Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
by Sally M. Pacholok RN, Jeffrey J. Stuart DO
List Price:
Buy Used: from $6.64 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
(Click here)
Book Summary Information
Author: Jeffrey J. Stuart DO, Sally M. Pacholok RNEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06-01
ISBN: 1884956467
Number of pages: 232
Publisher: Linden Publishing
Accessories:
- Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
- RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
Book Reviews of Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
Book Review: The Definitive Book on B12 Deficiency, Diagnosis and Treatment
Summary: 5 Stars
Could it Be B12, An Epidemic of MisDiagnoses by Sally M. Pacholok R.N. and Jeffrey J Stuart D.O.
A good friend of ours had a sudden unrelenting pain in her leg which baffled her doctors. After many months of suffering, and many failed treatments and medications, she tried inexpensive vitamin B12 injections which immediately worked, providing complete relief. Occasionally the pain returns and reminds her it's time for another B12 injection. The injections are easy with a small syringe and tiny needle, and the B12 is injected under the skin twice a week.
There are many more stories of B12 misdiagnosis in Pacholok's book. Nurse Pacholok first describes her own ordeal with pernicious anemia and B12 deficiency which motivated her to become an expert on the topic. Working within the health care system, she was appalled at the numbers of patients with obvious signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency who were misdiagnosed.
Finding the medical system apathetic and unresponsive to her advice about B12 deficiency, Pacholok wrote this book to empower medical consumers and to educate their physicians. Pacholok is on a crusade to change medical practice to routinely screen for B12 deficiency, and her book is one giant step in that direction.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is estimated to affect 10%-15% of individuals over the age of 60 years. 40% of elderly hospitalized patients have low or borderline serum B12 levels, and 50% of long term vegetarians have B12 deficiency.
B12 absorption depends on many cofactors, so it is possible to take adequate amounts of B12 in the diet, and still have a B12 deficiency. Absorption of B12 requires gastric acid, so anything which reduces gastric acid production such as gastric surgery, atrophic gastritis, or antacid drugs could produce B12 deficiency. The very popular antacid drug Prilosec (omeprazole) has been clearly shown to decrease B12 absorption. Other antacid pills such as Prevacid, Protonix, antac, Nexium, Aciphex, Zantec, Tagamet, Pepcid, Maalox, mylanta, reduce gastric acid, inhibit B12 absorption and may produce B12 deficiency. Drugs such as Metformin and other diabetes drugs can cause B12 deficiency. The anesthetic agent, Nitrous Oxide, or "laughing gas", used in dental or surgical procedures causes B12 deficiency
Pernicious anemia is the second most common cause of B12 deficiency. This is an autoimmune disease with loss of Intrinsic Factor, in which antibodies damage the stomach lining interrupting the B12 absorption mechanism.
Other people at risk for B12 deficiency include vegetarians, people with eating disorders such as bulemia and anorexia, inflammatory bowel disease with malabsorption (ie. crohn's).
Auto-immune diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis may be associated with B12 deficiency(pernicious anemia).
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause unusual neurological symptoms such as tremor, gait disturbance, severe pain, and can mimic MS (multiple sclerosis) or even Parkinson's Syndrome. The physical signs and symptoms can often mimic other diseases and the diagnosis is frequently missed.
B12 deficiency damages the myelin sheath around the nerve fibers, this is a soft fatty insulating material which is also damaged in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
B12 deficiency can cause mental changes such as irritability, apathy, sleepiness, paranoia, personality changes, depression (including post-partum depression), memory loss, dementia, cognitive dysfunction or deterioration, fuzzy thinking, psychosis, dementia, hallucinations, violent behavior, in children; autistic behavior, developmental delay.
B12 deficiency can cause neurological signs and symptoms of abnormal sensations (pain, tingling, and/or numbness of legs, arms trunk or anywhere),diminished sense of touch, pain or temperature (may mimic diabetic neuropathy Charcot foot), loss of position sense, weakness, clumsiness, tremor, any symptoms which may mimic parkinson's or multiple sclerosis, spasticity of muscles, incontinence, paralysis, vision changes, damage to optic nerve (optic neuritis).
Atherosclerotic vascular disease is increased by B12 deficiency including; Coronary artery disease, TIAs, CVA, heart attack, heart failure, claudication, all associated with elevated homocysteine levels caused by B12 deficiency.
B12 deficiency causes Megaloblastic Anemia (enlarged red blood cells with anemia). In this type of anemia, the red blood cells are fewer in number, yet they are larger in diameter (this large size is called megaloblastic and is measured on the CBC with the mean corpuscular volume, MCV). The anemia can cause fatigue, and weakness.
Cervical Dysplasia and increased risk for other dysplasias and cancers are associated with B12 deficiency. B12 supplementation is cancer prevention.
