I have pernicious anemia and have a B12 injection once every 12 weeks.

[Lilian15]

I have read that I should be supplementing with folic acid and I have also heard that with PA one should not be takking folic acid. Which is correct please?

[Hidden]

Hi,

I believe you should have monitoring of bloods including serum folate and ferritine = iron storage. IF you are then found to be deficient or low in either you will need suplementing. . As all B vitamins need each other to metabolise it is not uncommon to also become def in other vitamins etc when B12 treatment has started. nothing replaces a healthy diet though.

My thoughts anyway,

Kind regards,

Marre.

[Lilian15 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Marre. No I am not regularly monitored for ferritin, serum folate. Iron comes with a routine six monthly Ha1Bc and TSH test. My iron is usually at the bottom of the range or just under but it was found that it is an absorption problem rather than an unhealthy diet.

regards

Lilian

[Hidden]

Hi Lilian,

Perhaps just ask..I know its weird that monitoring is seldom done, and different people get different monitoring. My GP will not monitor ferritine, so I had it tested privately once.

It is possible that if you have problems absorbing iron this is because your stomach acid is not accidic enough.(called achlorhydria). I assume you know drinking something like orange juice can help uptake of iron? Iron needs vit C for uptake,

See:

achlorhydria

emedicine.medscape.com/arti...

Anyway, your best bet is to ask if you could have folate tested, you never know..

Kind regards,

Marre.

[Charistory]

Perhaps your PA misspoke. Folic acid is necessary for everyday health and red blood cell reproduction. If you menstruate, are pregnant, or nursing, or have lost blood through injury, you need even more than usual. Overdosing on bioavailable folate would be difficult as B vitamins are water soluble. To do so you’d have to be not drinking enough water and taking huge doses of folate. So if I were you, I’d look at the consensus elsewhere, take Actifolate by Metagenics which has two form of bioavailable folate, and drink plenty of water to your health. Bioavailable simple means it is in the form your body uses and no chemical conversions by the body are necessary for you to begin using it.

livestrong.com/article/5075...

webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/fol...

ext.colostate.edu/pubs/food...

Cheers,

Charistory

[Charistory]

Have you asked your doctor about the benefits and independence of taking B12 (methylcobalamin) sublingually? The B-12 dissolves under your tongue going directly into the bloodstream into the capillarries through the thin tissue without a shot. You could take it daily yourself and place your own orders on line. It would eliminate painful shots, commutes to the doctor, and save time so he/she could serve other patients. Such efficiency sounds like it would cost less too. This is what my ND (Naturopathic Doctor) does with me. A three month supply of sublingual B12 methylcobalamin (120 tabs) costs under $10.

[Hidden]

Sublingual B12 works for some..very well even...for others it does nothing, .. its allways worth a try! I tried ( and high dosis of B12 tablets as 1to 2% is suposed to difuse naturally in the gut even if you have autoimune PA, but neither did anything, no raising of my serum B12 either..But it works for some and is a much nicer way to get your B12!!