I read through the symptoms of B12 deficiency, on your website, and nearly all the symptoms exactly match my severe problems! My local doc did diagnose B12 deficiency, but only from the tingling fingers! He did not give me a blood test. He just gave be some B Complex tablets to take, 1 a day for 2 weeks! Those have made very little difference!
I suffer badly from tingling fingers in my right hand, tiredness, the "fogs", and nearly every other symptom! Unsteady when getting dressed, unsteady in the shower, etc!
I was very amazed to come across this website and forum!
If it is genuine, I will share this little bit of information with you, and ask for advice if I can be "cured", given my personal circumstances!
I drink regularly, which I cannot give up doing! I also have to take anti depressants due to a confirmed brain disconnection in the receptors! Yeah, I know! Not a good mix!
I have been fine for many years though, but this came on very suddenly! Tingling fingers was a trigger, and I feared a heart problem, but my ECG, blood pressure were fine!
My local doc may actually be on the right track, with a diagnosis of B12 deficiency? My symptoms are exactly what has been described on the main site.
My question will be this though!
Only taking 1 B complex tablet a day, how long will it take to have any effect?
From the British NHS website, it seems to be about 4 months, but that is with the intervention of daily injections for 1 week, and injections for 2 weeks, and then further treatment if the blood test results show low B12! But! The local doc did not even give me a blood test to confirm it!
I hate all the symptoms! Tired all the time, difficult to concentrate at work, tingling right hand fingers, etc.
I do have exactly section 1, 2 and 3 of the main site symptoms, so I guess I am a severe case?
From what I have read on the main website, I do have a severe case of vitamin B12 deficiency!
I do have to "self help" though! I live and work in a very backward country! The local doc did not even give me a bloods test!
So I have to turn to help elsewhere, and ask for advice!
I think I am on the right track though? I am now taking a daily B complex dose of 2 tablets a day. The question is? How long will it take for oral B complex tablets only to have any effect?
Regards
Tez
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patez
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Personally i would suggest you go back to your dr and say the tablets have made no difference and ask for a blood test to confirm how low you are and then take the treatment regeme from there.
I'm surprised that your doctor hasn't tested you for Pernicious Anaemia . ( the antibodies to the Intrinsic Factor . ) if positive , you have PA if not , you can still have P.A. It not reliable test , but at least something . If you gave P A you should be given loading doses , and then one injection every 3 months for life . If any neurological problems ( like you have ) then every 2 months FOR LIFE !
Alcohol can rob you of some B12 , so try to cut down a bit at least . Your depression isn't helped by alcohol either. Your depression could be linked to
B12 deficiency too. , after all it's depressing to have those symptoms and not get the appropriate treatment
My depression is not linked to the B12 deficiency! I have a mental health problem which has been diagnosed as a block in the brain receptors, for which I have to take Clonazepam to control the severe physical problems of depression! Yes, That medication does have a detrimental effect of B12 deficiency! Add that to the latest alcohol intake?
Getting the appropriate treatment? Ha! Not even a blood test! I live and work in a 3rd world country, that do not have the knowledge/facilities to carry out those tests!
I cannot confirm if I have PA, but all my symptoms are exactly as described, and my local doc did actually diagnose vitamin B deficiency! Unfortunately, I cannot follow up on the treatment that I now know I should have!
You are right. It should have been given loaded doses, but he only gave me a couple of vitamin B complex tablets!
And yes! You are correct. I have to take Clonazepam for the rest of my life, which does cause a vitamin B deficiency, and I will probably have to take B12 supplements for the rest of my life.
My problem is that taking B12 tablet supplements has not, as yet, made any difference!
From what I have seen though, it can take months for it to have any effect, and only then after the loaded doses!
Yes! The alcohol intake does not help! If only you knew my circumstances and work problems though?
What amount of B12 is in the vitamin B complex you have been given.
If you have an absorption problem then it's not going to have any affect unless the amount of B12 in them is a few 1000mcg - which is unlikely.
Most B12 deficiencies are caused by an absorption problem - which affects the ileum.
If you have a problem with alcohol then that is not going to have helped as normally the body stored B12 in the liver but this may have been compromised if the drinking has damaged your liver.
The tablets you are taking will only have an effect if your problem is lack of B12 in your diet which is only likely if you basically eat no meat, dairy or fish.
I would go back to your doctor and ask him why he thinks your problem is dietary.
I am not sure of the amount of B12 in the complex. It did not come with any details! Such is life out here in a 3rd world country! It is a standard B complex bought from a local pharmacy!
I may be an alcoholic, or not? I have a few drinks in the evenings. My drinking habits have never changed though, so I am a bit bemused by my sudden fall into PA!
