Vitamin B12 Deficiency Testing by uMMA (urine Methylmalonic Acid)
Sample requirements: 1mL random spot urine in collection tube provided by MDL. Please contact us for a free collection kit. Once specimen is collected, ship back to MDL using First Class Mail. Test results within 1-3 business days of the lab receiving the sample. Test price: $150.00 (check or credit card)
Who Should be Tested for B12 Deficiency:
Anyone with:
* Mental status changes
* Neurologic or motor symptoms
* Gastrointestinal surgery
* Anemia or elevated MCV
* Age 60 or over annually (or age 50 test every 5 years until age 65 annual testing)
* Under age 60 with unexplained neurologic symptoms
* Strict vegetarian diet after one years on diet
* Epidemic
* Taking folate supplements
* Exclusively breast fed infant of vegan mother or mother with pernicious anemia
(infant symptoms may include: irritability, anorexia, failure to thrive, lethargy, comatose, apathetic, anemia, hypotonia, developmental delay, hyperreflexia)
* symptoms suggesting multiple sclerosis (MS)
* Autoimmune disease
* Chronic pancreatitis
* Crohn's disease
* Malabsorption syndromes
* Use of histamine2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors
* Thyroid disease
Neurologic Symptoms:
* Paresthesia
* Weakness or fatigue
* Muscle aches
* Impaired vibration or position sense
* Impaired pain or touch perception
* Ataxia
* Abnormal gait
* Decreased reflexes
* Unexplained vision or taste impairment
* Impotence
* Urinary or fecal incontinence
* Lhermitte's sign (sudden electric-like shocks down the spine on flexing head)
* Positive Romberg's sign (increased unsteadiness on feet when eyes are closed)
Psychological Symptoms:
* Memory loss
* Disorientation
* Apathy
* Irritability
* Paranoia
* Depression
* Hallucinations
* Violent behavior
* Psychosis
* Personality changes
* Dementia  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. But, Pacholok and Stuart contend that, even in the face
of these studies, this disorder has somehow been overlooked by the general medical field and is often misdiagnosed.
|
