Is there a link between dry eyes and b12 deficiency? If not, has anyone else had any atypical symptoms related to low b12?

[Ctb567]

After a year of having low b12 I have finally been given permission to get b12 injections! They start in about a week and now more than ever I have been thinking about the effect they will have on me. In case anyone is interested my b12 results have been:

163 (150-1000)

148 (150-1000)

223 (180-900)

and the last set I don't know exactly what number but it was <150 (150-1000).

I have been very tired for years and just felt not right if that makes sense? I have also had chronic constipation since I was a young child and one of the worst symptoms I have has to be the dry eyes. Its like having a chronic eye strain and they feel so uncomfortable all the time. I've seen the full list of symptoms of b12 deficiency and I know dry eyes isn't on there but I was wondering if there was some indirect way my low b12 has caused this? Has anyone else known dry eyes improving with b12 shots? If not has anyone else experienced any unusual or unexpected symptoms due to b12? I'm just trying to figure out how much hope I should be putting into these injections because my GP made out its unlikely to have much affect and the specialists at the hospital are really only doing this as a trial :/

I should probably also mention that I have seen an endocrinologist and several other people and had almost everything else tested including thyroid, sjogrens, lupus etc, the endo especially has been very thorough with testing. I also seem to have low cortisol at the moment and I'm having that retested soon too.

Thanks and sorry if this was a bit long!

[engels]

B12 is vital for so many processes in the body that I don't believe a full list of symptoms exists so just because you haven't found any mention of dry eyes doesn't mean that it isn't being caused by B12 deficiency.

Has your doctor said what the frequency of the injections will be?

[Ctb567 in reply to engels]

my injections will be 1mg 3 times per week for 2 weeks and then once every 3 months, but he didn't say how long for

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to engels]

Agree with Engels that there isn't a full list of all of the symptoms that exists and I think it would be impossible to draw one up given the roles it plays in maintaining your whole body.

There has been another post in the last month (pretty sure it wasn't further back) from someone suffering from dry eye.

[engels]

I suggest that you make a complete list of all your symptoms before you start the injections. Make a note of everything even if you don't think it is connected to B12. Once you have started the injections, keep a diary of how you are feeling with reference to your symptom list to see which, if any, symptoms are improving or (and it can happen) getting worse.

[Poppet11]

Although I don't think a list exists including dry eyes, macular degeneration can result from b12 deficiency and dry eye is one of the symptoms of this.

Many of us do have eye problems though. I actually don't know whether I had 'dry' eyes but I do know, and remember only too well, that apart from my vision deteriorating to permanently blurred, in the final 3 months prior to getting treatment, I couldn't read the paragraph of a book without my eyes starting to run and feeling as if they had soap in them. If I pushed it - which I sometimes did out of sheer bluddymindedness - then my eyes would run for 2 days constantly afterwards (and they hurt!)

I didn't have the same problem with the computer screen however. Although it was ridiculously blurred.

[Carrot1]

I posted about dry eyes not long ago. Mine comes and goes - sometimes it's really bad then seems to improve for a while. Not sure if it's B12 deficiency or hypothyroid related (both of which I have) but doc says it might be due to drugs I'm taking for heart disease. It's not helped by the fact that I also wear contacts. Someone on thyroid site suggested I should get tested for Sjogrens but I haven't dared to ask for that yet.

[Ctb567]

Thanks for the replies and support everyone! Hopefully my eyes will be fixed soon

[Beautifulday1 in reply to Ctb567]

Hi Carly, I don't have pernicious anemia but have struggled with dry eyes and dry throat starting during perimenopause (in my 40's). At age 54 I had to have a hysterectomy and they took my ovaries too so I needed to go on bioidentical estrogen injections to make me feel human again :). Anyway, after about 2 weeks I realized how much better my eyes and throat were following the injections. Now, I barely need moisture eye drops at all! I am positive that the injections are what made the difference because I switched to the patch which is a lower dose of estrogen, and my eyes are very dry again. I was on depo-estradiol (estradiol cypionate) =the injection. Estrogen increases the moisture in your body. Ask your doctor to put you on a trial, it is very safe. It is FDA approved and made from yams. Best of luck, been there...

[Allie007]

Please ask your GP to do a blood test for MTHFR gene mutation which I have! I often have low b12 due to this problem! Simple blood test!

[Lalani]

Yes I have this same issues since child hood want to ask do you find out more or any recommendations for me now

[Ctb567]

No, I had a ton of tests and they don't have a clue whats causing my dry eyes, unfortunately the b12 did not help at all.

[Saya85]

Hi!

I’m not sure about dry eye link either to b12-

But certainly with other eye conditions such as glaucoma etc it can have an impact.

Dry eye however is often many things- if it’s blepharitis you can manage it with treatment (see Nhs website)

Otherwise things like omega 3 can help a great deal. Sometimes it’s more of a temporary thing- I recommend hycosan intensive dry eye drops along with blepharitis treatment for a good week plus and you should notice some relief. It has to be consistent treatment.

As for b12 injections improving other symptoms- hopefully you will find a massive change! I did with just a couple of injections and my levels were similar to yours.

Sometimes it can get worse before getting better but make sure you take folic acid supplements with it so the b12 can be utilised effectively. They work together

[drtwyner]

I started taking 1000ug of B12 ,sub lingual,over 2 mos ago and I have noticed that my dry eye is significantly improved. I can honestly say that I no longer have it. I am just now realizing that I am not using drops or ointment during the day like I had been for years.The only change I made was the B12.

[Ctb567 in reply to drtwyner]

Thats very interesting to hear, did you have a b12 deficiency or did you just try it? Also what brand did you use?

[TRose83]

Did you ever figure out what was going on? I have pernicious anemia. The B12 shots always affect my constipation and extreme dry eyes problem. It's so severe that I can tell when I'm low because my eyes get very dry. I dont know what causes my pernicious anemia, but it sounds like we have similar issues.

[Ctb567 in reply to TRose83]

Hi TRose83, unfortunately nothing has changed. My B12 injections don't seem to effect my constipation or dry eyes at all which was really disappointing and they never got to the bottom of any of my symptoms. In the end it turned out my b12 was very low (105) but I tested negative for PA on several different tests so I don't even know what caused the low b12! My endocrinologist suggested that because I had a family history of autoimmune diseases, I was probably developing an autoimmune disease and this was causing my symptoms but it can take a long time to actually test positive for an autoimmune disease. Dry eyes does tend to be an autoimmune condition so maybe he's right.

Good luck with your symptoms and please let me know if you make any progress!

[No_fixed_abode]

Hi

I also have dry eyes that I put down to B12d. Found this:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/282...

Which seems to suggest it is related...