An interesting read on PA

[brenanddave]

Hi guys! I came across this study and found it very interesting. Worth a read if you have a minute. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Technoid]

Thanks for the study. I spluttered my coffee all over the place at this line:

" Although current recommendations do not advise monitoring B12 levels in older adults, "

Right! Because why monitor something where the consequences of deficiency may include permanent neurological damage. That would be crazy! Much better to not bother checking until the situation is already not fully reversible! Great plan!👍

[Nackapan in reply to Technoid]

It's not on regular blood forms.I had many symptoms .

No b12 test

My first ever b12 test a little too late then not acted upon straight away.

2 week wait

I've written to the doctors and asked why not done with fbc.

Why not done at a younger age so an individual has their own baseline.of b12.

To be added to the district meeting agenda of groups of surgeries.

My daughter had a lumbar puncture and brain MRI before a serum b12 test

Not done in A and E ever .

Or ask gp to get it done.

Not done on health screens .

I'm My case would've been caught .

I persuaded the nurse for an iron check.

Cholesterol eas put on to test.

Vit D is tested more than b12 .

It's plain ridiculous it's not tested with other bloods done.

They tried to do the b12 level again on my 93yesr old mum as the district nurses want her off their books for 8 weekly b12 Injections .

[jade_s in reply to Nackapan]

Baseline testing - 100% agree!!!! For all sorts of things too, not just B12 - thyroid, vit D, iron...

Then again, as you said - they need to act on it. I have labs from when I was 18 and before I had an unnecessary surgery, they did labs and iron was pitifully low. No action! Only found out years later when I requested hospital records. (B12 was not tested).

"My daughter had a lumbar puncture and brain MRI before a serum b12 test" - this just makes my head explode. Unbelievable.

Dr Carr in Sally Pacholok's documentary was like that too - he was paralyzed and incontinent and hadn't had a single B12 test, but plenty of other invasive tests.

First time I had B12 tested was at my sleep apnea study in the hospital, years after my first crash. Didn't get one again until I saw a holistic endo years later.

My (younger) GP now seems to do them regularly for all patients, thankfully, but still balked at me when B12 came back high and I still had symptoms.

[brenanddave in reply to jade_s]

HiJade! I only realised when my doctors surgery gave me all my old paper records that Ihave been suffering with low b12 for years. They never told me. I always new something was wrong with my health physically and mentally. Brain fog and always tired etc. Now I appear to have loads of nerve damage. Its everywhere.

[jade_s in reply to brenanddave]

That's even worse! I'm so sorry 😥

[brenanddave in reply to jade_s]

No! It's the fact they are doing this with us all that's the worst thing right? x

[brenanddave in reply to Nackapan]

I have no idea why they have this attitude with b12! In NZ it is with all vitamins. Its like they think we have some sort of obsession with them. My lab tec after telling me it would cost me over $700 to get the vits I wanted to have checked that the reason for the cost is to stop us all just having them willy nilly. The only free one at present is b12.And that will be next I'd say. aaahhh I could not afford the tests so have no idea if I am short of other vits. This makes it so hard to get myself well. Like I have said!! It will be big pharmaceutical companies behind this.

[brenanddave in reply to Technoid]

Lol! I had the same reaction! It does make the system very transparent!!

[Altcrew in reply to Technoid]

I think now more surgeries are testing for b12 deficiencies more. They do at our surgery.

[boisland in reply to Altcrew]

I think more B12 testing these days because MORE B12D people are educating themselves & the word is getting out there , hence pushing doctors to test & educate themselves.

[brenanddave]

Yes!! I believe you are right!

[Budsa]

I got my first ever B12 test when I joined a new surgery. It was a standard part of their blood tests for new patients. My b12 came back as 140 ng/L (180-914). My doctor said this result was borderline and prescribed 30mcg, 3 times daily for 1 month, followed by an OTC multivitamin. As I had neurological symptoms and I eat a healthy balanced diet, I said that this conflicted with NICE advice. He said that if he treated me with the recommended IM injections he would have to do the same for 75% of his patients - a clear falsehood. He did do tests for h.pylori and coeliac disease, but then lost interest. I have been taking 1000mcg b12 orally for around 3 years. I have recently dropped down to 500mcg after my serum b12 suddenly increased to 860 ng/L. After 5 months my b12 is now down to 411. I am lucky that they seem to test it whatever else they are testing for.

[brenanddave in reply to Budsa]

Well alI can say about the 75% comment is that they need to be treating more people for their b12 def Shocking treatment!