PA symptoms?: Hi, I’m over from the... - Pernicious Anaemi...

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PA symptoms?

Zmalp profile image
4 Replies

Hi,

I’m over from the Thyroid UK group. DH has autoimmune thyroiditis, NCGS and psoriasis. And a whole host of symptoms having been misdiagnosed for ages. He’s on levothyroxine but his memory loss is way more than you’d normally see with thyroiditis and the neurologists aren’t sure what it is. We’re seeing the endo tomorrow and probably trying T3. He’s already on LDN.

Remaining symptoms are:

Fatigue, with associated cognitive slowing which worsens from 5-6pm; exhausted by 7 and in bed by 8pm. Quite perky in the morning after sleep; easily exhausted by aerobic exercise though strength training is better

Dizziness if bending over which increases with fatigue

Cold hands - sometimes icy

Tinnitus- worse in the evening with fatigue; if really ill after a virus, this can result in hearing so distorted he gets auditory hallucinations and is super sensitive to sound

Clumsiness - is dropping things a lot

Memory loss - this is the most worrying; long term loss is worst and is at amnesia levels; nobody understands it - neurologists and psychologists don’t know what it is, not dementia or CJD etc

The first response of the psychologist was to tell me to get B12 checked. His B12 is always upper end of the range. Folate has been low but he has a methylated B complex supplement and all levels now good.

Do the above symptoms strike a chord around functional PA? They could easily be thyroid-related but the memory loss is so unusual. Thinking of asking the endo to order further testing as he’s always suspected there is something else going on too. Would we see other symptoms too if it was functional PA?

Thanks 😊

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Zmalp
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4 Replies
Nackapan profile image
Nackapan

Symptoms vary ftom person to person which are worse ,some and overlap with other conditions. Some sound familiar to Mr.

Definitely worth having g further tests for functional b12 deficiency.

MMA .( usually high if b12 not reaching cell level)

IFAB ( picks up 50% with PA )

Homocysteine high if b12 def.

Hope you get answers

jade_s profile image
jade_s

Hi zmalp glad you joined. I think i already mentioned this but my levels were in the 800-900s thanks to b12 tablets but i got so demented i couldn't follow the plots of 30 minute sitcoms, recognize colleagues, or do simple arithmetic. GP did an alzheimer's screening which i somehow passed but i was still very bad. I mixed up words (sometimes still do). Then one day I woke up and the outer half of both arms were paralyzed from elbow to my pinky & ring finger - no feeling and zero muscle function. Years before that was when the clumsiness and fatigue etc started. Every single B12 related test was normal - tested privately because GP refused to believe it was B12. I only know it's b12 related because I responded immediately to injections (which i also bought on my own).

One of my relatives had exclusively memory issues. The fatigue, tingling and all the rest came years later.

Anyway as Nackapan says, each person presents differently.

Push for testing as she mentioned. And then I would push for a trial of injections regardless of the results. B12 is safe and nontoxic even at high doses.

jade_s profile image
jade_s in reply tojade_s

Bumping up so others can reply so that zmalp doesn't think i'm crazy or biased ;)

Sleepybunny profile image
Sleepybunny

Hi,

From personal experience, I can say it is possible to have severe B12 deficiency symptoms with normal range serum B12 results.

I'm not medically trained just someone who suffered for years from unrecognised and untreated B12 deficiency.

Functional B12 Deficiency

You may want to look into Functional B12 Deficiency, where there is plenty of B12 in the blood but it's not getting to where it's needed in the cells so the patient develops deficiency symptoms. MMA, Homocysteine and Active B12 (holotranscobalamin) blood tests may help to diagnose Functional B12 Deficiency.

Do you mind me asking which country you are in?

The reason I'm asking is that patterns of treatment for B12 deficiency can vary between countries and knowing which country you are in may help people to post relevant info.

Are his symptoms consistent with B12 deficiency?

Symptoms of B12 Deficiency (folate deficiency also mentioned)

pernicious-anaemia-society....

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

b12-institute.nl/en/symptom... (B12 Institute Netherlands)

b12awareness.org/cobalamin-...

Symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy (damage to peripheral nerves)

nhs.uk/conditions/periphera...

Peripheral neuropathy can be associated with B12 deficiency and sometimes with folate deficiency.

UK blog post about being symptomatic for B12 deficiency with normal range serum B12.

b12deficiency.info/your-ser...

Many on this forum report thyroid problems as well as B12 deficiency.

It's also common to have folate, iron and Vitamin D deficiencies. Have these been checked?

In a person with both folate and B12 deficiencies, B12 treatment should be started first. Treating folate deficiency without treating a co-existing B12 deficiency can lead to neurological problems.

Some B12 websites

PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)

Based in Wales, UK. Open to members worldwide.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

There is a helpline number that PAS members can ring.

Testing for PA

pernicious-anaemia-society....

I've also read that a pepsinogen test may be helpful in diagnosing PA.

B12 Info.com (also known as B12 Deficiency Info) website

b12deficiency.info/

B12 Awareness (US website)

b12awareness.org/

Stichting B12 Tekort (Dutch website with English articles)

stichtingb12tekort.nl/weten...

Two useful B12 books

"What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and B12 Deficiency" by Martyn Hooper

Martyn Hooper is the former chair of PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society).

"Could it Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" by Sally Pacholok and JJ. Stuart (USA authors)

Very comprehensive with lots of case studies.

Help for doctors

1) PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society) website has a page for health professionals. Some info may be specific to UK.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

Health professionals can join PAS as associate members, no charge. Associate membership is open to health professionals worldwide.

2) Club B12 is a worldwide group of researchers, doctors and other interested people who are looking into B12. They have regular zoom meetings and a conference in UK September 2023.

club-12.org/

3)B12 article from Mayo Clinic in US

Aimed at researchers and health professionals.

The Many Faces of Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) Deficiency

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Table 1 in above article is about frequent misconceptions about B12 deficiency that health professionals may have.

Wherever you are in the world, I suggest trying to find out if there are any national or regional guidelines on treatment and diagnosis of B12 deficiency.

There's a lot of useful info in the pinned post Various B12D/PA resources on this forum.

If you're in UK, there's a lot more info I can pass to you.

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