Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi. Posting for a friend who has symptoms of B12 deficiency. I have her B12...folate and Vit D results which I will try to upload. Please could someone give me feedback on these results.
1 like, 10 replies
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margaret22116
Posted
Serum vit b12350 ng/L normal range 197 - 771
Serum folate 10.3 ug/L normal range 3.9 - 26.8
Vit d serum 25 -HO vit d3 level 53.6 nmol/L normal range 50 - 120
suzanne57663 margaret22116
Posted
Hello Margaret, I looked at all your friends results, they are all in the low range, I'm not a medical person but the vitamin D number is especially low at that number my balance is off , confusion is present. I now take 7000 vit. D everyday that amount keeps me around 80. I have diagnosed PA. I take a 1 ml. shot a week. As I've gotten older it's harder to keep my numbers for all my deficients where I need them. Not everyone fits into the brackets of madical reports. You need the tell you friend to fight on never give up ! Doctors will respond to constant requests. Best of luck !
margaret22116 suzanne57663
Posted
Thank you for your comment I aporeciate it. I thoight it was low. I am sure my b12 was just over 400 and I am being treated but with a struggle initially for me. Wasn't sure about the folate but do you think that is also low?
clivealive margaret22116
Posted
Both B12 and Folate are a bit on the low side and depending on the symptoms your friend (if she is in the UK) should perhaps ask her doctor to treat her in accordance with the advice given by The British Society for Haematology guidelines which say on the Diagnosis of B12 and Folate Deficiency "In the presence of discordance between the test result and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment".
This means her doctor should be treating her symptoms and not just looking at the computer screen.
Lower level Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a number of non-specific symptoms, including possibly chronic fatigue (experts have for many years noted an association between sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalitis (CFS or ME) and low blood levels of Vitamin D).
It has been estimated that between 50-70% of people living in the northern Europe (where daylight length reduces your chances of receiving adequate sunlight in the winter) are deficient in this vitamin by March each year. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include chronic pain, weak bones, frequent infections (recent research has detected an association between vitamin D deficiency and severe pneumonia), depression and fatigue. Supplementation may be beneficial - please ask her to speak to her doctor about this result.
Please remember that I am not a medically trained person.
margaret22116 clivealive
Posted
amanda3434 margaret22116
Posted
I am so sorry to hear about your friend! I myself have been having trouble with my b12 along with an array of other medical problems I am trying to sort out and I know it can be very tough. I was trying to reasearch and stumbled across this site. What type of symptoms has your friend been experiencing. I am trying to find someone who is close to my range and compare. My b12 levels are a 179 /ml
vitamin D is also at a 25
Bilirubin is slightly elevated To a 1.6 /mg
AST 71 / L
ALT 56 /L
I have been trying to fine the cause of what is going on with me for a little over a year now and just want answers I finally was able to get into a rheumatologist after being to every other specialist possible and being told I need to be seen by rheum. I am 26 and ready to start feeling like myself again and find a diagnosis. I hope your friend can do the same and best wishes.
clivealive amanda3434
Posted
Symptoms of B12 deficiency tend to develop slowly and may not be recognised immediately. As the condition worsens, common symptoms include:
Weakness and fatigue
Light-headedness and dizziness
Palpitations and rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath
A sore tongue that has a red, beefy appearance
Nausea or poor appetite
Weight loss
Diarrhoea
Yellowish tinge to the skin and eyes
If low levels of B12 remain for a long time, the condition also can lead to irreversible damage to nerve cells, which can cause the following symptoms:
Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
Difficulty walking
Muscle weakness
Irritability
Memory loss
Dementia
Depression
Psychosis
Anyone at any age, can become B12 deficient. However, certain people are at an elevated risk. They include the following:
Vegetarians, vegans and people eating macrobiotic diets.
People aged sixty and over
People who’ve undergone any gastric and/or intestinal surgery, including bariatric surgery for weight loss purposes (Gastric bypass).
People who regularly use proton-pump- inhibitors. H2 blockers, antacids, Metformin, and related diabetes drugs, or other medications, or infections such as h-pylori that can interfere with B12 absorption.
People who undergo surgeries or dental procedures involving nitrous oxide, or who use the drug recreationally.
People with a history of eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia).
People with a history of alcoholism.
People with a family history of pernicious anaemia.
People diagnosed with anaemia (including iron deficiency anaemia, sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia).
People with Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten enteropathy (celiac disease), or any other disease that cause malabsorption of nutrients.
People with autoimmune disorders (especially thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease) Type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, lupus, Addison’s disease, ulcerative colitis, infertility, acquired agammaglobulinemia, or a family history of these disorders.
Women with a history of infertility or multiple miscarriages.
I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anaemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.
