Treatment FAQ

what is the best treatment for pernicious anemia

by Alvah Lockman Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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How is pernicious anemia treated? Since vitamin B12 absorption is blocked, your healthcare provider may prescribe intramuscular vitamin B12 injections. Later, after B12 stores are back to normal, they may prescribe high doses of oral B12 replacement. They'll monitor your treatment.Feb 7, 2022

Medication

Injections are the preferred method of treating Pernicious Anaemia. Here’s what the BSH Guidelines for Cobalamin (B12) and Folate Disorders say:

Nutrition

Treating the cause of the pernicious anemia (if a cause can be found) Specific Types of Treatment. Pernicious anemia usually is easy to treat with vitamin B12 shots or pills. If you have severe pernicious anemia, your doctor may recommend shots first. Shots usually are given in a muscle every day or every week until the level of vitamin B12 in your blood increases.

What are the best remedies for anemia?

If you have pernicious anemia, you’ll need to take vitamin B12 supplements regularly for the rest of your life. Other causes of B12 deficiency may be helped by increasing the vitamin B12 in your diet. Some foods to consider adding to your diet include: Breakfast cereals with added vitamin B12. Meats such as beef, liver, poultry and fish.

Is it possible to cure anemia?

If you have pernicious anemia and lack the ability to create intrinsic factor, you’ll need B12 injections for life . No other supplement should be used in this case. In pernicious anemia, your body is simply unable to absorb B12 through the stomach. B12 injections are literally life-savers.

How serious is pernicious anaemia?

Nov 24, 2021 · Treatment of pernicious anemia usually consists of: vitamin B12 injections that are followed closely over time following the blood level of vitamin B12 over the course of therapy making adjustments...

Which malignancies are associated with pernicious anemia?

Feb 11, 2022 · Treatment for this form of anemia usually involves taking iron supplements and changing your diet. For some people, this might involve receiving iron through a vein. If the cause of iron deficiency is loss of blood — other than from menstruation — the source of the bleeding must be located and the bleeding stopped.

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What is the most effective treatment for pernicious anemia (PA)? a. oral folate b. injections of B12 c. oral B12 d. alterations in diet

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What is the most effective treatment for pernicious anemia?

Pernicious anemia usually is easy to treat with vitamin B12 shots or pills. If you have severe pernicious anemia, your doctor may recommend shots first. Shots usually are given in a muscle every day or every week until the level of vitamin B12 in your blood increases.

How long can you live with pernicious anemia?

Currently, early recognition and treatment of pernicious anemia provide a normal, and usually uncomplicated, lifespan. Delayed treatment permits progression of the anemia and neurologic complications. If patients are not treated early in the disease, neurological complications can become permanent.

How long does it take to recover from pernicious anemia?

How Long Does It Take to Recover from B12 Deficiency? Once you begin treating your vitamin B12 deficiency, it can take up to six to 12 months to fully recover. It is also common to not experience any improvement during the first few months of treatment.Oct 30, 2020

Can you overcome pernicious anemia?

As pernicious anemia is an autoimmune condition, people may need life-long treatment to control symptoms. Doctors can treat the vitamin B-12 deficiency. However, there is not yet a cure for the immune system reaction that causes this deficiency to occur.Jul 17, 2018

Is pernicious anemia serious?

Pernicious (per-nish-uhs) anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12. Left untreated, pernicious anemia can cause serious medical issues, including irreversible damage to your nervous system.Feb 7, 2022

What triggers pernicious anemia?

Causes. Pernicious anemia is a type of vitamin B12 anemia. The body needs vitamin B12 to make red blood cells. You get this vitamin from eating foods such as meat, poultry, shellfish, eggs, and dairy products.Feb 6, 2020

What is severe pernicious anemia?

Pernicious anemia is one cause of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia. It's thought to mainly be caused by an autoimmune process that makes a person unable to produce a substance in the stomach called intrinsic factor. This substance is needed to absorb dietary vitamin B12 in the small intestine.

What is the fastest way to cure B12 deficiency?

