Hi I have recently been diagnosed with PA. I cry so much every day. I got it due to a long h pylori infection which caused atrophic gastritis and it was triggered when I used a herbal product to kill the h pylori which left me in a LOT of pain, damaged the mucosa even more and caused my immune system to start attacking my intrinsic factor. SO of course I am very angry at myself for allowing my condition to reach to this stage and for making that stupid decision to use that product instead of going back to the doctor. I have extreme fatigue as well when I get low and I am always irritable and depressed and just cannot cope with this new status of health. It has destroyed my life. I had a really good life now I no longer enjoy life. I am often very cold as well. I do not produce any stomach acid since the parietal cells are gone so I cannot digest my food so I have to use digestive enzymes. I also continue to have severe stomach pains and in fact I am so on the verge of nervous breakdowns that I have to live on antidepressants just so that I can function on my job. I hate my life. I cry every single day. I am only 34 years and I and dreadful of stomach cancer since they say that persons like us are at increased risk for it. Do you have lack of stomach acid as well? Can you eat normally? What is your diet like if you don't mind me asking.

Hey, KassyS...Whoa, I am so sorry to hear about all of issues since being diagnosed with PA. Most likely, of course, they were issues you have for a very long time b/f your PA diagnosis. I was diagnosed 2 years ago at the age of 59. I had felt so tired for so many years and suffered with depression that I was just figuring that was the way my life would be. But, then I started falling so many times and not physically able to get up that one day while at a U of V (medical school there) I fell on the pavement and busted my face. A police officer witnessed it and b/c I made not attempt to stop my fall and found it easier to stay on the pavement than attempt to get up called the rescue squad and I spent the night in the UVA hospital. I was several days before I was really diagnosed -- I flunked the 'drunk test' and couldn't drive for several weeks. EVen had a hard time walking I was so weak. Got the diagnosis and have continued to feel bad since the injections. I feel better but the same weakness, tiredness and depression seem to be part of my existence as you describe. It is pretty crappy. Have you had problems with your memory? Try not to hate your life---I know the feeling, too and deal with it. I have had depression since I was a child and all of these blood issues just seem to make a 'what's wrong' mosiac. How often do you take your shots? I have to do mine every 14 days and my job is pretty demanding and I wonder if I need to take them about every 10 days. I find that with eating I only seem to want to eat salads and fruit. If I eat fiber I get totally bloated which makes me feel miserable...and effects my bladder b/c of the pressure. I have attributed many of my problems to fact that I am 61 and getting old as hell. I am a very young at heart person--love going to see concerts and have many young friends as well as 4 grands but sometimes I just feel SO OLD. I encourage you to hold on and not be so hard on yourself. It is hard but there are other people who understand how you feel and suffer, too. Hug yourself, today! :)

I never had any obvious or unusual symptoms. I do remember in 2010 I had burnings at the bottom of my feet and some tingling in the tip of my fingers but they did not last very long. They were not continuous either and I developed tinnitus in my right ear but that was after placing a cotton bud there and it went a bit too far. I was full of energy before I took that herbal supplement and nothing seemed out of place. I just wanted to get rid of the bacteria and heal my stomach but the herbal thing did more harm than good to me. So of course I am sad, angry, depressed, lonely, miserable, scared and just disgusted that I allowed myself to reach this point. I did not take care of my diet and my eating and I forgot to take care of the bacteria and perhaps I was suffering from memory loss and it slipped me I do not know but I am scared. I take a shot once per month and I also use the sublinguals.

Mrs malone you have had pernicious anemia for 18 years? Do you have lack of stomach acid as well. I suffer a lot of the same symptoms. I thinks all pernicious anemia persons suffer the same symptoms. I am currently on antidepressants as I cannot cope with what i am going through. My condition is not genetic it was brought on as a result of h pylori infection that was not dealt with in time and it weakend and thinned out my stomach lining and a product I used caused my immune system to start attacking my lining and its intrinsic factor. hence here I am. Do you do regular endoscopies to check for cancerous changes in the stomach? I find that I also get frequent urinary tract infections. In fact I have protein in my urine since April of last year when I used the herbal product. It seemed to have injured my kidneys as well in the process. Anyone esle in your family has pernicious anemia?

Have either of you been tested for Celiac Disease--CD is a leading cause of B12 deficiency and PA. I have Celiac Disease--Still to this day I am told I do not have PA however, my primary believes I do. Nothing has helped my B12 levels increase. I have not gotten any better being on a GF diet but that is because I did not know until recently that CD is more then just wheat--it's all grains. So now my whole family of 3 will be "grain free" because my son also has CD(just found out) and he has several LD's-Learning Disorders and ODD-Oppositional Defient Disorder--we are hoping that the dietary changes will help him considerably.

I am 66 year old male and have been dealing with it for at least three years. My condition is not genetic it was brought on as a result of h pylori infection that was not dealt with in time and the doctors at the VA for two years kept running the wrong tests that came back negative. They kept treating the neurological symptoms; neuropathy, lack of balance, etc. The muscle weakness is the worse. I am wondering if I will ever get better. My muscle weakness and damage to the nerves are the worse part. It was so bad that a neurologist thought I may have ALS. My blood pressure drops when I stand up sometimes and I am so dizzy that I have fallen several times.

I am a new member to this support group and I am hoping that I will get better in time.

