So, I had been vegan for about a year and a half and during said time I was incredibly active. From working out to playing basketball to just overall life responsibilities. Anyway up until about a month ago I felt amazing but then I hit a wall. After which I felt, not so amazing. Exhaustion, confusion, just all the general symptoms associated with b12 deficiency. I mean almost all of the mental ones anyway. It got so bad that I had to take time from work bc I became seriously concerned with my health. Anyway after several MRI's and Ct scans, and multiple blood tests my gp refuses to believe it may be a b12 deficiency but I'm convinced. I'm just wondering is there anyone who can shoot me a link for a b12 methylcobalamin injection bc I'm ready to be whole again and get on with my life.
A little help please: So, I had been... - Pernicious Anaemi...
A little help please
Hey,
what was the result of your blood test?
Maybe you can try the AMM urines test?
Why don't you take B12 orally? If you are deficient because of diet, you probably can absorb it.
Good luck!
I have been, I'm currently taking a 5000 mcg methyl sublingual but it's not doing much to reverse my symptoms, though it has stabilized them. My blood tests came back normal, at least as far as my gp's concerned, I asked for an mma test on several occasions but got nothing. At this point it my whole experience feels like medical malpractice.
I had b12 deficiency and started to take 2000 mcg every day 13 days ago. Some symptoms are getting better but some others are still there. I have the feeling it will take plenty of time!
What are your symptoms? When did you start supplementing?
Please read this article from the pinned posts
b12researchgroup.wordpress....
supplementing on high dose oral supplements when you don't have a B12 absorption problem can result in serum B12 levels being raised and in some people this causes a reaction that leads to B12 not getting through to cells.
If you think the cause of your problem is dietary then much lower supplements would have been effective.
The sudden on-set that you describe doesn't quite fit with the normal pattern for the development of a B12 deficiency in that it appears to have been very sudden whereas symptoms of B12 deficiency usually develop very slowly over time - this is because the liver stores a lot of B12 and the daily requirement is quite small. Absorption problem also tend to increase slowly after time rather than starting suddenly.
Whilst studies in sports nutrition do show that high performance athletes may need higher daily intake of B12.
There is a lot of mis-information out there and an awful lot about methyl being the best form of B12 because it is 'more natural'. a) the B12 molecule is bound and unbound from various proteins etc several times during metabolisation so personally wouldn't be convinced that taking in methyl actually means that less processing is necessary. b) there are actually two forms of B12 that are used in process at the cell level - methyl and adenosyl - and there have been some reports of people who aren't actually able to convert methyl to adenosyl .... though everyone can convert cyano and hydroxo to both .... though there do seem to be some genetic factors that may make these processes less efficient.
The symptoms of B12 do overlap with a number of other conditions - including vitamin D deficiency, folate deficiency, thyroid .... and it is also possible for 2 or more things to be going on at the same time.
whilst serum B12 is a dangerous test to use as a single marker because it will miss 25% who are deficient (and also pick up 5% who aren't). However, the likelihood that you are one of the 25% gets less likely as you go up in the range.
Sorry, I misled you bc I gave you the abridged version of events so as to not have to type as much. The symptoms I experienced were spread out over a course of about 4 to 5 months. At least in terms of like notable issues. Only in hindsight am I now able to say,"wow, that was a clear indication as to what was going on".Whereas, at the time, I rationalized all of my experiences. I contributed the fatigue, like intense fatigue too, to being overworked, my jobs not "that" hard. The inability to concentrate I thought was just some mental "block" that was taking place from stress, and just the overall feeling of unwellness I assumed was something I was experiencing as a result of the fatigue. So I set a pace and I assumed with my diet and level of activity once I got a vacation or something I would be fine but, that's not what happened. My fatigue became crushing, the confusion became dimentia, and my sleep habits went from bad to, I couldn't sleep if you paid me. It's only after experiencing rather serious issues that I decided to see a gp but they had no answers for me bc, I would appear to be a young very healthy adult. Anyway so I don't run on, it took my own research, as well as help from sites like this one to illuminate what was taking place w me and only after having had learned which supplements to take and how did i begin to get slightly better but. I'm still not 100 percent and I'm reluctant to stop supplementing bc I can't get a prescription for the injections and I really don't want to experience what I felt bf seeing as, it was a horrible experience.
4-5 months is still a very short period in which to develop a B12 deficiency - generally it is years or even decades. A shorter period is associated with a folate deficiency but I'm guessing that you are taking eat plenty of folate rich food if you are a vegan.
I'm not saying it isn't B12 just that what you describe doesn't point to B12 being the main problem - though I appreciate that the supplementation has helped.
What I am saying is that there could be other things going on so focusing purely on B12 may not be the way to go.
Hi Gambit62, my symptoms appeared suddenly during and just after pregnancies. But it may come from the fact that needs are much more important during that period so pregnancy emptied all my storage.
Marybrown - would be better to discuss this on a separate thread than highjack this thread.
I was not highjacking this thread, I was answering your point that deficiency and its symptoms usually appear progressively: just saying that in my case it did not happen like that, it was sudden
thank you for clarifying Marybrown, and sorry I misunderstood.
yes the demands made by pregnancy are very significant which makes using B12 serum in pregnancy particularly
Yeah, mine came on really suddenly about 1 year after I had my son (think it was related to that but can't be sure), and I mean really suddenly - I went from being fine to fainting and being unable to stay conscious for more than 2 hours at a time over the course of about 2 months.
I’m a self diagnosed newby please help
How soon do you get an improvement once you start receiving B12 injections? 
Help Please
