Macular degeneration and B12d?

[spacey1]

Hi

I've been trying to get my 76 year old mum to get her B12 levels checked, as she has a lot of the same symptoms I have / had. She's a bit GP-reluctant so she's not yet been checked!

In the last few weeks, she's noticed her vision seems 'wrong' and last week the ophthalmologist advised that she had some symptoms of macular degeneration, so she's waiting for a consultant appointment tomorrow.

Anyone know if there's a link between low B12 and either macular degeneration or symptoms like it? She says her vision in one eye has some central blurring, and she's had some floaters which have come and gone.

Thanks

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi spacey1

According to Sally Pachalok's book "Could it be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" it says "if failing eyesight stems from B12 deficiency, it's likely to be attributed to age, macular degeneration, or diabetic eye damage". (Page 50).

Does your Mum have any other symptoms associated with a B12 deficiency?

Symptoms of B12 deficiency tend to develop slowly and may not be recognised immediately. As the condition worsens, common symptoms include:

Weakness and fatigue

Light-headedness and dizziness

Palpitations and rapid heartbeat

Shortness of breath

A sore tongue that has a red, beefy appearance

Nausea or poor appetite

Weight loss

Diarrhoea

Yellowish tinge to the skin and eyes

If low levels of B12 remain for a long time, the condition also can lead to irreversible damage to nerve cells, which can cause the following symptoms:

Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet

Difficulty walking

Muscle weakness

Irritability

Memory loss

Dementia

Depression

Psychosis

Note: edited by admin to correct book author and title.

[spacey1 in reply to clivealive]

Thanks, that's helpful. Yes, mum has a number of B12d symptoms. I've been asking her to get it checked but I think my family think I attribute everything to B12!

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to spacey1]

has your mother also been tested for diabetes? or does she have diabetes - can be difficult to unravel the symptoms and GPs are more likely to attribute them to diabetes than B12.

[Frodo in reply to clivealive]

clivealive small typo: think you mean Sally Pacholok's book

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Frodo]

You are totally correct Frodo - I apologise to all my dear readers.

[Marz]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The above link mentions the link between VitD levels and macular degeneration. It is one of many research papers out there ....

[spacey1]

Thanks. Mum's had her appointment and she's got macular oedema, which is treatable, thank goodness.

Big hooray for the eye specialist, who also got her to agree to see the GP for full bloods, including B12