Query on B12 infusion

[hunny59]

After a slightly rough few weeks fighting a parotid infection, my private doctor advised a second PIN infusion as well as the B12 methyl infusion which I requested and off I went and had both last weekend. We did have a little debate about how much MethylB12 to put in the infusion: his view was that 10mg would be sufficient, which is what went in.

I had my doubts about whether the pins and needles in my left leg was down to B12 deficiency as most of my other symptoms seem to have cleared up after self injecting for the last four months. My expectations were that any excess would be flushed out so I half expected my urine to turn slightly pink at some point over the weekend but it didn't. Either there wasn't enough B12 in the infusion or I've excreted the excess some other way. The numb area seems to have become smaller, but I can't be certain that's not slightly wishful thinking.

I wondered whether anyone else who's had a B12 infusion had pink pee afterwards?

[Secondchance]

Hi B12 will not give pink wee- sometimes it gives more yellow wee, especially I found at the beginning of treatment, less so after a few treatments.

[hunny59 in reply to Secondchance]

I did notice that it was more yellow than normal, but assumed it was the B vitamins in the PIN infusion - thank you

[Granny56]

Can I ask what a PIN infusion is please?

I have been getting B12 injections for almost 30 years now and my urine has never been affected by it however, product information states a yellow/orange colour has been known. B12 is a water soluable vitamin therefore what's not needed will be excreted. May I ask why you need to take B12, are you a confirmed PA or do you have a confirmed B12 deficiency?

[hunny59 in reply to Granny56]

Hi Granny56. My urine turned an orangey yellow, so I guess I did excrete some of the infusion. The PIN part of the infusion is a mix of lots of vitamins and minerals and some glutathione as well (also called Cell Symbiosis Therapy - cst-academy.co.uk/cell-symb.... It was prescribed for me by the private doctor I've been seeing to get to the bottom of my health problems.

I discovered my B12 was less than optimal when investigating why I felt so utterly crappy last year and had private tests done for my thyroid as that was what I initially suspected. Since then it's been a rollercoaster of self discovery as, like a lot of folks on here, my GP was unwilling to listen or investigate my symptoms and wanted to hang everything onto my chronic fatigue recurring. Starting B12 made a huge difference to my symptoms and eliminated most of them. I'm still struggling with numbness in my left thigh however which may or may not be B12 related.

[Granny56 in reply to hunny59]

Sorry to hear that you have been unwell.

You mention numbness, have you had an evaluation of your spine? A slipped disc could be pressing on a nerve. Neurological symptoms should not be taken lightly, if I were you I would press to get this investigated.

So how were your thyroid results, did they show anything? Even if they appear to be normal, this does not mean a thyroid cause can be ruled out. Why not post your blood results on the thyroid site and have expert patients take a look. How is your vitamin D? This is another culprit for making us feel really bad when it is low.

Lastly, if you have a true B12 deficiency, this should be medically confirmed and assessed to determine whether or not you can absorb B12 in the small intestine. Many illnesses can interfere with absorbtion potential and a thorough investigation might help to identify a cause rather than you treating symptoms blindly.

Hope you feel better soon.

[hunny59]

Thanks for the reply and advice. I haven't had a formal evaluation of the spine although I have been under the care of an osteopath since I was in my early 20s. Two osteopaths in the practice think it's a trapped femoral nerve although treatment of that has yielded no results so far. They don't believe there is a problem with the spine and I trust their knowledge more than I trust my GP - they have sent me for x-rays and MRI scans previously when my GP was unhelpful with other problems. I posted my thyroid results on the forum back in August and received plenty of helpful advice from folks on there, which is how I knew my B12 was low and my thyroid was probably not functioning properly. From there I started self medicating and monitoring my levels myself as neither my GP nor the endocrinologist he referred me to believed there was any problem at all, despite my antibodies being 3x the upper limit. That's when I lost what little faith I had left in my GP. Since then, I've done lots of reading and research, got my Vitamin D levels up to where they should be and my B12 blood levels nice and high. My TSH is now suppressed and my antibodies are falling slowly.

I asked my GP about further testing for PA but he refused to accept my private results and did his own blood test, despite the fact that I'd been supplementing and then, when the level came back high, he refused to do any further testing, despite a rather lively discussion and me taking along plenty of supporting paperwork. I stopped taking PPIs three years ago when it was suggested (by my trainer of all people) that perhaps my stomach acid was low rather than high. 25 years of that medication has, I believe, been responsible for most of the problems I now have. GP doesn't accept that, doesn't think I have any problems and has more or less told me to stop wasting my money on private tests and supplements.

So far I haven't ordered any tests for IF or PC antibodies or done homocysteine or MMA tests as I've seen that they can be unreliable, hence going to see the private doctor for a B12 infusion to see whether that may help. He think it's possible leaky gut and, while I'm sceptical, his treatment protocol does seem to be providing steps forward (apart from the numb patch on my leg). It's slow progress but it's in the right direction so far.

[Granny56]

Something(s) seems to be going on with you but if you keep treating the symptons you will miss the cause, this could end up a vicious circle.

Numbness cannot be ignored, perhaps going to your GP with this symptom alone could get the ball rolling. Try not to link symptoms to possible cause, simply go in with this symptom and ask for it to be investigated.

Good luck!