More b12 Questions

[Abbie323]

Hi All,

I know I haven't posted for a while. My doctor, parents and boyfriends pretty much had me convinced all of this was anxiety, but I am starting to realize how wrong they are and I am very ready to figure out why I am b12 deficient so I have a couple of questions that will hopefully help me with this.

1) My b12 is up to 700 thanks to shots every week, but I still feel symptoms of the deficiency. Is that possible at all or does that mean something else is wrong with me?

2)Which kind of specialist(s) is most likely to give me insight and proper care about the b12 deficiency and what else might be wrong? I feel like my primary care physician doesn't really know what to do and I called a gastro person today and his nurse said they do not deal with b12 deficiencies.

I think those are my only questions for now. Please let me know if I left anything out in my search for answers.

Thanks in advance!

-Abbie

3) Are Schilling tests still done and are they safe?

[Abbie323]

I've lost my sense of smell in my left nostril. It is totally gone. I have had cat scans and mris of my head so I know it isn't from a brain tumor or anything that scary, but could being b12 deficient cause something like this?

[rose]

1) The fact that your B12 is 700 or even at a much stronger level does not mean that the damage is instantly healed, any more than a knife wound is healed the moment the knife is removed. And, in fact, nerves heal very slowly when they can heal.

2) Sadly, most will be decades behind. You need to know a lot about it in order to counter the terrible information you are likely to get.

2a) A gastro person who does not deal with B12 deficiency. Aaaargh! That is where most originates!! :mad: Unfortunately, that is typical of the ridiculous state of information and help on this issue.

The Schilling test is very seldom done anymore. Probably no harm in it, but not the best thing is most cases.

Please read: http://roseannster.googlepages.com/home Sorry I haven't been able to add anything for a while, but it will provide more information than you'll get from probably 95% of medical people. I wish that were not the case, and it is getting better, but very slowly.


rose

[rose]

by B12 deficiency. No way to tell whether yours is due to that.

rose

[B12Bob]

2)Which kind of specialist(s) is most likely to give me insight and proper care about the b12 deficiency and what else might be wrong? I feel like my primary care physician doesn't really know what to do and I called a gastro person today and his nurse said they do not deal with b12 deficiencies.



Apparently gastroenterologists, endocrinologist, neurologists and internists don't know or care about vitamin deficiencies. From what I have read about bariatric surgery the doctors who perform it do check for vitamin problems during the recovery phase. Also, I took my wife to a doctor at the Cancer Center of America on a referral for screening of an iron problem and they did a pretty good work up on her vitamin levels as a matter of course. You would probably have trouble getting an appointment with either type of doctor, but it might be worth trying.

[rose]

It is shocking that some docs don't tell their bariatric patients (or others losing stomach surface of ileum length) to take 1000 mcg B12 forever. There is no excuse for waiting for deficiency and damage.

rose

[B12Bob]

The one person that I know that has had the surgery gets regular vitamin therapy, including monthly B12 shots. I think she had it done at Duke.

[rose]

Good. I found it hard to believe that there are doctors who don't treat. They should not even be a small percentage, but the do exist, unfortunately.

rose

[barbara]

To Abbie: I was diagnosed with b12 deficiency earlier this year; I have had a reduction in taste and smell for several years...I suspect now that it is due to the b12 deficiency, but I'm not sure. I have had a normal mri and seen ENT twice regarding taste/smell reduction. There is a reference in this article about taste and smell disorders that vitamin deficiency can be a possible cause http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000115/427.html

[rose]

And it is important to note that significant problems can develop before lesions appear on an MRI.

rose