Neuropathy b12 or diabetes 2 ?

[annebalto]

Can anyone help. I have really painful neuropathy of the feet. Cannot walk some days. It's like walking on gravel, with shooting pains. Have been told due to diabetes (2) but can PA b12 make this worse.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

It could be due to type 2 diabetes or it could be due to B12 deficiency or it could be both. A lot of the time medics aren't as aware of the symptoms of B12 deficiency so they stop at the most obvious cause which in this case is type 2 diabetes. Similarly I suspect with memory loss, tiredness etc.

It's unfortunate because sometimes that means patients get dismissed and lose quality of life because 'an' explanation has been found but there is actually something else going on as well and if that isn't treated ...

Do you have a diagnosis of PA/B12 deficiency in relation to anything else that is going on?

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Gambit62]

Sorry - should probably have said that metformin is known to affect B12 absorption and that is a common treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

Have you had B12 checked - if not request it and post the results here - if you have then ask for results and post here - there is a significant area where people show strong clinical symptoms but show up in what labs call 'normal' range.

Unfortunately there is such a huge overlap in symptoms of diabetes and B12 it may get difficult to distinguish between the two - let alone the difficulty of getting GP to get their head around what B12 really is if they have misconceptions about it being anaemia (not helped by the way NICE guidance on B12 is presented).

[annebalto in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit62,

I was diagnosed in 1998. Low thyroid . Was checked for B12 when trying for a baby 1997 . After diagnosis, fell pregnant 3 months later.On hrt since 2005 (40). It seems the most people I know with diabetes type 1/2 only have the problem with numbness not pain? Must be a reason to this. I am due for a blood test soon, but usually all levels are good.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to annebalto]

If you are receiving maintenance shots then interaction with metformin shouldn't be an issue, If I've understood correctly what the mode of interference is, ie lowers uptake through the gut. Do remember reading somewhere that although it lowers the uptake it can make use more efficient .... but don't have the source for that.

Hope links from Polaris helped

[Polaris]

This link has a lot of technical stuff but section 5.2 on the effect of Metformin on B12 levels might be useful:

mdpi.com/2072-6643/5/12/503...

[Polaris]

This also might explain the link between diabetes and B12:

blog.vitasciences.com/categ...

[helvella]

Reading about something else, I note that low B12 increases the results from the HbA1c test. Utterly fail to appreciate the impact of this, but thought it possibly important if your diabetes is being check by that test.

patient.co.uk/doctor/glycat...

Rod

[Hidden]

I have neuropathy in both feet and was diagnosed with PA and Type 2 Diabetes. Blood sugars are fine so it is the PA that has caused the problem.

However the neurologist I saw did a test for GAD antibodies (think that was the name) which came back positive. This test showed I had Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA Diabetes) which is actually more like type 1 and as it say's in the name it is Autoimmune the same as PA. The neurologist recommends that everyone with PA who fails a Fasting Blood Sugar test should be tested for LADA.

Has this been done?

I think it is something not many people might be aware of.

[annebalto in reply to Hidden]

Nikkikent, thanks for your reply. I haven't had that test, but it will ask my doctor if I can have one. Did it help sort out the pain?

[Hidden in reply to annebalto]

Not a lot but at least I knew the reason for it. Sorry not to be more help