Vitamin B12

[Slip]

For a while now I have been feeling tired a lot, just put it down to shift work and the baby.

However had a blood test last week and it came back as very low Vitamin b12 in my blood.... Had a repeat test Thursday and came back as very low again...

End result is I have to pick up a prescription on Monday for Vitamin B tablets and also for the next 5 weeks have a weekly Vitamin B injection.

They said I should eat more Dairy... I eat cheese most days! And eat more meat, like chicken... Harlene cooks meat, like chicken most meals.... So really they don't know why all off a sudden this has happened.


All I know is I hate injections!

[Terpe]

I've always eaten seafoods.
My doctor told me that's probably why I had a high level of B12
She also told me I was a bit low on potassium and should eat plenty of strawberries. Surprised me a bit.
Can't afford to eat many strawberries here but I eat plenty of bananas on a daily basis.

Here in the Philippines we also eat plenty of seafoods.
My favourite is Tuna Kinilaw with Clam soup.

slip do you eat seafoods ?

[Slip]

I eat prawns. Too be honest since Harlene came over last November I don't often visit the kitchen now... She doesn't let me!

[Doc Alan]

I’m sorry to read about your vitamin B12 deficiency.


Of course it’s impossible for me to make clinical diagnoses online and I don’t make value judgements.


There are many causes of tiredness. These include anaemia which affects roughly a third of the world’s population ( half due to iron deficiency ). Anaemia is not a diagnosis in itself and the causes vary in different parts of the world.


Vitamins are essential nutrients for the body – " fat-soluble " vitamins ( A, D, E, and K ) are stored in the body, so don’t need to be taken as frequently as " water-soluble " vitamins ( C and the B vitamins including folic acid ).


The diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency may well have come as a surprise, but the condition is unlikely to be sudden in onset. It’s also not necessarily due to dietary deficiency. Eating meat, fish and dairy foods is usually enough to prevent deficiency.


A blood test may show changes in red blood cells suggesting B12 deficiency ( among other causes ). The commonest cause of B12 deficiency in the UK is in fact an " auto-immune " condition ( " pernicious anaemia " ), whereby the small intestine can’t absorb the vitamin. Another blood test may show antibodies to " intrinsic factor " , which is formed in the stomach and needed to absorb B12, thus confirming the diagnosis. In this case B12 needs to be given by injection long term.


Your own doctor is of course best placed to explain this when you next attend the clinic, and tell you whether or not dietary B12 alone is sufficient.

[SimonH]

I eat prawns. Too be honest since Harlene came over last November I don't often visit the kitchen now... She doesn't let me!

Don't knock it, Shey thinks the oven is a clock with a big drawer below it :Erm:
Try Guinness :party-smiley-012:

[imagine]

i have vit b12 injections every 3 months,for a few years or so now and likely to have for the rest of my life, i do not absorb it from my food, the injection isnt so bad, you must b12 its important

[Slip]

I have to go every week for the next 5 weeks, but earliest I can go is 30th Sep for my first injection... Then I got a text from the doctors this morning saying after the 5 weeks are up I need injections every 4 months for the rest of my life....

Surely they would need to wait to see the results of any blood test after the 5 week course then maybe in 4 months time before saying I need them for the rest of my life? I will be bringing this up with the doctor on the 30th.

[Doc Alan]

I have to go every week for the next 5 weeks, but earliest I can go is 30th Sep for my first injection... Then I got a text from the doctors this morning saying after the 5 weeks are up I need injections every 4 months for the rest of my life....

Surely they would need to wait to see the results of any blood test after the 5 week course then maybe in 4 months time before saying I need them for the rest of my life? I will be bringing this up with the doctor on the 30th.

As I explained in # 4, if you can't absorb B12 then you will need injections, free on the NHS, for the rest of your life. B12 is an essential vitamin, and anaemia due to deficiency needs treating, so further blood tests are probably to confirm that it is no longer at a low level.

Forum advice is also free !

[Slip]

As I explained in # 4, if you can't absorb B12 then you will need injections, free on the NHS, for the rest of your life. B12 is an essential vitamin, and anaemia due to deficiency needs treating, so further blood tests are probably to confirm that it is no longer at a low level.

Forum advice is also free !

Thanks for the free advice :smile:

Can you explain how the treatment is free on NHS. I never knew it was, I have always paid for my medications... Like my migraine medication I have been on for over 20 years... Always pay x amount every 3 months for a new prescription

[KeithD]

You have to pay towards prescriptions in England, but it is not the full charge for the drugs. If the full cost needed paying, then my pills would be about £200 a month. Luckily, I get them free living in Wales :Hellooo:

[SimonH]

You have to pay towards prescriptions in England, but it is not the full charge for the drugs. If the full cost needed paying, then my pills would be about £200 a month. Luckily, I get them free living in Wales :Hellooo:

Wrong :wink:

[Doc Alan]

Personally I would be glad to have a correct diagnosis of a potentially serious condition which could be successfully treated - but of course can’t make value judgements on how other people might react.


Blood tests themselves involve expensive equipment, and interpretation by highly skilled laboratory workers, which influence the decision on treatment by the patient’s doctor.


Of course the NHS has to be funded, largely through taxation. Its huge advantage, compared to the Philippines, is that investigation and treatment is ( mostly ) free at the point of use.


Our Forum also needs to be funded, in this case by voluntary contributions !

See :- http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php/35706-Our-right-to-healthcare-Philippines-vs-UK?p=552397#post552397

... and http://filipinaroses.com/misc.php?do=donlist