The BBC came to the first day of the 2016 conference and as part of their report they needed to get a ‘balanced’ view of B12 deficiency so they interviewed a GP. This slide below shows the statement provided.

As you can see, this GP from the RCGP (Royal College of GP’s) has stated that;  “GPs are highly trained individuals and I have absolutely no doubt of their ability to diagnose and thereafter treat vitamin B12 deficiency.”

The fact is that from experience, we know that this is a fantasy, many of our GP’s know that this is a fantasy and I’m sure that even the doctor speaking those words knows that the statement he gave (or was given) is a fantasy.

There is no doubt that GP’s are highly trained – but they are not highly trained in nutrition, and certainly not in B12 deficiency. How can they be when it doesn’t feature in their curriculum?

The stark reality for B12 deficient patients, not just in the UK but globally, is that for the vast majority of clinicians including consultants, doctors, nurses, medical students and even NHS Nutritionists,  education in nutrition is sparse and in the case of vitamin B12, it can be non existent. Even some privately trained nutritionists do not understand the essential need for B12 injections rather than oral supplements in those who cannot absorb B12 from food.

Unless a clinician has a personal interest; suffers from this condition themselves or they have a family member with it,  they very often have no idea of the many causes and symptoms of B12 deficiency or of the seriousness of it. They may be exposed to limited information on just pernicious anaemia which, in reality, represents the very tiny tip of the iceberg.

Myths are learnt or picked up during their careers;

That too much B12 is toxic, that levels over 2000 post injection are ‘dangerously high’

That the symptoms experienced are psychosomatic

That B12 is a placebo and that the more you have the more you want

That 4 injections a year means you have a vast store of B12 in your liver, enough to last you years

That even though you include B12 in your diet, that your deficiency is dietary

That you can now miraculously absorb B12 now because their computer says so.

This is all incorrect.

An example of the reality for many patients is contained in the letter below which was sent to me.

You can see from this letter that my GP contacted a gastroenterologist, a ‘Specialist’ who should (in an ideal world) know a little about B12 deficiency and the gut, doesn’t really. He felt I should see a psychotherapist and be prescribed anti depressants for my B12 deficiency symptoms. He came to this conclusion without ever meeting me. Bizarre practice?

My GP contacted this gastroenterologist because she felt her own knowledge was not good enough or perhaps she needed someone else take the responsibility? I feel she was let down by someone else whose knowledge ‘was not good enough’ either.

My GP thought the suggestions in the letter were reasonable until I pointed out that yes, I could spend £50 talking to a psychotherapist but what I would be saying is “I’m here because my GP won’t give me the B12 injections I need.”  I also asked my doctor why she thought her memory was more important to her than mine was to me. Thankfully I was prescribed more frequent B12 injections.

Many people write to me to ask “who is the best specialist for me to ask my GP to refer me to regarding B12 deficiency”. The answer to that can only be; ‘the specialist who understands what it means to be B12 deficient’ and tragically, the experience for so many is that those specialists appear to be few and far between. Too many patients find themselves out in the cold, desperately under treated or misdiagnosed with other conditions simply due to a lack of education and awareness.
Our clinicians have been done a great disservice, it’s complete madness that nutrition is not the biggest part of medical training.
If we look at this from the GP’s point of view and consider the long years of intensive training,  a patient tries to tell them they’re missing something so fundamental.  They might think it ridiculous that this seemingly enormous potential for misdiagnosis of B12 deficiency were fantasy on the patients part. Surely if it was so important then surely it wouldn’t have been missing from their education, it would have warranted in-depth learning and be a part of all modules and not just the couple of hours they may actually spend on the subject?

How can our GP’s look for something they don’t know they should be looking for? If their eyes haven’t been opened by personal experience and their peers dismiss B12 deficiency as a nonsense afflicting hypochondriacs, then the chances are that they might conclude this too.

I want to share this Ted Talk on ‘The Power of Generalism’ by Dr Ayan Panja with you because it served to remind me of the daily challenges and wide ranging skills that GP’s have. Due to the my own experience and that of those who write to me, I am guilty of forgetting this from time to time.

In the UK the average GP is allocated around seven minutes to spend with each patient. This includes listening to the complaint, diagnosing and prescribing. This is unsatisfactory for both parties. Sometimes it is easy to forget the previous kindness and excellence of our individual GP’s when the gaping chasm of knowledge of B12 deficiency looms.

This situation can lead to a drastic change in the patient-doctor relationship. The emails I receive every day very rarely champion the GP or the specialist. They are from desperately ill people who are being, dismissed, under treated and generally given short shrift. This needs to change but we know that the ‘system’ is not making this easy for either party.

There are GP’s who are able to treat B12 deficiency correctly as per patients symptoms. There are others who want to help and prescribe B12 but feel their hands are tied. There are some who presume that they know far better than the patient, sometimes stating that their myriad symptoms are ‘all in the mind’.

Some enlightened GP’s are fully aware of the terrible hand dealt to B12 deficient patients and if we could all work together on this then our relationships would remain intact.

I feel my job with the website is to help patients to remain under the care of their doctors. In order to do this, some patients have to try and educate, sometimes this is an insurmountable task and patients end up ‘going it alone’. This is far from ideal.

There are ‘powers that be’ in the NHS, the government and other agencies who are well aware of the situation and scale of the B12 deficiency problem. Thousands of us have reported it and there are countless journals spanning decades backing up what we say,  but so far it remains suppressed. The comment from the GP to the BBC bears this out.

By working together we can make a difference.

Best wishes Tracey

www.b12deficiency.info

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If you need any help or information, please contact me here.

Remember there is no clinical evidence for our restricted treatment – your doctor may not be aware of this and might be inclined to increase the frequency if they were?

https://www.b12info.com/blog/2016/09/28/the-tanks-empty-but-i-can-smell-petrol-so-you-have-90-days-more-driving-ahead-of-you/