Pernicious anemia is caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency, resulting in physical and emotional changes. Symptoms include fatigue, heart palpitations, diarrhea, weight loss, neuropathic pain, and decreased coordination. Treatment involves vitamin B12 injections. Complications can be severe if left undiagnosed.
Pernicious anemia is a disease caused by an inability to absorb vitamin B12, which is essential for the body to make red blood cells. Different people can experience a variety of pernicious anemia symptoms, which often include both physical and emotional changes. Many symptoms of pernicious anemia are more generally symptoms of anemia, while others can be considered symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency. Complications from this type of anemia can be both unique and severe, and can even aid in diagnosis when the disorder is discovered at an advanced stage.
One of the most common symptoms of pernicious anemia is fatigue. Some people describe this symptom as feeling tired, weak, or unable to wake up. Many people experience depression caused by anemia and which can be accompanied by fatigue. A person may feel as if they are seeing life in a blur or walking through a fog. While fatigue isn’t always an indicator of anemia, let alone pernicious anemia, aggressive fatigue that isn’t remedied by better diet or sleep can be a compelling sign of anemia.
Heart palpitations, diarrhea, and weight loss can also be symptoms of pernicious anemia. These symptoms are also usually signs of anemia more generally. Changes in blood pressure, both low and high, can be symptoms of anemia. In some cases, a person may feel that their heart is beating too hard or too fast. Each of these symptoms has many alternative causes, but a number of these symptoms occurring at the same time could indicate anemia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency often causes neuropathic pain and affects the nervous system in general. A person may feel pins and needles in their toes or have a decreased sense of touch. Sometimes a person with a B12 deficiency experiences a decreased ability to feel vibrations. Symptoms of pernicious anemia might include decreased coordination, resulting in frequent falls or difficulty performing normally simple tasks such as climbing. Occasionally, a person with a vitamin B12 deficiency related to pernicious anemia could become color blind.
There are effective treatment measures for pernicious anemia, as well as ways to detect it before more severe symptoms appear. Indeed, this disorder is often detected before permanent damage occurs or the patient feels seriously ill. When pernicious anemia goes undiagnosed, serious complications such as gastric cancer and permanent nerve damage can occur. In many cases, treatment is as simple as receiving vitamin B12 injections. Putting together the symptoms needed for a diagnosis and going through testing are often the hardest parts of living with pernicious anemia.
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