Major breakthrough with my health & the GP

[KatyMac]

I have some health anxiety & a fair amount of 'white coat syndrome' and I find it hard to be assertive with Doctors.

I have IBS, CFS & FM and I have been wondering if I have a B12 deficiency

I went and saw a new GP and I admitted to looking it up on the internet - I explained that I often get told I have depression even when I think things are going quite well & that I feel my separate 'illnesses' are somehow connected.

She suggested that I have an auto-immune condition, that they probably were connected as it was unlikely that 3 such significant conditions appeared separately. She doesn't think it's B12 but as it won't cause any harm & it's relatively cheap it might be worth trying, however she is concerned about a reaction to a recent drug I started, so as my system is so 'fragile' she wants to start slowly

I don't think I could have had a better outcome

That is good news. Is she planning to send you to a rheumatology consultant to investigate the autoimmune issues in more detail?

No

She wants to wait to see if the B12 does anything

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that it helps, do you have a time frame?

6 weekly injections then a blood test & a week later another appt - so 8 weeks I guess

It feels slow but then I've been ill for nearly 20 years, why would it be speedy

No, 8 weeks is not too long at all. It all sounds really positive . So glad you've found a helpful doctor.

I was hoping for daily injections but I suppose I understand the caution, I certainly react violently to some things

really pleased the appt went well and you get to trial the b12. good luck

Thanks - we even discussed how random symptoms get ascribed to depression & that CFS/FM/IBS are almost certainly connected.

We also talked about how it easier to agree with a doctor rather than digging your heels in and saying no

it was enlightening

That's a really positive outcome.
I have a set of similar conditions and am always a wreck in the drs..awaiting to be fobbed off...if they are nice and actually listening and trying to make some sense of it all it makes me cry :) x

I had the six week course of B12 injections about ten years ago. For what it's worth (and it might have been a bit placebo I suppose) I felt significantly better very quickly. Didn't cure everything else wrong with me but if you are deficient you should notice a difference soon. Good luck

Yes placebo is something that worries me

But it's positive

I had the injection on Tuesday

DH & DD noticed I was brighter on Thursday/Friday/Saturday but only mentioned it today as I'm back to normal now

That's good news, if the weekly injection gives you a boost for half a week and you don't get a negative reaction (fingers crossed) it might make a good case for the daily doses you were originally hoping for.

I hope so- but I think she will use the "well your level wasn't very low" & "it was only an experiment"

But we will see