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Diagnosed at 26...!

Posted , 7 users are following.

louisegemmins13
louisegemmins13

I was recently diagnosed with B12 deficiency (level of 78) and I am only 26.

I have begun my loading doses and nurse said to me today "I've never known this in someone so young. Very odd"

Talk about reassurance...not! 

Any other young sufferers out there??

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • marion29181
    marion29181 louisegemmins13

    Posted

    Dear Louise,

    It was always thought to be disease of older people, but that is certainly not the case. 

    The nurse who does my injections has told me that she has low B12 as does her daughter of 11, and a young patient of 14. 

    I recommmend reading Pernicious Anaemia the Forgotten Disease by Martin Hooper, he is the founder of the Pernicious Anaemia Society. Good luck with everything, I hope the injections help. Marion

  • ap98621
    ap98621 louisegemmins13

    Posted

    I was first diagnosed at 30 I think, so not as young as you! There's a fantastic video on YouTube if you search something like 'B12 deficiency', I think it's 51 minutes long, which features a very young sufferer. It's actually a great watch, if a little terrifying. 

    Your B12 is very low! Do you have a copy of your blood test results? Have the doctors established a cause of your deficiency? X

  • MadgeC
    MadgeC louisegemmins13

    Posted

    Hi Louise, being that young is not so surprising. I know of a couple of mother daughter combinations where the mother has been diagnosed late in life. She has become aware of the condition and then when they tested the daughter, who already had some symptoms they found that the daughter also had PA. There is obviously a genetic linkage. There are probably a lot of people who are not diagnosed at your age, even though they have the early signs of symptoms. It will also depend upon how high your B12 levels were before the PA "set in". What they probably won't tell you is that you can certainly help your condition by staying as healthy and disease free as possible. Viral, bacterial and fungal infections chew up your B12, as too do chronic inflammatory diseases. Also the more "shots" you can get the better.
  • JaneLeung
    JaneLeung louisegemmins13

    Posted

    Hey Louise, I thought I was alone, yes I'm a young suffer too, I'm 21 now & have had PA for 7 years I was diagnosed at 14, it was a bit hard to cope with at first & has it's had weeks but I guess you just get use to it eventually. I self inject now & take my shots every 6 weeks. How are you coping, need any advise? Xx
  • kelly51481
    kelly51481 louisegemmins13

    Posted

    Hi Louise, I'm 28 and have only recently been diagnosed with PA. I've not long finished my 6 injections loading dose. I haven't had a very good time with it at the moment. I've remtly broken out in lots of spots on my face and I've never suffered with acne before. Not really sure how to get rid of them however the tiredness is so much better and I'm feeling a lot more positive. Will feel even better when I stop looking like a spotty teenager. Best of luck with everything 
  • victoria82533
    victoria82533 louisegemmins13

    Posted

    Hi ya. I'm new to this. I was diagnosed with this 24. I'm now in the process of going back to the Dr's as always tired still.
    • MadgeC
      MadgeC victoria82533

      Posted

      Hi Victoria, Kelly, Louise, Marion and others out there. It is very interesting a couple of comments. The main one being the early onset of PA. As far my experience goes, PA didn't used to occur until most people were over 50, yet it seems like it is occurring way earlier now. I wonder if there is some odd environmental factor, or dietary change that has occurred that is bringing it on. It is a very, very long guess, but I wonder if lower consumption of dairy has anything to do with it.  I wonder if people on the forum would like to comment as to what sort of diet they are on? The other possibility would be hypothyroidism. I note on one of the thyroid sites says "A more serious type of anemia, known as pernicious anemia, is a separate disease that tends to occur in older patients who have or have had Graves' disease or Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and their relatives. This kind of anemia is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin B12." This certainly suggests that they are saing it is an older persons disease.
    • marion29181
      marion29181 MadgeC

      Posted

      Hi MadgeC , I certainly fall into the older age group, having been diagnosed with an under active thyroid several years before getting the low B12 diagnosis. I would have said I always ate a fairly balanced diet, but have been on fully skimmed milk for some years. Trying to lose the thyroid weight gain! I eat cheese, cottage and full fat cheddar, but not many eggs as they have triggered migraine headaches in the past. I wonder if they are discovering it more in younger people now, because they are testing for it? Maybe it would have been put down as some other illness in the past? I have been told it often goes along with hypothyroidism, also fibromyalgia, vitiligo,and several other autoimmune illnesses. Marion
    • MadgeC
      MadgeC marion29181

      Posted

      Hi Marion, I found a site yesterday where they say that the 2 biggest drugs in 2014 were Synthyroid and Nexium. Obviously the Synthyroid is for hypothyroidism, but what I didn't know is that apparently in hypothyroidism you don't stimulate the parietal cells to make hydrochloric acid or secrete intrinsic factor. This then means that you can't digest your food properly and so you become deficient in B12 and iron. I couldn't find anything that suggested that there is greater production of anti-parietal antibodies to cause PA, but it would by itself cause B12 deficiency, and would also make most oral B12 supplements useless.
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