Only One Chance - PAS blog post by B. Wolffenbuttel

[Sleepybunny]

Hi All,

Apologies if this has been already posted.

Bruce Wolffenbuttel wrote a blog post for PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)in December 2023.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

It's very detailed and well worth a read.

Wish he'd been my doctor....

Comments can be left under the article.

He also published a recent article in BMJ (British Medical Journal).

bmj.com/content/383/bmj-202...

If you have time, read the responses to the BMJ article. No prizes for guessing which response made me fume with anger.

bmj.com/content/383/bmj-202...

[Jillymo]

Thanks for posting Sleepybunny. I had seen the one by B Wolffenbuttel which I saved due to his very appt listing of symptoms ect.

The other two links were interesting, I think I managed to spot the one that made you fume. 😤 Me too.

[Narwhal10]

Thanks Sleepybunny,

Somebody told me they had dinner with ‘THE PROF’ aka Bruce Wolffenbuttel and I became utterly giddy with excitement. I love his work.

Then again, I have always had a massive crush on Sir David Attenborough. Those academics get me a bit hot under the collar. 😳😳

[Sleepybunny]

For those who read the Only One Chance article, Wolffenbuttel quotes from an article in section headed Gambling.

I believe he is referring to this article from Pulse magazine.

pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical-f...

[Narwhal10 in reply to Sleepybunny]

Thank you Sleepbunny,

I accessed the Choosing Wisely website :-

choosingwisely.org

It states it was developed in 2012 with nine national specialty societies (representing 375,000 clinicians) offering 45 examples of tests or treatments that were commonly used in their fields. Now there are absolutely no tests or investigations undertaken for labels such as ‘depression’, or ‘anxiety’. Yet, antidepressants are very quickly offered at GP Practices. Therefore, this is NOT Evidence Based Medicine and a person’s medical records prove so. With this course of action, how many times will that person present to their GP with symptoms ? Many is the answer. How much does that cost the Practice ? More money than if they had tested in the first place. Then it is probable that person may receive a further unscientific diagnosis of ‘hypochondria’. Yet, still NO tests have been undertaken.

The patient knowing they are dreadfully unwell has to change doctors, seeking private healthcare (in the U.K.) and/or practice. David Coleman does state :-

‘Vitamin B12 deficiency is both easily missed – sometimes with significant harm.’

People can become severely disabled being wheelchair or bed bound. They can end up in Elderly Mentally Infirmed wards, hospitals or care homes. They can be detained in psychiatric hospitals. Worst still they can commit suicide or die. Yet, not one EMI ward/care home or psychiatric hospital would check for Pernicious Anaemia/vitamin B12 deficiency. Those people have already been (mis)diagnosed with other illnesses and/or conditions and are stuck there.

Equally, GP’s appear to be hell-bent on re-testing B12 once treatment of Hydroxycobalamin has commenced. They really are NOT choosing wisely.

[Sleepybunny in reply to Narwhal10]

Thanks for your post, very interesting to read. If you have time perhaps you could post this on a new thread.