| | Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
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Average Customer Rating:  (25 reviews)
Editorial Review: In Could It Be B12?, RN Sally M. Pacholok and her physician husband, Jeffrey J. Stuart, cite the extensive research done by numerous medical centers and universities that proves B12 deficiency plays a defining role in many seemingly hopeless problems.
Yet, even in the face of these studies, this disorder has somehow been overlooked by the general medical field and is often misdiagnosed.
The authors include numerous case histories and offer their readers strategies on how to learn if they or a loved one may be suffering from a B12 deficiency.
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Customer Reviews:
Summary: You can not afford to not read this book if you have or suspect having a vitamin B12 deficiency
Content: Could it be B 12 ? : An epidemic of Misdiagnoses is the only book I could find about this issue and it is excellent. Hats off to the authors Sally M. Pacholok and Jefferey J. Stuart, who are undoubtedly experts on the topic. I bought and read it because my blood tests included a serum B 12 which came out deficient. My doctor told me that I needed to take B 12 tablets or better still have injections for the deficiency. He said if untreated for a long time the Myelin coating on the nerves could be damaged causing paralysis or similar diseases. I asked to try the pills first and if my body can not absorb them we shall resort to the B12 injections. My doctor said that because my total blood count results were OK there was no need to worry, because this was evidence that the B12 deficiency had not yet damaged my nervous system.
Immediately I started taking the pills ( a month ago ) and I found and read this book in ten days. I am so happy that I read the book ; had I contented myself with the doctor's explanations I would have been unaware that he had given me seriously false information. According to the book a B12 deficiency can damage the nervous system many years before it shows up in the blood count. In fact it may never show up in the blood tests. This is exactly the opposite of what my doctor told me. I learned from the book that this myth is quite prevalent among doctors. Fortunately I do not have the symptoms indicating damage to the nervous system mentioned in the book.
I am convinced by the assertion in the book that a serum b12 test is insufficient by itself to detect or rule out a vitamin B 12 deficiency ; in addition a urinary MMA ( Methylmalonic Acid ) and a serum Homocysteine test is a must and must be done using the correct method by a properly endowed lab with the gas chromatography / mass spectrometric method. The book explains how most doctors fail to detect a b12 deficiency because they order only the serum b12 test and not the other 2 tests mentioned. This has very serious consequences for patients who are misdiagnosed with other diseases and left untreated for the b 12 deficiency. Many diseases from psychiatric disorders to heart failures and various neurological diseases have b12 deficiency as one of their major causes. Moreover, b12 deficiency is very widespread ; according to the book 25 per cent of people of all ages and 40 per cent of people over 60 have it. And most of it goes undetected because doctors are either ignorant about it or too arrogant to test for it using the urinary MMA method. The b 12 deficiency can be caused by a vegetarian diet because vitamin B 12 is found only in animal food products. But a more prevalent cause is the inability of the body to absorb vitamin b 12 because of its complicated metabolism that can break down. Moreover, according to the book a B 12 deficiency often results in elevated Homocysteine levels in the blood ( a toxic amino acid ) which can cause clotting in arteries and veins and result in high blood pressure and heart failure just like LDL cholesterol does. Because most labs and doctors do not test for Homocysteine neither it also goes undetected.
I read articles written by a famous doctor about b 12 deficiency in the health pages of a major newspaper ; he too mentions a serum b 12 test with no mention of the urinary MMA. When I showed the book to a neuropsychiatrist whom I know socially from a sports club and mentioned the urinary MMA test as more effective in detecting a b12 deficiency he claimed the contrary and dismissed the book as invalid without even skimming over it.
This dogmatic and narrow minded approach by doctors is not limited to the B 12 issue. Of course there are many doctors and other medical experts who are open minded and welcome alternative views and use methods that lead to the right diagnoses eg : the authors of this book. However, it is amazing that all over the world many doctors who have very sophisticated medical education, training and experience have not learned to think correctly :they have flawed thinking and application methods leading to wrong diagnoses and treatments too often. According to the books titled You the Smart Patient by doctors Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen and How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, 1 in every 5 diagnoses is wrong. J. Groopman gives many examples of flawed thinking methods by doctors from many different branches of medicine. M. Oz and M. Roizen urge the patient not to take the first diagnosis for granted and to always get a second or even a third opinion before accepting the diagnosis and related treatment.
I have screened the standard comprehensive tests of various labs ; they include so many tests and just like the book claims I saw that they seldom advise the inclusion of urinary MMA and serum Homocysteine tests, even though b12 deficiency is so common.
I will soon go back to my doctor and when he orders a renewal of the serum b12 test to see the effect of the vitamin b12 pills, I will ask him to also order a urinary MMA and a serum Homocysteine test. If he refuses, which I think he will not, then I will take the advice of the authors of the book and go to another doctor and lab.
I thank you the reader of this review to have read my review this far. Even if the correct tests show that you do not have a vitamin B 12 deficiency I still recommend that you read the book. You will know in advance how you can minimize the risk of ever getting the deficiency. Despite that even if this widespread disease ever knocks your door or that of your loved ones you will have the necesssary ammunition of knowledge to win the war against a b12 deficiency.
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