Awaiting PA test

Hi Louise. Poor you and much sympathy. It's horrid when all this happens and you just feel so out of control. I was diagnosed 6 wks ago and had my loading injections but still waiting to feel any improvement. My legs are like lead weights and toes numb. Arms and hands tingle and headaches and last night ended up in A&E with vision disturbances and brisk loss of conciouness - put down to migraine or maybe a TIA which has petrified me!! Waiting on CT scan next. Wishing you luck and hope injections work for you X

Louise , because PA obviously runs in your family , it is possible that you have an inborn error of metabolism . The nitrous oxide gas which has been used on patients for generations , switches off vitamin b12 synthesis , which can be permanently causing pernicious anemia . If both parents have had their b12 synthesis switched off with nitrous oxide gas , their baby may be born with an inborn error of metabolism and will have problems absorbing and utilising b12 . Unfortunately for medical professionals working in the NHS , an active form of vitamin b12 called methylcobalamin was reserved for the private sector and they will only be able to use hydroxycobalamin , which is an inactive form of b12 and the patient needs to be able to convert it . There is also the fact that the normal b12 serum level has been set unusually low in the UK compared to other more medically advanced countries , who have set the normal b12 serum level much higher , so a patient has to be fairly poorly before their GP can treat with b12 and even then , will only be able to use the inactive form . You will be able to tell if you are not converting the hydroxycobalamin because when your GP gives you injections , your b12 serum level will shoot up into the thousands . If this happens , you should go and buy methylcobalamin yourself . If you don`t fancy paying £100 per injection privately ( it should only really cost 70p by the way ) and you can`t face self injecting , the next best thing is to buy methylcobalamin spray ( b12 has a large molecular structure and is not easily absorbed in the gut so using a spray helps to break up the molecules ) . You can buy B12 Boost by Better You from Holland and Barrett which contains methylcobalamin and if you put methylcobalamin spray in your search engine , you will find some others . This needs to bypass the gut ( people with PA have low intrinsic factor in the stomach which is needed to absorb b12 ) so instead of spraying on top of your tongue , you need to spray underneath your tongue to have it pass through your glandular system instead , at least four times a day . This works a treat on most people who have tried it . There are other things you can do which includes consuming beetroot ( juice is fine ) which contains cobalt and try eating fermented foods such as Korean Kim Chi ( fermented foods produce enzymes and is rich in active b12 ) , seaweed , dulce and some Japanese teas such as battabattacha contain active vitamin b12 . The reason you are developing infection is because you have not got enough b12 to bind to a body damaging protein called homocysteine to help your body get rid of it . A substance called trimethylglycine which is found in beetroot and in blackstrap molasses binds to homocysteine to help your body expel it . If you do these few things I have suggested , I am certain that you will feel much better in a matter of weeks . You will need to do this all your life .  

There are several reasons for PA, some are inherited and genetic, others are dietary ( if you are vegetarian or vegan), some find it comes with age, others after stomach surgery, or from severe gastric issues I.e. Coeliac disease. I certainly had regular infections, chest, sinus, throat, uti's before my diagnosis. So I think the immune system is seriously compromised. This may be why your lymph node is still swollen?

I was diagnosed when my level was 176, and can honestly say I was sure I was dying. I felt so very ill. Hope you will soon begin to feel better, but it does take time. Best wishes Marion