Low b-12?

[Maggie272]

Hi Everyone

Appreciate any personal or anecdotal experiences: had my bloods done a week ago and you need to phone in to get results. I forgot but phoned yesterday morning and the receptionist said she couldn't read my b-12 but thought it was low (?) but will get the doctor to phone me back tomorrow (Monday).

I stupidly looked up effects of b-12 deficiency in pregnancy and see that it's neural tube defects. I had my 20 week scan last week (in fact, the day before my bloods were done) and my baby is measuring perfectly, no anatomical anomalies.

I'm vegetarian with a dairy intolerance and take pregnacare which has 240% of the RDA - my vegan cheese and milk are fortified with it and I eat a few eggs every week. Before getting pregnant and until week 12 the vitamin I was taking had about 1000% RDA and I believe the body stores B12.

I'm sort of worried but not upset as everything was fine on the scan, and I feel perfect besides the odd bit of fatigue. I walk 2 - 4 miles a day and do about 30 - 60mins of active yoga a day. I have a feeling everything is ok, and I'll find out soon enough anyway, but between now and bedtime would love a bit of a handhold!

M x

Hi @Maggie272 I have pernicious anaemia (vitamin B12 deficiency) and have had it for many many years.

I have regular b12 injections as my body does not absorb it purely in vitamin form.

My doctors are well aware of this and wrote to a specialist at the hospital when we found out I was pregnant, there was no mention to me of any risks of being pregnant and I haven’t googled anything so wasn’t aware there was a higher risk.

My midwife is also aware and again I’ve not had any extra special advice from them, personally if your scan was all good I really would not stress about it.

The deficiency can be managed really easily with no problems, I’m not concerned about my pregnancy (13 weeks and all looked ok at my dating scan).

Hope this helps to reassure you. If you have any questions about the deficiency itself feel free to ask - I’ve had it for years.

@Luckyme30 Thank you! I'm glad to hear that your condition is under control and that your pregnancy is healthy! I think I wrote the post too late and was more tired-worried than really worried. I feel great and my b-12 was great at 12 weeks so if it's a bit low I'm sure it can be well managed. After some googling last night I read that meat eaters can also get pernicious anemia, and I was a bit worried about my veggie diet. She said my haemoglobin was fine so I think that's a sign of good b-12...we'll see but I'll let you know!
M x