B12 deficiency anaemia

[lastgreat]

Posting in general for traffic, even though my question is pregnancy related.

Diagnosed with anaemia due to shortness of breath at 35 weeks. Given iron tablets. Now 37 weeks. Was sent to hospital earlier this week as shortness of breath not improving.

Full blood count shows haemoglobin has gone up a tiny bit from 99 to 103, I had been hoping for a home birth but it's still too low for that. Because of this they did further checks and have found my ferritin is 55 (so pretty good?) but my B12 is quite low. Waiting for a doc to call but midwife said I need b12 injections.

Has anyone had b12 injections for anemia and how quickly did it improve symptoms? Really not wanting to go into labour feeling this shite.

Also if anyone else has been told they have low b12, were any other investigations done?

Thank you!

Yes, I had this with my first DD (but not with the second) I found the B12 injection to be magical! Within a day I felt like a real person again.

I was checked again postnatal, and all was seen to be fine and I didn’t need to carry the injections on afterwards.

Nine years later I’ve just been prescribed B12 injections again, and once again, it’s an almost immediate improvement.

@ditzzy thanks so much! Hopefully they'll get it sorted asap then! Just want to get started now. Interesting that you only had it in one pregnancy!

If it is B12 and iron deficiency you can try getting it from food. One of the best best sources is beef liver cooked in butter, if you fancy trying it! It is best to have it alone, with no side dishes or vegetables as they can impact absorption. So, basically get up in the morning and as much liver as you can eat.
It is not for everyone, but it does the trick for me.

Best of luck!

Sorry I know this is an old post, but I just wondered how the B12 turned out for you?

I'm 30 weeks and I've just completed iron infusions but I'm told my B12 is also low and I'll need injections.

Nobody has explained if I'll need long term B12 treatment or of this is just pregnancy related. I'm just feeling very anxious

I’ve got low b12. I was started on oral treatment initially but it never did anything, so I was started on injections. I had 2 weeks of loading doses and now have injections every 3 months. It did help a bit with some symptoms but I now have low ferritin so sort of back to square one.

That's really frustrating. Maybe they can look at infusions for your ferritin? Did they know a cause for your low B12?

"Gas and air" nitrous oxide used for pain relief in childbirth can deplete B12 so speak to your doctor/ do some research over whether you will choose to use it.