B12 Deficiency?

[pauliwauli2]

Is it possible to have a B12 deficiency and JUST have low platelets, but have no symptoms to suggest low red blood cells or white blood cells?

[LazyGun]

1. It is possible to have a low serum vitamin B12 levels, without necessarily seeing ANY clinical or physiological effects of said low level, such as anaemia, thrombocytopenia etc.
2.Metabolic disorders, such as low vitamin B12 can have an impact on the production of, amongst other things, constituents of blood, such as red blood cells or platelets - BUT - red cell production is far more sensitive to levels of B12 than platelet production and therefore far more likely to be impacted BEFORE any impairment of platelet production.
3.B12 levels have very little effect on white blood cells.

I have never heard of having a documented B12 deficiency sufficiently severe that it would impact upon platelets WITHOUT severely impairing red blood cell production

[sqad617]

Excellent answer from Lazygun.
It is posiible to have a symptomless B12 deficiency with a low platelet count, but one would have to postulate dual pathology.

e.g B12 defy with:

Virus infection.
folate defy.
drugs.
lupus.

I am sure thatv there are many more, but Lazygun gives an excellent appraisal.

[lovefoolb4u]

Thanks so much for the answers!

The reason I ask is that today I had an exam and one of the stations was a simulated patient who had easy bruising, and I couldn't find ANY reason that her platelets could be low from her history. All of her other blood lines seemed to be fine from what she was telling me.

But then I asked her about her diet, and she told me that she didn't eat red meat, only white meat, and I knew that that wouldn't have been in her script if it hadn't have been of any significance, so I told her that she was probably deficient in B12. I just wondered if I was maybe right. It doesn't matter at all whether my diagnosis was right anyway though!

[joannie10]

clearly the others have given you answers with medical knowledge - I have none!! I just wanted to add that a friend of mine went to give blood and it was reported back to her that she had a B12 deficiency. She felt she had no symptoms at all and not been feeling anything was wrong with her. The doctor has prescribed a course of 5 injections. She has had two and said that strangely enough she is feeling better and has more energy and feels it is obviously there were symptoms she had just not been aware of. She feels concentration etc is better too. this may or may not be of interest to you.

[whifffey]

It is devilishly difficult to become B12-deficient by dietary deficiency alone as the body has several years' storage (as with iron). Folate stores are just a few months, so much easier.

What is the platelet count?

For a minute there I was reminded of the Folate Trap. Happy days!

[sqad617]

So, the question has been simplified as:

"What are the causes of bruising in a patient with a low platelet count?"

Google....thrombocytopenia and take your pick.