Diagnosis | Vitamin B12 deficiency

Diagnosis

In addition to the clinical symptoms, which are unfortunately relatively unspecific and can also indicate a variety of other diseases, one usually simply measures the vitamin B12 level in the blood. However, a deficiency should also not yet be diagnosed based on these 2 parameters: An increased red blood cell volume (laboratory parameter MCV for Mean Corpuscular Volume) and a decreased red blood cell count, as well as an increased homocysteine and methylmalonic acid level, are also indicative of a deficiency.

Therapy

Any vitamin B12 deficiency should be corrected as soon as possible to prevent the onset of symptoms and to prevent further deterioration of the vitamin B12 deficiency. Once the diagnosis has been made, the therapy is relatively simple and uncomplicated. There are various options available for correcting vitamin B12 deficiency.

Before any treatment, it is first important to find out what the cause of the vitamin B12 deficiency is and above all how severe the deficiency is. If it is a mild vitamin B12 deficiency due to malnutrition, it is necessary to change the diet. Vitamin-B12-rich foods include whole milk, fish, offal and red meat.

Various types of cheese also have a vitamin B12 content, albeit somewhat lower. Vitamin B12 can be substituted either orally (ingested by mouth) or intramuscularly (injected). As a rule, depending on the severity of the vitamin B12 deficiency, one month’s injections into the upper arm muscle are sufficient for several months.

If the intrinsic factor is sufficiently developed and only the amount of vitamin B12 ingested with food is not sufficient for saturation, an attempt at treatment with vitamin B12 tablets can be made. This intake must also be carried out over several months. There are also freely available vitamin B12 supplements on the Internet that are taken at regular intervals.

It should be noted, however, that a vitamin B12 substitution (e.g. with Vitasprint) should always be taken in combination with folic acid intake (vitamin B9). Vitamin B12 substitution is particularly useful for vegans or vegetarians who do not take up the vitamin with food. However, you should not start an arbitrary vitamin B12 substitution, but should always consult your family doctor and take prescribed B12 preparations only as directed.

When changing your diet, it is also important to make sure that there is no absorption disorder. Because if vitamin B12 absorption is impaired by a deficiency of intrinsic factor, vitamin-rich foods cannot compensate for the vitamin deficiency. In this case, the vitamin must be taken as an injection.

Since the intrinsic factor cannot be added artificially, the gastrointestinal tract, where vitamin B12 absorption normally takes place, must be bypassed. In substitution therapy, the dose that would be given if the intake was insufficient is not sufficient. In the case of a resorption disorder, the dose is simply increased by a thousand times the daily requirement, from 2-3 micrograms to 2-3 milligrams.

Usually, with such a high availability, sufficient vitamin B12 can still be absorbed in the body, so that the deficiency is successfully treated. In addition, the patient is spared permanent injections into the muscle. By the way, an overdose is hardly possible, since the body simply filters the corresponding amounts through the kidneys and excretes them with the urine.