What I have learned from all of you is that I seem to have PA?
I cannot get the treatment I apparently need though!
I have no option other than to seek advice!
Thank you for replying and showing your concern and advice though. Much appreciated.
What you have established is that you have a B12 deficiency - it could be dietary which is what your doctor has assumed and why you have been given tablets. The symptoms of PA are the symptoms of the B12 deficiency it causes. PA itself is one absorption problem that will lead to PA but lack of B12 in your diet will have the same affect. Not enough B12 - same symptoms.
Would be helpful to clarify where you are - what country and if in Asia if you are you a vegan? or a vegetarian that doesn't eat much if any dairy - if so then your B12 may be dietary and the supplement may work - as would changing your diet to ensure that you are getting B12 from your diet.
If you go back to the pharmacy they should be able to tell you what level of B12 is in the complex
B12 deficiency generally isn't a sudden thing - it creeps up on you over years and even decades as you can see in my case - and the development of symptoms can be very slow.
I didn't think that my depression was related to B12 until it went because I was getting the levels of b12 I needed.
There is no short answer to how quickly you will recover because B12 affects several systems in the body - and if the problem is that you have developed anaemia that will take about 4 months to clear once you have the levels of B12 you need.
It's going to be quite difficult to fix your B12 deficiency if it is because of PA, or another absorption problem. But, if Gambit62 's suggestion about diet is the cause then there are ways to get abound it.
The best food for B12 is liver. If you can eat just one portion of liver a week then that will supply plenty of B12. Next best is oily fish (mackerel, sardines, etc.).
If you suspect it may be a dietary problem try eating meat/fish and see how it goes. If it doesn't help in a few months then get back to us.
There wouldn't be enough B12 in a B complex multivitamin to correct a B12 deficiency patez. Don't be tempted to exceed the dose of these though, as although you cannot overdose on B12, you can overdose on other B vitamins.
As others have already stated, the ideal answer would be to go back to your doctor and, as you already know, reduce alcohol intake as much as possible.
The treatment for PA in the past was raw liver, if that is an option?
Would it help the OP to use sublinguals or even patches ( would have to be bought and shipped from Europe, Australia or USA) rather than just regular tablets? I've lived and worked in Africa so I can understand the limits of health care provision.
My B12 deficiency is not diet related. I do eat plenty of meat, mostly chicken and beef. I do admit that I drink fairly heavily, but it has never been a problem until now! The anti depressants also have a the side effect of effecting vitamin B absorption.
I am working in the Middle East, and the local doc that we have to use is pretty useless, and the facilities are very basic. Very doubtful if they would have vitamin B injections available!
Raw liver? Yuk! I can't even eat cooked liver! LOL! Anyway, it is not available where I am anyway!
I will try and cut back on the alcohol, and keep taking the B complex tablets. I feel that they are having an effect now. The doc told me to only take one a day, and only gave me 3 weeks worth, but the instruction sheet did say 2 a day if the symptoms were severe. I have only been taking the 2 a day for 1 week, but it does seem to be doing something! The tingling fingers is abating a little bit, I think!
Looking back over the replies, and browsing the PA website, it seems that I got confused about what PA actually is! I did not realise it is actually an autoimmune disease, which then causes B12 deficiency! It also appears to be very difficult to test for the Intrinsic Factor antibodies, and any test results are mostly unreliable?
Anyway! My symptoms are of B12 deficiency. I think we have established that fact. Do I have PA? Does it really matter getting a test done anyway, when the treatment is the same, whatever is causing the B12 deficiency? I do not need to know if I have PA! I need to get treated though! I did not realise that B12 deficiency is actually a life threatening problem!
In answer to Gambit 62, the B complex tablets I am taking have 10 micrograms.
Polaris commented that B complex will not have enough B12 in them to treat B12 deficiency?
Browsing the internet, there appears to be "pure" forms of B12, at 1000 micrograms, with the recommended dosage being 1 tablet a day. According to the main PA page, when taken orally, only 1% of the B12 is absorbed, so I am guessing that B complex will have very little effect.
I will go and see if the local pharmacy (which just happens to be 100 kms away!) has any pure B12 tablets or medication.
Thanks everyone for your guidance. You have all helped me to understand my condition, and what to do about it!
You say you can't import medication, but what about vitamin pills?
If your B12 deficiency is due to an absorption problem (PA or something else) then 10 ug pills will do very little to help. If you can get sublingual lozenges with 1000 ug of B12 or, even better, a nasal spray, then they will do more good. Not up to what you'd get from injections, but better than nothing.
Search whichever Amazon site is most convenient (and can ship to your location) for sublingual methylcobalamin. Something like this... amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-B12-10...