You can change your diet to include vitamin B12-fortified grains, a supplement or B12 injections, or a high-dose oral vitamin B12 if you are deficient. Older adults who have a vitamin B12 deficiency will likely have to take a daily B12 supplement or a multivitamin that contains B12.Dec 14, 2021

What medications should not be taken with B12?

Certain medications can decrease the absorption of vitamin B12, including: colchicine, metformin, extended-release potassium products, antibiotics (such as gentamicin, neomycin, tobramycin), anti-seizure medications (such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, primidone), medications to treat heartburn (such as H2 blockers ...

What does the tongue look like with pernicious anemia?

Pernicious anemia causes the tongue's surface to look smooth and appear red instead of the pinkish color of a normal tongue. The tongue might also appear thick or beefy in texture. Some tongues might even be swollen or seem to have cracks.

Can pernicious anemia turn into leukemia?

Individuals with pernicious anemia were also at significantly increased risk of developing myeloma (OR: 1.55), acute myeloid leukemia (OR: 1.68) and myelodysplastic syndromes (OR: 2.87)....Table 1.All Cases (n=1,138,390)Controls (n = 100,000)181–24051,991 (5)4,630 (5)24 more rows•Dec 1, 2016

Is pernicious anemia a disability?

How to Qualify for SSDI in Boston With Pernicious Anemia. If you have received treatments and are no longer able to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in Boston for pernicious anemia. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a listing specifically for pernicious anemia.

Injections are still the preferred method of treating Pernicious Anaemia

Here’s what the new Guidelines for Cobalamin (B12) and Folate Disorders issued by the British Committee for Standards in Haematology say:

The BNF states

Initially administer hydroxocobalamin 1 mg intramuscularly on alternate days until there is no further improvement, then administer hydroxocobalamin 1 mg intramuscularly every 2 months.

What to do if you have pernicious anemia?

If your pernicious anemia is caused by something other than a lack of intrinsic factor, you may get treatment for the cause (if a cause can be found). For example, your doctor may prescribe medicines to treat a condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12.

What are the goals of treating pernicious anemia?

The goals of treating pernicious anemia include: Preventing or treating the anemia and its signs and symptoms. Preventing or managing complications, such as heart and nerve damage. Treating the cause of the pernicious anemia (if a cause can be found)

Can you take B12 for anemia?

For less severe pernicious anemia, your doctor may recommend large doses of vitamin B12 pills. A vitamin B12 nose gel and spray also are available. These products may be useful for people who have trouble swallowing pills, such as older people who have had strokes. Your signs and symptoms may begin to improve within a few days after you start ...

How to treat pernicious anemia?

The treatment of pernicious anemia is straightforward. Affected people must take vitamin B12 to remedy their deficiency. This is often done as a series of injections into a muscle, with decreasing frequency over a period of months. Most people notice radical improvements in their symptoms within 24 hours, and the anemia itself starts to improve within the week. 1 

Why is pernicious anemia common?

Causes. The most common cause of pernicious anemia is autoimmune gastritis leading to vitamin B12 deficiency. Rarely, there is a genetic or congenital cause. There are also other conditions resulting in poor absorbtion or low vitamin B12.

What is the term for anemia that is harmful to the body?

Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune condition in which the body can’t absorb vitamin B12 correctly. This leads to symptoms from anemia (a reduced number of functioning red blood cells) and other problems. The word “pernicious” means gradually harmful and damaging.

What does it mean when your hematocrit is low?

Low hematocrit, which shows the amount of space the red blood cells take up in the blood , can also be a sign. In people with pernicious anemia, the red blood cells are also larger than normal, as measured by a test called the mean corpuscular volume (also performed as part of a CBC). 4 .

Can vitamin B12 cause pernicious anemia?

Although the symptoms of per nicious anemia are caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, it is not the only possible cause of such a deficiency. This can be caused by other situations, including ones that decrease effective absorption of vitamin B12.

Can pernicious anemia cause dementia?

If pernicious anemia isn’t treated for a long period of time, these cognitive problems can get even worse, possibly causing psychosis or dementia. In extreme circumstances, it can cause significant problems with the nervous system and even death. 1 .

Is B12 fatal?