I wish you well.
amanda3434 clivealive
Posted
Thank you so much for your response! Thank you I am getting started on 1,500 mcg of b12 soon and have a MRI done next week on my brain hoping to find some answers and excited to start the b12 my doctor had said that should get me feeling a little better and help with being so tired all of the time. What are some of your symptoms you struggle from would it be okay if we compare. Also what were your levels of b12 when you found out when you were deficient. I am just ready to start feeling better again and more like myself. Myself along with many doctors and specialist have been trying to come up with answers test after Test ran for over the last year. The mornings I wake up externally still and it takes about 15 min for me to straighten out and be able to get up and start my day. Through out the day I have this weird numbing sensation in my hands and fee. pins and needles in my hands, arms, feet, and legs if I sit or stand for more then 5-10 min. I've recently lost all of my reflexes in my legs along with my appetite completely diminishing. I had my gullblader out 4 years ago and also still have many problems with my stomach I have a BM about 8 times a day and diarrhea and pretty constant pain. (tmi i know I'm sorry) but Most of my pain is in my knees. I used to be a dancer and a gymnast and had very strong legs and over the last couple years my legs have turned so week. The task of going up and down, getting in and out of the car, getting dressed are just a few things I struggle with on a daily basis. There are times they hurt to bad to even walk on. Also I have fallen many times it feels almost as my knee is slipping out of place and just giving out. It's quite embarrassing when it happens and you are out in public. I am not here to sound like a pity party I am so ready to find some answers. I have finally been accepted into rhuemetology so I'm hoping that I will find someone soon. But I was also looking for answers/ comparisons to other patients you might be experiencing the same symptoms/close test result rage to my own. Any help is very much appreciated thank you!
I hope you feel good to! West wishes thank you
margaret22116 amanda3434
Posted
hi, was going to reply to say others know this area better than me like Clive who is very knowledgeable. My friend has a variety of symptoms which 'fit' like numbness tingling and memory issues at the moment. Stomach and bowel issues. I have similar symptoms as I too am b12 defficient and find my peripheral nueuropathy goes when I am injecting but returns if I am not having enough of it. I find every 3 months does not work for me.
clivealive amanda3434
Posted
Some symptoms will come and go and It is not uncommon for some to appear to get worse before they get better as the B12 you are having starts repairing the damage done to your nervous system and your brain starts getting multiple messages from part of the body it had "forgotten about" or lost contact with.
I sometimes liken it to a badly tuned radio on which you have turned the volume up high trying to catch the programme you want when all of a sudden the signal comes in loud and clear and the blast nearly deafens you.
A lot will depend on the severity and longevity of your B12 deficiency as to how long before there is no further improvement or recovery.
Some symptoms will "disappear" quite quickly whereas others may take months or even years. There is no set timescale as we are all different.
In my case I was 15 years between gastric surgery for the removal of two thirds of my stomach at the age of 17 due to a perforated ulcer in 1959 before I eventually got a diagnosis of Pernicious Anaemia in 1972 by which time I was a "walking Zombie".
I have no idea what my readings were following a second (unheard of - the first being done in 1968) Schilling test but my doctor gave me two years to live unless I ate raw liver three times a day or B12 injections for the rest of my life.
Much as I like baked liver with onions and gravy I opted for the injections.
Here is a definitive list of symptoms: most of which I have had at one time or another.
1 Pernicious Anaemia - Symptoms
1.1 General Symptoms
The following general symptoms are common in those with PA:
? The Strange Tiredness
? Fog days, where you have difficulty in thinking clearly
? Weakness
? Fatigue
? Upset stomach
? Abnormally rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) and/or chest pains
? Abnormal yellow colouration of the skin (jaundice)
? Heightened sensitivity to hearing, smell, and taste
? Vision distortion, e.g. seeing stars, or double vision
? Breathlessness
? Headache
? Cankers (ulcers) in the mouth
? Sleep disorders
? Intolerance to loud sounds, flashing lights
? Intolerance to crowded malls (needing personal space)
? Tinnitus – ringing in ears
1.2 Neurological Symptoms
The neurological symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency may include:
? Numbness and tingling of the arms and more commonly the legs
? Difficulty walking
? Loss of balance
? Hands feel gloved with loss of sensitivity
? Loss of vibration sense, having to look down to see where you are walking
? Unable to close your eyes and stand on one foot
? Night vision
? Memory loss
? Disorientation
? Dementia
? Extreme mood changes
? Short term memory loss
Some experience many of these symptoms and some none of them. It depends on how quickly the PA is treated and on how well managed it is.
1.3 Gastrointestinal Symptoms
The gastrointestinal symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency may include:
? A sore tongue
? Appetite loss
? Diarrhoea and/or constipation
? Stomach pain However there is life after P.A. as I'm still "clivealive" and coming up to 77 years of age.