Just got back from the long drive to the pharmacy! I did ask for the nasal gel, or pure B12 injections even, or patches, or lozenges, but he just looked at me blank and offered me some Iron tablets! LOL! Such is life out here! But I persevered! He eventually showed me some tablets, Neurorubine-forte! I read the box and the leaflet! The tablets have 200 mg B1, 50 mg B6 and 1000 micrograms (why do they not just say 1 mg?) B12 (Cyanocobalamin)! I already know, from what you and other people have said, that 10 micrograms will have no effect! What is causing my fairly severe B12 deficiency, I have no idea! Well, not necessarily true! I do know that heavy drinking is a factor, but it is not listed as being a major cause! But! Combined with the medication I have to take for my mental health problem, could very well lead to a more severe B12 deficiency (or should we actually call it what it actually is, and that is the inability to produce Intrinsic Factor?)!
Thanks fbirder for your concerns and trying to help out with your suggestions of "bypassing" the import of medication, but vitamin pills, herbal remedies, etc, are also banned for import here! They are available over the counter, but banned from import by an individual!
There is a total ban on any medicament being imported, whether it be drugs, medication, or herbal! Even e-cigarettes are banned! The list is endless of "banned" goods! I once brought back a DVD of Saturday Night Fever (John Travolta movie!), and it got confiscated at the airport! I asked why? Because it is on the banned list!
As an aside, for the obvious experts amongst you, these are the only tablets that I could find out here with the "recommended" 1 mg B12! Will the B1 and B6 be a problem though?
Fingers crossed that these new tablets will help!
I am very grateful in finding this forum, and the PA website is brilliant in presenting information in a very clear (and understandable) way! No confusing "medical" jargon! Just plain and simple facts! Well done!
You people that have picked up on my post, and guided me, may have actually saved my life, literally! I knew nothing about why I felt so sick all the time! Doc here just gave me useless tablets, when I was actually slowly dying? B12 deficiency is a fatal condition, if not diagnosed and treated properly! The treatment that the local doc gave me would not helped at all! B complex to treat PA, or whatever my severe B12 deficiency is caused by? But I will give him his due! He did point me in the right direction though, even though his treatment was very flawed!
Just reporting on my progress, and to ask a question!
The tablets I have been taking are Neurorubine-forte. I am taking 2 a day (as per the instruction sheet). 1 week later? The tingling in my fingers does seem to be a lot less. I feel a bit less 'nervous and on edge" than I was! Feeling a bit less dizzy. Not feeling so fatigued, but I am feeling more tired? Concentration seems to have improved!
From what I have read though, I should not seeing any improvement for 3-4 months, so is it normal to feel better after only 1 week after starting to take the new tablets, or am I just "wishful thinking"?
I have started eating a banana a day, to counteract the Potassium deficiency that a lot of people have said helps?
Something that I have not really found an answer to though, and that is should I also take a folate supplement (Iron supplements)? I know that people who are having the daily/monthly injections have said that they then needed to take Iron supplements? My B12 intake will be a lot less than having jabs, so I do not think I will need Iron supplements, but I do not know!
Not sure if anyone is still following this! No replies recently, so I guess not?
If anyone is though, I have some good news, I hope!
After a lot of research, I have found a local, in country, dealer for BIOVEA 1000 mcg B12 sublingual! I cannot collect them though, and had to buy them online, but they will be delivered by local post! Maybe 2-3 weeks to get them though, but I hope sooner?
I am very pleased though to find what I think I do need! Straight B12 in Methylcobalamin, and definitely a lot better than the tablets I am currently taking?
I am sick and fed up with falling over in the shower, having to take a breather when I get out of the car because my legs have turned to jelly after a 1 hour drive! Fed up with even simple tasks like doing the washing and ironing becoming a physical and mental chore to achieve! Fed up with the trembling and shaking inside! Fed up with the numb and tingling fingers in my right hand! It will be nice to be able to even sign my name properly! My signature has gone to pot! I seem to have lost all coordination between what I want to write and actually writing it!
I grit my teeth and grin and bear it!
I am keeping my fingers crossed that all the advice I have received will lead to me eventually feeling better!
From what I have read though? The sublingual lozenges should help fairly quickly?
That may very well sort out quite a few problems, but I have a question?
Timescales! The Nuerorubine tablets that I have been taking, would probably have taken 3-4 months to help. Any ideas on how long the BIOVEA lozenges will take to help?
Hi Patez. Am new here...drawn to health unblocked by your interesting and courageous story on PA. I wonder how Nuerorubine Forte went for you....coz I have just been prescribed the same a week ago
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