Posted by Larry Hoover on November 28, 2003, at 6:46:38
In reply to Re: If B12 is stored, why the mega-dosing? » Larry Hoover, posted by DSCH on November 27, 2003, at 21:40:26
> Thanks, Lar. Clear and to the point as usual. (You are no more long-winded than you should be). ;-)
I do try to be thorough *and* succinct.
> > If you were severely depleted in B-12 (if symptoms are evident, you are severely depleted), it takes months to get the levels back up.
>
> Are there any highly distinctive or tell-tale symptoms of B12 deficency? Malaise/fatigue/depression of course is altogether too widespread. ;-)Well, yes, that is part of the problem. Why fatigue? Why malaise? Why depression? Those are non-specific symptoms.
The clue is in the clustering of symptoms...the continuum would extend to extreme cases, as defined by the diagnostic category, pernicious anemia:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000569.htm#Symptoms
Add a healthy modicum of intuition, and voila!
In my own case, I had recurrent parasthesia for years. I had gum problems. I had impaired smell. I had wheezing. I had fatigue. And I was on Prilosec for GERD. Given the dependency of B12 uptake on stomach pH below 3.0, and the effect of the proton-pump inhibitor, I put 2 and 2 together and got 11-teen. ;-)
In any case, a trial treatment is nothing more than that.
BTW, what I have discovered is that my GERD may have been *caused* by pre-existing B12 deficiency in the first place. The connection is complex....and it is my hypothesis, not one from another source....but I have stopped needing treatments for GERD altogether, despite two decades of major symptoms.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:283013
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031122/msgs/284683.html