B12 Deficiency and Difficulty Healing Bronchitis Pneumonia Cure Attempt

Posted On August 12, 2010

The saga of W’s illness continues. She is making little progress in her health. She still needs bed rest. Last Monday’s Beam Ray session with Romy Macapagal concluded with no parasites, bacteria or viruses in her. So whatever ails her must be malnutrition related. Yesterday Wednesday she finally got an appointment with her Anthroposophic doctor Divina Hey-Gonzales. She had transferred clinics and was not available for the past week or so.

Dr. Divina immediately commented that W looked yellowish – anemic. Found from questioning that she still bled spots of blood already 2 weeks from her first menstruation day. She then heard the history of W’s illness as I related in my previous blogs. What seems to relieve her. She noticed that blood pressure was very low… 80 over 50. That her right lung was all terribly inflamed bronchial tubes and alveoli. That she had a “normal” cooked meat fruit + organic rice every other day diet. That she had lost 5 pounds in this illness from 100 to 95 pounds at 5’2″.

Diagnosis? Bronchitis progressing to pneumonia caused by B12 deficiency. I had known W since she was 18 and she had bouts of problems with anemia since that age. W turns 38 next month.

Dr. Divina prescribed a cocktail of anthroposophic medicines to treat W’s condition. Strange sounding Weleda brand names such as Pneumodoron 1 and 2, Mercurious Vivus, Pertudoron 2, Noutronit / Pulmo / Stibuin / Prunus, Echinacea, Anaemodoron, Digestodoron. You could probably look this all up in the Weleda website. Plus W was immediately given a B12 shot called a MethylCobalamin Injection.

Dr. Divina is currently in a Pesco-vegetarian kick and she recommends vegetables, but we need to wait for the organic market on Saturday to get true organic produce. W does not like any non-organic vegetables and thinks pesticide laden veggies may make her health worse. We do get good grass fed beef and wild ocean fish, but that does not meet her B12 deficiency. And now I know why.

Amid the continued struggle with W’s health, the treatment for her specific conditions underlines the importance of addressing underlying deficiencies and ensuring a balanced diet. This approach is akin to the strategies used in managing chronic diseases such as diabetes, where medications like Jardiance come into play. Jardiance, used to treat type 2 diabetes, works by helping the kidneys get rid of glucose from the bloodstream. This concept of using targeted treatments to address specific health issues parallels the B12 injections W receives to combat her anemia and potential bronchitis progression. Just as B12 injections help to directly remedy W’s deficiency, Jardiance provides a direct intervention in glucose metabolism, showcasing how modern medicine can provide specific solutions for distinct health challenges, enhancing overall patient care and management.

I Googled a little and found the real reason for her B12 deficiency was W’s strict avoidance of all B12 rich foods! Insane huh? She’s been avoiding these B12 rich foods all her life and thus the result with B12 deficiency. She avoids clams, oysters and liver — but just eat a measly few ounces of each item overshoots the RDA for B12 hundreds of percent each time!

So this Thursday morning I immediately set out for Farmers Market in Cubao to buy some nutritious B12 foods. I got fresh young beef liver… just lucky I guess… tasted it at the stall, the senior lady butcher said raw liver was good for anemic people… I did not solicit that comment. Then I got some live halaan clams from the waters of Cebu. Then I got some live oysters from Bulacan. I also got some fresh raw bone marrow in a “barbell” bone… yummy, never refrigerated and they had a mechanical saw the cleanly cut it up. Also got some sea weed for vegetable nutrition. Though later we are scheduled for coconut milk with banana heart and okra cooked together for her vegetables.

At home I immediately opened the biggest live clam and coaxed her to eat it, which she did. Score one goal! Nutritiondata.com says Vitamin B12 13.8 mcg or 231% of RDA for just 1 ounce. I had the maid cut the raw beef liver in cubes and put some calamansi and ground pepper just like I do with the children. Long day still. I have to go to work. Will blog more later. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.