Historically, before we understood its role and had vitamin B12 treatments available, it was often fatal. 1 . Pernicious anemia is also sometimes referred to as “autoimmune gastritis” or “Biermer’s disease.”. It is more common in older adults, and it is estimated to affect around 2% of adults over the age of 60. 2 .

Overview

Pernicious (per-nish-uhs) anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12. Without adequate vitamin B12, you have fewer red blood cells carrying oxygen throughout your body. You can have pernicious anemia for several years before noticing changes in your body.

Symptoms and Causes

Generally speaking, the longer you go without adequate vitamin B12, the more serious your symptoms are. Early on, people may have mild symptoms they may think are caused by other common conditions. Examples include:

Diagnosis and Tests

First, your healthcare provider will complete a thorough physical examination and ask questions about your medical history so they know if you’ve any other conditions that may increase your risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. They may ask you if you’re having trouble concentrating. They may look for signs of nervous system problems.

Management and Treatment

Since vitamin B12 absorption is blocked, your healthcare provider may prescribe intramuscular vitamin B12 injections. Later, after B12 stores are back to normal, they may prescribe high doses of oral B12 replacement. They’ll monitor your treatment.

Prevention

You can’t prevent pernicious anemia from occurring. But you can reduce your risk by being aware of medical conditions, treatments and activities that may affect your body’s ability to absorb vitamin B12.

Living With

If you have pernicious anemia, you’ll need to take vitamin B12 supplements regularly for the rest of your life. Other causes of B12 deficiency may be helped by increasing the vitamin B12 in your diet. Some foods to consider adding to your diet include:

What happens if you have pernicious anemia?

In most cases of pernicious anemia, the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells, known as parietal cells, that produce IF in the stomach. If these cells are destroyed, the stomach can’t make IF and the small intestine can’t absorb vitamin B-12 from in the diet, including from foods such as those listed above.

What is the best vitamin for anemia?

People with anemia have low levels of normal red blood cells (RBCs). Vitamin B-12 plays a role in creating RBCs, so the body requires an adequate intake of vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is found in: meat. poultry. shellfish. eggs. dairy products. fortified soy, nut, and rice milks.

What blood test can be used to check for anemia?

Complete blood count. This test can screen for an anemia in general by looking such things as hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. Vitamin B-12 level. If vitamin B-12 deficiency is suspected as the cause of your anemia, your doctor can assess your vitamin B-12 level through this blood test.

What is the treatment for anemia?

Treatment for this anemia can include blood transfusions to boost levels of red blood cells. You might need a bone marrow transplant if your bone marrow can't make healthy blood cells. Anemias associated with bone marrow disease. Treatment of these various diseases can include medication, chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation.

What is the treatment for hemolytic anemia?

Sickle cell anemia. Treatment might include oxygen, pain relievers, and oral and intravenous fluids to reduce pain and prevent complications. Doctors might also recommend blood transfusions, folic acid supplements and antibiotics.

What is the treatment for folic acid deficiency?

This might involve surgery. Vitamin deficiency anemias. Treatment for folic acid and vitamin C deficiency involves dietary supplements and increasing these nutrients in your diet. If your digestive system has trouble absorbing vitamin B-12 from the food you eat, you might need vitamin B-12 shots.

How to treat iron deficiency?

Iron deficiency anemia. Treatment for this form of anemia usually involves taking iron supplements and changing your diet. If the cause of iron deficiency is loss of blood — other than from menstruation — the source of the bleeding must be located and the bleeding stopped. This might involve surgery. Vitamin deficiency anemias.

What is CBC in anemia?

A CBC is used to count the number of blood cells in a sample of your blood . For anemia, your doctor will be interested in the levels of the red blood cells contained in your blood (hematocrit) and the hemoglobin in your blood. Normal adult hematocrit values vary among medical practices but are generally between 40% and 52% for men and 35% ...

What are the symptoms of folate deficiency anemia?

Specific symptoms of folate deficiency anemia include severe cheilosis (scales and. fissures of the lips and corners of the mouth), stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth), and. painful ulcerations of the buccal mucosa and tongue. Gastrointestinal symptoms may be.

Is sideroblastic anemia mild or moderate?

