, maybe not enough fruit etc. Later I found out that it was because I was B12 deficient.
When I was sent to an Oral medicine consultant, he tried to grow cultures a few times- thinking it to be candida or more likely staphylococcal at source. It wasn't. But it did respond to treatment: nipple cream ! It needs applying twice a day, and to avoid reinfection, applied singly from a spoon. The results were almost immediate. It must be over three months since I've had any sign of it, and when it appears, it is mild and soon gone again.
Well worth a trial, as long as she doesn't have lanolin allergies. I get it from Boots- it is fairly expensive but very little needed so it lasts a long time, if used as above.
This consultant is now working on finding a reason for my large burning coated tongue, sometimes with piecrust edges (toothmarks) which remains a constant problem despite B12 injections. He called this possibly oral dysaesthesia. It is also known as Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS). This can be a primary condition - but can only be diagnosed as such, like so many "syndromes", by excluding all secondary causes, which include:
B12/ folic acid/ iron deficiency
Autoimmune diseases
Salivary gland disorders
Hormonal changes
- all of which I have/ have had.
I am first being sent for a nasendoscopy next month.
All this takes time though -and your mum initially needs some further blood test investigation and possibly referral/s from her GP.
Renal problems should certainly be checked for and ruled out first.
A methylmalonic acid (MMA) test can show if there is a functional B12 deficiency problem - but only once renal causes ruled out by blood test.
Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can also be ruled out as a cause (by breath test) if MMA level is found to be raised. MMA testing is easier for a consultant rather than GP to organise- haematologist probably. My GP had her request refused twice before getting this test through a major hospital.
As indicated to Gambit 62 my mother does have stage 3 kidney disease. Her Gastroscopy report commented on GOJ and pylorus-normal. Is the (SIBO) breath test an additional test? Many thanks to all who help people like me to understand complex medical issues.
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B12 deficiency with High Serum B12?
Pernicious anemia/Iron/Thyroid problems?
Bitter taste
Is B12 deficiency implicated in any respiratory problems? 
Results support please
