Seniors should take B-12 test
Dear Dr. Gott: In a recent column, you asked for feedback concerning taking sublingual B-12 as a cure for depression caused by vitamin B-12 deficiency. For more than 20 years I have advised physicians to screen seniors for B-12 deficiency using the highly accurate, noninvasive urinary methylmalonic acid test. In my NIH grant study, I identified a retired nurse with severe depression who underwent a dramatic clinical improvement with vitamin B-12 injections.
Recently, after reading a book titled “Could it be B12?” by Sally Pacholok and Jeffrey Stuart (Quill Driver, 2005), I was inspired to do a free screening study for active seniors at my church. I identified 11 percent with vitamin B-12 deficiency. One woman using a walker had been diagnosed as having suffered ministrokes, both symptoms associated with B-12 deficiency. She had no anemia and normal serum B-12, but a uMMA of 13.5 micrograms per milligram of creatinine (normal is less than 3.8), which reduced to 1.7 with a B-12 injection. Of particular interest to your question, another woman with fatigue had a uMMA of 5.7 even though she had been taking sublingual B-12 (1,000 micrograms) daily for two months prior to the uMMA test. Seniors should be tested first using the uMMA analysis to see if they need B-12. If already taking sublingual B-12, they should also be tested to ensure the B-12 is being absorbed properly. B-12 deficiency is still a major unrecognized medical problem and, in my opinion, can be best resolved by regular screening. It is truly tragic that so many suffer disability when we now have a simple, inexpensive diagnostic test.
Dear Reader: I, too, have had my curiosity piqued by the book you mention. Although I am not as involved in the B-12 deficiency issue as you are, I am going to test all of my nursing-home patients with the uMMA test. I believe that if I can identify only one patient with reversible B-12 deficiency, the expense (at my local hospital it’s about $225) will be well worth the effort.
Thank you for writing and sharing your concerns.
Dear Dr. Gott: Hint No. 1: Five or six days after heart bypass, my husband developed hiccups. Medication did not stop them. The doctor said to try any remedy that others gave us. After my husband suffered for 11 days of hiccupping every four seconds around the clock, my sister called and said he should try sucking on a slice of lemon. Thank God, they stopped.
Hint No. 2: For years, I suffered from a corn on the inside of my little toe. One night, I decided to try tea tree oil on it. I could not believe how much better it felt the next morning. I started putting it on morning and night, and within four to five weeks the corn was gone.
Dear Reader: As is my policy, I am publishing your hints for general public interest. I have no idea of their effectiveness, so I await my readers’ input.