Of the options available, only sideroblastic anemia exhibits mild-to-moderate. enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly) and liver (hepatomegaly), as well as abnormal. skin pigmentation (bronze colored). Heart rhythm disturbances, along with congestive.

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Treatment

Risks

Benefits

International

Your provider will work with you to develop a care plan that may include one or more of these treatment options.
Pernicious anemia can be treated by restoring the vitamin B 12 supply.
Medication

Supplements: - Vitamin B12 intramuscular injections (shots) are given. - Vitamin B12 supplements and diet

Vitamin B12

Nutrition

Foods to eat:

  • Breakfast cereals with added vitamin B12
  • Meats such as beef, liver, poultry, and shellfish
  • Eggs and dairy products (such as milk, yogurt, and cheese)
  • Soy-based food and beverages

Foods to avoid:

  • NA

Specialist to consult

Primary care physician
Specializes in the acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health.
Hematologist
Specializes in the study of the blood and blood disorders.

Purpose

  • What is the most effective Pernicious Anemia treatment? In two words: B12 injections. It is the only effective way for PA patients to absorb B12, since it bypasses the gastric system and goes straight to your bloodstream. More than a century ago, people with Pernicious Anemia would ev…
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Criticism

  • Millions of people around the world are B12 deficient. In the UK alone, hundreds of thousands of citizens are routinely misdiagnosed and continue to deteriorate without proper treatment. Its all very tragic, and we think B12 injections should be administered almost by default. It is a water soluble vitamin any excess is flushed out in the urine so theres no possibility of toxicity, and you …
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Prognosis

  • Having injectable B12 ready over the counter will make Pernicious Anemia treatment a thousand fold easier, and will have a profound effect on the lives of patients, their families, and our society. Many doctors are treating B12-induced depression with antidepressants, while it can disappear entirely by regular administration of something as simple as B12. Its not toxic, it repairs nerves, …
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Symptoms

  • In Germany, France, and Spain you can buy B12 injections over the counter in any pharmacy. In Japan and Malaysia, you can even buy them in supermarkets!
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Toxicity

  • We created this site to educate people about the lethal, subtle nature of Pernicious Anemia, and to give patients a chance for optimal treatment by giving them access to as many B12 shots as they need. Your plea for help will no longer fall on deaf ears. Each person has a different level of damage, and some symptoms are reversible when caught and treated early. Dont wait a second …
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Side effects

  • As current things are, Pernicious Anemia patients are at the mercy of an outdated, restrictive and uneducated system, providing ridiculous treatment and leaving behind a trail of severe suffering.
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Society and culture

  • This under treatment renders those of us with this condition amongst other things seriously mentally impaired, experiencing debilitating pain, bed ridden, chronically fatigued, at high risk of stroke or heart attack, and unable to walk or to stay awake. (Its your time to live, not merely exist.) Some patients have successfully fought for the right to receive more frequent injections howeve…
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Pernicious Anemia Symptoms

  • There is a big misunderstanding among health practitioners, who under-treat their patients with infrequent doses that are way below what the patient actually needs. They sometimes stop treatment altogether! This results in many patients being left with recurring symptoms that may get permanent!
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Causes

  • When treating children with an inborn error in production of transcobalamin II (the binding protein that transports B12 to the cells), blood levels of ~7500pmol/L show zero side effects.
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Diagnosis

  • In Japan, patients with Multiple Sclerosis who received daily tablets of 60,000mcg of methylcobalamin for half a year showed no side effects and no toxicity. Half of them even started with two weeks of daily 5,000mcg B12 shots straight to the bloodstream. Also in Japan, kidney dialysis patients received doses of methylcobalamin so high their blood levels rose from an aver…
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Treatment

  • Back then in the 50s, before chemotherapy was available, children with a neuroblastoma tumor received massive doses of B12 injections every two days, for 2-3 years, with great success.
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A Word from Verywell

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Symptoms often come on gradually and are mild at first but may worsen if untreated. For example, mild fatigue might be an initial sign. Other symptoms of pernicious anemia can include the following:1 1. Pale skin 2. Weakness of the arms and legs 3. Tingling or prickling of the skin 4. Shortness of the breath 5. Diz
See more on verywellhealth.com

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