My B12 Journey: The Third Update

I told you it would be soon! 😊

I was only waiting for the results from the tests I took on 6-14-23.

To recap:

·        My philosophy is to use as few medications and supplements as possible.  I always try to find a natural solution first.

·        There has been no attempt amongst most medical or research communities that I could find to search for the root cause of the B12 Deficiency to determine whether it is acute or chronic.

·        To determine if I had a chronic B12 Deficiency problem requiring supplements, I discontinued my B12 Supplementation in May 2022.  I had been on first, injections, and then sublingual supplements since 2010.

·        The plan was to monitor symptoms and retest every 3 months for a year.

·        If symptoms and test results indicated that I was becoming B12 Deficient again, it would indicate that I had a chronic form of B12 Deficiency, and I would resume treatment.

·        If I did not have symptoms and test results indicating B12 Deficiency, then I was only acutely damaged by Nitrous Exide at the dentist, and once my B12 was replenished, I no longer truly needed supplementation.

The tests Finale:

My Serum and Urinary MMA were both normal for the entire year, so there was still no B12 Deficiency after a year!  Looks like I will not continue supplementation. 

I will retest in a year unless I start having symptoms sooner.

Now on the symptoms I had: since my B12 levels are absolutely fine, and my Folate levels are still low, so they are definitely related to Folate Deficiency.  My mouth sores are pretty much gone, but I am still having some lethargy.  While my change in diet has resulted in my Folate levels increasing, they are still below normal, and my goal would be to get to the Mid-range.

               If I do nothing more than continue my diet from the last 3 months, I believe my Folate levels will continue to improve.  But I’m going to supercharge it a little!

               I’m going to add beef liver back to my diet.  Beef liver is very high in both B12 and Folate.  I believe that simple addition alone will finish the job.  And all without artificial supplements!

               But, of course, I will test my Folate again in 3 months.

On the subject of natural supplements, did you know that chopped raw liver was the original treatment for B12 Deficiency?  Pernicious Anemia, specifically.  Prior to that, Pernicious Anemia was a death sentence.

So, up to this point, my little experiment on myself has confirmed that I did indeed have acute B12 Deficiency when I was originally diagnosed.  While I did need supplementation initially to get my blood levels and liver stores back to normal, once they were, I was fine.

My hope is that physicians will:

1.       Test everyone who has symptoms appropriately for B12 (and Folate if Homocysteine is high).

2.      Determine the root cause of the deficiency, to determine the appropriate treatment protocol.

3.      Not automatically treat chronically if the root cause is not a chronic disease or condition.

4.      That being said, I believe the biggest challenge most patients face is just the opposite:  Physicians will not treat chronic disease based on a combination of symptoms and test results, resulting in undertreatment of true chronic B12 Deficiency.

I’ll keep you posted on any updates in my B12 and/or Folate status.

Now on to My Parathyroid Journey.

Watch for it to start soon!