B12 and Pernicious Anemia

Have you actually started to have B12 injections or are you just supplementing with folic acid?

It may be that your current stomach upset has nothing to do with your B12 other than it could be the cause of your deficiency. Omeprazole reduces the acid level in your stomach - a high level of which is essential to process the B12 from your food - it also impedes proper digestion of your food.

I find adding lime juice to a glass of water helps.

Let us know the results of your GPC test although I would have expected you to have had an Intrinsic Factor Antibodies (IFA) test too.

I am not a medically trained person but have had P.A. for 46 years.

It is important that your Folate level is monitored as this is essential to process the B12.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Symptoms of a folate deficiency can include:

symptoms related to anaemia

reduced sense of taste

diarrhoea

numbness and tingling in the feet and hands

muscle weakness

depression

Folic acid works closely with vitamin B12 in making red blood cells and helps iron function properly in the body.

Eating lots of leafy green vegetables, sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, peas, beans etc will help and there's also folic acid fortified into many breakfast cereals.

I wish you well

I believe there is a form of folic supplementation called methyl folate that’s is easier on the digestive system. Perhaps ask your doctor about taking this instead if your stomach issues continue? 

As an FYI, I was on omeprazole for ten years, I was then diagnosed with PA with intrinsic factor.  The omeprazole had thinned my bones so much that I had broken a leg, a foot, and several fingers.  My B12 was so low I began sleeping 18 hours a day before the diagnosis.  I was told I couldn’t get off the omeprazole because it would be so difficult but after researching the PA with IF diagnosis, reasearch told me I had to get off of it for my own survival.my Internist switched me to Ranitidine 300 mg twice a day for 6 months., then down to 150 twice a day for 3 months, then 75 for a month, then off. I then started taking Carafate 1 GM 3 Times a day (this coats the stomach to protect it) for a month then moved down to none over a 6 week period. During all this time, I found adding acid in the form of pickle juice or olive juice eased stomach pain and aided digestion.  No food after 7 pm.  

My bones have greatly improved, I self inject 2 ML of cyanacolbamin once a week, and daily supplement folic acid, vitamin K2, D3, C, and potassium.

reading the book “Could it be B12” really helped me. Got it from Amazon.com. I gave a copy to my doctor and he read it.  

Hope me this info helps you in some way. I am not a physician, I am only telling you my experience. I happily am up and living again. It took 7 years to get a diagnosis, 4 years of a slow recovery, due to lack of information, and as I celebrate my 60th birthday next month, I celebrate finding The Pernicious Anemia Society and the information I continue to get from them.