Most doctors do not test for B12, and if they do a test it is the serum B12 which may be unreliable because of the wide normal range. A more accurate test, urinary methyl malonic acid was developed by Eric Norman MD, and is inexpensive and widely available (MMA). The Methyl Malonic Acid MMA is elevated in the urine and serum in patients with B12 deficiency. Pacholok makes the case that everyone presenting for medical care should be routinely screened for B12 deficiency with the MMA, serum B12 and Homocysteine tests.
Treatment is Curative:
Treatment with inexpensive B12 injections or sublingual tablets is curative. Recent work by Kuzminski showed that daily 2 mg. oral B12 serves as well as monthly 1 mg intramuscular B12 injections. Serum Homocysteine is elevated in B12 deficiency. It is important to discover B12 deficiency early, since nerve damage can be irreversible if not discovered right away.
In conclusion, this is the definitive book on B12 deficiency, diagnosis and treatment for the lay reader and for the interested physician. As a result of reading this book, I now routinely test serum B12 and Urinary MMA on ALL patients, and have been surprised to find many symptomatic B12 deficient patients completely missed by the medical system. Needles to say, it is very gratifying to see ill patients completely recover with B12 injections.
I applaud the authors on a job well done, bringing B12 deficiency to the attention of the public, and no doubt saving many lives in the process. This book will make a positive impact on the nations's health, and change medical practice for the better. The only thing I would change about the book is to give Sally a name that is easier to pronounce.
Jeffrey Dach MD
Summary of Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
A silent crippler stalks millions of North Americans. It afflicts one person with tremors, makes another depressed or psychotic, and causes agonizing leg pains or paralysis in still another. It can mimic Alzheimer?s disease, multiple sclerosis, early Parkinson?s disease, diabetic neuropathy, or chronic fatigue syndrome. It can make men or women infertile or cause development disabilities in their children. The disorder is vitamin B12 deficiency. This isn?t a new or fad disease. You?ll find it listed in the textbooks of any first-year medical student. Yet it may be the most misdiagnosed disease and, when this occurs, the consequences can be tragic.
Health, Mind & Body Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Health, Mind & Body Books
Obedience to Authority: An Experimental Viewby Stanley Milgram
Harpercollins; Published: 1974-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $532.97
Emily's Reasons Why Not: A Novelby Carrie Gerlach
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2005-05-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Truth & Beautyby Ann Patchett
HarperAudio; Published: 2004-05-11; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $3.36
Price in other shops:
She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Womanby Ian Kerner
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2009-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.06
Price in other shops:
My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderersby Helen Morrison, Harold Goldberg
William Morrow; Published: 2004-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
Nutrition: Science and Applicationsby Lori A. Smolin
Harcourt College Pub; Published: 1996-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $30.50
Price in other shops:
Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Partyby Patty Sachs, Phyllis Cambria
Alpha; Published: 2000-10-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops:
Complete Idiot's Guide to Walking for Healthby Erika Peters
Alpha; Published: 2001-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $51.82
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Stressby Jeffrey P.; Davidson, Jeff Davidson
Macmillan Distribution; Published: 1996; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.33
Diving-Bell and the Butterflyby Jean-Dominique Bauby
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2002-05-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.02
Similar Books and other products
The Blood Pressure Miracleby Frank Mangano
Strategic Book Publishing; Published: 2009-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops:
Drug Muggers: Which Medications Are Robbing Your Body of Essential Nutrients--and Natural Ways to Restore Themby Suzy Cohen RPh
Rodale Books; Published: 2011-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Foodby Catherine Shanahan, Luke Shanahan
Big Box Books; Published: 2008-11-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.54
Price in other shops:
The Magnesium Factorby Mildred Seelig, Andrea Rosanoff
Avery Trade; Published: 2003-08-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.64
Price in other shops:
The Vitamin D Solution: A 3-Step Strategy to Cure Our Most Common Health Problemsby Michael F. Holick Ph.D. M.D.
Plume; Published: 2011-02-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.40
Price in other shops:
Power of Vitamin D: A Vitamin D Book That Contains the Most Comprehensive and Useful Information on Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Levelby MD Sarfraz Zaidi
Outskirts Press; Published: 2010-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.33
Price in other shops:
The Magnesium Solution for High Blood Pressureby Jay S. Cohen
Square One Publishers; Published: 2004-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.20
Price in other shops:
The Magnesium Miracleby Carolyn Dean
Ballantine Books; Published: 2006-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.10
Price in other shops:
Jarrow Formulas Methylcobalamin (Methyl B12), 5000mcg, 60 LozengesJarrow Formulas; Jarrow; Release date: 2010-05-07; Health Care
Best price: $13.21
Price in other shops:
Vitamin B12 Patch (8 Patches)Healthy Habits; Healthy Habits; Health Care
Best price: $19.95
Price in other shops: