Since Allen ended up on the deficientside for Vitamin B12, we have been doing a lot of research about thesigns, symptoms, and causes. We have found quite a bit ofinformation. First, from the Mayo Clinic is their article on vitamindeficiency anemia, which covers the tests Allen was fortunate thatthe doctor did do. He was at the low point on folate, very low onvitamin B-12, and low normal range for vitamin C.
The doctor did tell him to add a dailymen’s supplement to his regimen and make sure that he added avitamin C to his regimen. The doctor told him that the prescriptionlevels of vitamin D and vitamin B12 would be for a month only andthen he should purchase the supplements in any store and set thelower limit at the level he ordered until the completion of the nexttests. Allen commented that this was good to know and that he wassurprised that the doctor was concerned about his supplements. BothTim and I said that was a good thing and that he would probablycontinue to test for these until his body maintained them in therecommended range.
We did discuss this and three of ourmembers said they were going to ask their doctor to run the sametests. We also pulled up several listings of what foods were high inthe vitamins and some minerals. Allen now has his license back andfeeling much more active. He did decide to use insulin after wepresented him with several articles and did a lot of discussion. Hedid ask if he might be able to drop back to oral medications and weall agreed that could be a goal if he wanted it, but that may not bewhat he needs for the long term.
After we covered many of the mythsabout insulin, even Ben admitted that his blood glucose managementwas so much better; he doubted he would consider going back to oralmedications. Ben also has decided to change doctors so that he couldbe tested for vitamin shortages. We all have been reading aboutvitamin B12 and several things we could do. Vitamin B12 deficiencyis a risk for neuropathy, and several other health problems.
Since the Mayo Clinic article lists thesigns and symptoms of vitamin deficiency anemia, we decided to studythe article with care. They list the following signs and symptoms:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Pale or yellowish skin
- Swollen tongue that may appear dark red
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea
- Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet
- Muscle weakness
- Irritability
- Unsteady movements
- Mental confusion or forgetfulness
All of us could recognize something inthe list that fits us and so the discussion would continue. Everyoneagreed that if their doctor would not test them for the same teststhat Allen had, they would be changing doctors. Ben is back with theVA and he and Allen both have had their appointments scheduled. Allen is happy since this will help get his insulin much cheaper andthey have moved his appointment up to the middle of May. Even Barryis now set up for an appointment locally after his move and hisrecords are now here.
We discussed vitamin B12 foods thatwould help prevent the deficiency. Most were not aware that much ofthe vitamin B12 needed could be obtained from eggs, milk, cheese,yogurt, red and white meats, shellfish, and some fortified foods. This was a discussion that opened some eyes and at the same time ledto a discussion of low cholesterol and low fat. Tim took over inthis discussion about the importance of lower levels ofcarbohydrates, medium protein and fat since there was much resistanceto higher cholesterol and fat.
Brenda did surprise us when she spokeup and said Tim was right and that she had been following this foodregimen for several years and her tests showed that the food ratio ofcarbohydrates, protein, and fat of 20 percent: 30 percent, 50 percenthad not caused her test results to increase and that she was actuallyhaving better test results and had lost a few pounds. She said shewould provide the test information to anyone needing confirm this. She continued by saying that her sister, a nutritionist, had workedwith her for the last five years and could also discuss this withanyone needing guidance.
This took a lot of the argument out ofthe discussion and we moved on to other causes of vitamin B12deficiency. We pulled up the article by the Mayo Clinic and since noone has had gastric bypass surgery, Crohn's disease or celiacdisease, or other problems that interfere with absorption of thevitamin B12, we moved to discussion of the intrinsic factor asvitamin B-12 deficiency is most often due to a lack of thissubstance.
Intrinsic factor is a protein secretedby the stomach that joins vitamin B-12 in the stomach and escorts itthrough the small intestine to be absorbed by your bloodstream.Without intrinsic factor, vitamin B-12 cannot be absorbed and leavesyour body as waste. Lack of intrinsic factor may be due to anautoimmune reaction, in which your immune system mistakenly attacksthe stomach cells that produce it. Vitamin B-12 deficiency anemiacaused by a lack of intrinsic factor is called pernicious anemia.
Vitamin B12 is important not only forthe production of red blood cells, but also for a healthy nervoussystem. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to neurological problems inneuropathy, mental confusion and forgetfulness. This tells us howimportant vitamin B12 is for healthy brain function.
Allen joked that he did not want to bethe cause of all this learning, but felt that our insistence of hisbeing tested had helped all of us and he had learned a great lessonabout nutrition.
We agreed that we may have found a goodarticle to use as our center of discussion, but that we all hadlearned and needed to learn more. I thanked Tim and Brenda forleading much of the discussion. Brenda said that was why she wantedto be part of this discussion as this was what she had gone throughseveral years ago and realized we were serious about discussing it. She knew some things had changed and she wanted to learn more ifpossible and she had.
We also gave this article to everyonefor reading. It is from WebMD and is very specific to vitamin B12deficiency.
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