My daughter has just been diagnosed with B12 and folate deficiency, The likely cause is poor diet so I’m happy not to pursue injections at this stage.
Her GP has prescribed B12 and 5mg folic acid, both in tablet form.
Please can anyone confirm which she should take first and for how long before starting the other. What is the reason for not starting both at the same time?
Thank you.
As you have already got a diagnosis, it’s not so important to take the B12 first . Normally before a diagnosis you should not take folate tablets. Its to do with that if folate is taken first , it can mask the B12 deficiency and the diagnosis could be skewed . But you already have your diagnosis .
Scientist, not medic.
Back in the mists of time, I was taught the 'B12 first' approach because of the risk of precipitating further damage by starting with folate. In particular, neurological damage. So, if it was me, I would start with the B12, and a few days later, add the folate. it could be informative to ask the pharmacist who is dispensing the tablets for their advice too.
Both being deficient could be thyroid related. Check those.
Generally, injections work much better than tablets...
Was your daughter a vegan? Vegans can eat very healthy diets but the problem is that B12 is only in animal products like meat and eggs.
Hi,
If she has neurological symptoms, I would expect GP to offer injections even if the cause is dietary.
Link below outlines recommended treatment for b12 deficiency in UK.
cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...
If you have time, have a look at local B12 deficiency guidelines used by your ICB (Integrated Care Board) or Health Board.
Lots more B12 info in pinned post "Various PA/B12 D resources".
I'm not medically trained.
Hello, my name is Mr.justatip and I have Pernicious Anemia. I do not know where you are at with her diagnosis and treatment, etc., but my advice would be this.
1 Have her tested for the IF test, that is the Intrinsic Factor test to see if she has a certain kind of auto Immune pernicious Anemia. If her test comes back negative at least that is ruled out.
2 It's fine to let her see a Dr., but do research yourself on these matters (B12, anemia, etc.) because you may already know more about B12 and Anemia than "ANY" Dr. does. Oh, and lab tests are okay, but these days they are not trustworthy. Research, research, research.
Goodluck
my experience is GP prescribed doses aren’t high enough or high quality enough to do much good. I highly recommend Thorne Basic B Complex which brought my levels up in 3 months.
also, I eat like I live on a health farm, always have really, super super healthy and I am deficient very quickly if I stop supplements. This is because my gut doesn’t absorb these nutrients from all the homegrown goodies.
Bear that in mind, poor diet may be a contributing factor but good diet might not fix it.
Hope she feels better soon 🌱
It would be good to also do a parietal cell antibody test, homocysteine and MMA before you start taking anything. A good baseline from which to measure B12 treatment as well as possibly confirming PA.
Folic Acid
Pernicious Anaemia-Starting B12 injections and folic acid
Folic Acid & B12
Can you buy a folic acid lozenge???