Modbrick, If you read my posts you will see that my condition was as a result of h pylori too, which I attempted to treat the wrong way out of desperation and it damage the few cells I had left triggering pernicious anemia. I am only 34 and going to work everyday dealing with this condition is very stress ful. I had a chance to save my stomach because I never had any symptoms of anything being severely wrong apart from the burnings in the stomach under the breast if i was hungry or ate something that irritated the stomach. I had a chance to save my stomach had I used antibiotics instead to get rid of the h pylori but I stupidly went online and bought this product which was reviewed as being good. But it is always best never to buy these things online for medical conditions and treat them yourself. Always go to the doctor fro treatment once the problem is identified. If you believe in God just pray and trust Him that He will see us through. I believe in God and I am praying healing and miracle.

Modbrick, did you have burnings in the stomach or heartburn or acid reflux. Doctors really have messed up a lot of persons. My h pylori was caught in time but in 2008, they had given me antibiotics and I was not told how to eat and what foods to avoid to make the treatment effective, nor was I told when to repeat the test. Life went on and I did not remember of my own to go back to see if it was eradicated. Apparently it was not, since for about 4 years I suffered the stomach pains. I finally remembered to check it last year April and made the terrible mistake of using mastic gum to get rid of it as I thought that the bacteria was resistant to the antibiotics and i also was told by the first doctor that ever dealt with me that I had ulcers so I read that the mastic gum was very good for ulcers and I thought ok I will kill two birds with one stone. Biggest mistake of my life. My life is totally destroyed. By the way can you digest your food properly? Do you produce any stomach acid at all? I obviously don't since my food stays in my stomach for hours before it goes anywhere.

I do digest my food well, although I have problems with swallowing and often get hiccups. I follow a pattern of 4 days of constipation then 3 on the toilet and some loss of bowel control. During these 4 years the loss of appetite has been best part so that I was able to lose 80 lb. The loss of balance because of the nerve damage to my legs and dizziness when I stand up makes for a possible lethal combination. Looking back as to how the b12 deficiency started, I was walking 3 miles every day but had problems with muscle weakness if I walked more. This had been going on for years before the neuropathy showed up.
Will the nerve and muscle damage get better? I hope so.

Modbrick, I do not understand how come you are still able to digest your food well and you got this condition in a similar fashion as me. Did you ever have an endoscopy? If so what did it show? If you are digesting your food well then it means that you have stomach acid. So have you gotten rid of the h pylori now? Are you on a restricted diet? Do you have a painful tongue with lots of white grossy things on it? So are you able to eat the usual three meals per day? Do you ever have pains in the stomach now or did you have any pains during the h pylori infection. How often do you get injections? I know I am asking a lot of questions but we can all learn from each other. Did you at any point have gastritis from the h pylori infection. I am confused as to how everyone that i have spoken to with pernicious anemia so far have no problems digesting their foods but i have serious problems and I hardly ever get hungry. I feel hunger like about once during the day. I am trusting God to heal this problem, because it is hard to live with.

Did you ever have an endoscopy?
Yes , it showed h pylori and after the antibiotics ( 2 weeks) I did experience changes in bowels but no stomach problems other than some hiccups and air burps. I am not on a restricted diet and no painful tongue. I force myself to eat 3 meals per day. The GI doctor said I probably had the h pylori for years but other than when the neuropathy showed up did I experience nausea and weight loss.
After the antibiotics the b12 shot up to 2000 and now with shots 1cc / mo. The count is about 800. I also take some orally. The doctors say that because I had an infection and the white blood cell count was 19,000 that I did not have PA but a b12 deficiency.

I too trust that God will in time heal my problems, and yes they are hard to live with. God bless you. I hope only the best for you.

Wow. so you don't have pernicious anemia! Bless you! That's why you are able to digest food properly still. My mistake is that i took the mastic gum which destroyed my stomach. I thought that I had ulcers and that the bacteria was resistant so I took the mastic gum because I read that it was effective for resistant types and I was uncertain about the safety and researched to see how safe it was and I eventually took it. Prior to that I had no problems digesting my food. I was fine and I know the antibiotics would have been safe to take as I have never had any reaction to them before. So what was your b12 level before the antibiotics and the shots?

Modbrick the longer your deficiency continues the less likely the nerves will recover. What did your last blood draws show? I continue to be deficient as well, I have one dr tell me I have PA and another tell me I don't have PA. I have Celiac Disease which causes b12 deficiency so they bascially say that is the cause. I take over 35,000 units of sublingual(sp) supplements because shots caused my body parts to go numb and my levels still never get any higher then 218. Normal range should be between 600-900. i have nerve damage as well, and neurologist isn't ruling out Gluten Ataxia---Again I will ask--Have you ever been tested genetically for gluten sensitivity? Go to Glutenfreesociety.org Dr O has some great video's on how Gluten is the hub to over 200+ medical conditions. Since I was in my 40's when I was diagnosed the damage is done, it may not be reversible.

Sowle did the doctors run an intrinsic factor antibody and parietal cell antibody because that way you will know for sure if you have pernicious anemia.

You all keep referring to hpylori as the cause of your PA when actually its the Gastritis that causes the PA, and I almost guarantee you both still have gastritis caused by foods that you are intolerant to. Even the foods you deem as safe or okay for you to eat may be causing problems. You need to take a look at your current diets, combinations of what you are eating--ex protein and starch, and try to eliminate to change to see if you start to feel better. PA all occurs in your stomach--which tells you, your stomach is not functioning properly. So the first step to analyze what you are eating. These conditions cause many food intolerances, and if you continue to eat foods that you are intolerant of--you will continue to keep doing damage. I have restricted my diet so much, that eating out is NOT POSSIBLE for me. If I don't make it myself, I don't eat it. Its been a long long road for me--but I am confident I will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Another recommendation if you are not doing so--eat many many small meals instead of 3 solid meals throughout the day. Eat your heaviest meal early and lighter meals later.