Could it be Pernicious Anemia or would my B12 be lower?

by Dana
(Illinois)

I just got a b12 result of 207 back. I am going to my doctor next week to follow up with the lab. If I had Pernicious Anemia, would my b12 be closer to 0 or not necessarily? I don't eat a ton of meat but do eat some beef, I eat cereal and eggs and many dairy products. I am not sure why I am on the low end of normal.

I am not sure if I have symptoms. I am an RN and work the overnight shift. I have migraines, fatigue, hypersensitive skin (which is intermittent and I have had for years) and I have missed a period this last month for the first time ever. Not sure if that last one is a symptom or not. I also have trouble finding words lately and can't seem to express myself well. My thoughts are kind of jumbled.

Anyhow, any thoughts before I go to doc would be great. I am reading a bunch of things online.

Sincerely,

Dana

Comments for Could it be Pernicious Anemia or would my B12 be lower?

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Pernicious Anemia or not, you have symptoms
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Dana,

So, it seems to me that you are asking the wrong question. Whether or not you have pernicious anemia is really secondary, and I'll explain in a minute why it really doesn't mean anything anyway. So, again, whether or not you have pernicious anemia or not, you are not absorbing vitamin b12 despite eating it.

Why is this? Well, EVEN IF you have pernicious anemia, it's almost certain that you have Gluten Sensitivity and or The H Pylori Bacteria.

Now, the reason that having pernicious anemia is essentially meaningless is because even if you DO have it, if you have either or both of these problems, you can reverse pernicious anemia because pernicious anemia is MOST OFTEN an autoimmune disease and not a truly 'genetic' issue in the majority of people. If you were diagnosed with pernicious anemia as a small child, then it's probably genetic. But if you get diagnosed as an adult, it's almost certainly an autoimmune disease caused by damage to the gastrointestinal tract from gluten damage and/or H pylori.

So, it's a good idea to get tested for the H pylori bacteria, and you can use the in home H Pylori Stool Test if your doctor won't test you for it (while there is PLENTY of research showing that H pylori can lead to low B12 levels, many doctors simply do not believe this and won't test anyone because of low B12 levels, so you might have to do it on your own), but don't make the mistake of thinking that you DON'T have gluten sensitivity simply because you test positive for H pylori, you can and most likely do have BOTH if you test positive.

And your other symptoms are likely symptoms of other nutrient deficiencies and/or a direct result of a reaction to gluten. Your symptoms are NOT normal and there are almost certainly multiple causes, including simply eating the 'Standard American Diet' all of your life.

So, I'd suggest getting started with an H pylori test and going gluten free by getting The Healthy Urban Kitchen to guide you and watching The Real Food Summit in order to learn more about why the food you are eating is contributing to your problems and what to do about it.

Kerri Knox, RN

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