Anemia making me feel like death

[Tommy33]

Iam a powerlifter how long before the b12 shots and iron tablets start to work this is killing me having no energy the doctors don't really care but to get so anemic all the time is horrible position ,,,,how long will it take for my hemoglobin to get up from 10.2 and I am a massive muscley man do you think being so muscular makes a difference with anemia affecting me more

[Marz]

How often are you having B12 injections ? Do you have PA ? How are your levels of Folate - which works with the B12 in the body and needs to be halfway in the range. Do you have any results with ranges you could share ? Which Iron do you take and how much ? Do you take it with VitC to aid absorption.

Always obtain your test results with ranges - they are legally yours - you can then post here with more information to help members comment. Difficult to be constructive with so little information .... Have you had VitD tested ? - often Low when B12 and Ferritin are low.

[clivealive Forum Support]

What is your diet like? I guess you eat plenty of meat, fish, seafood, eggs, poultry and dairy products as these are sources of Vitamin B12.

And what about vegetables? Leafy greens such as broccoli, sprouts. asparagus, spinach, peas beans etc provide Folate which works with B12 and helps your iron make red blood cells.

Are you on any other medications beside the B12 and Iron?

Apart from lack of energy do you have any of the below symptoms of a B12 deficiency which 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

It is not uncommon for some symptoms to appear to get worse before they get better as the B12 starts repairing the damage done to your nervous system and your brain starts getting multiple messages from part of the body it had "forgotten about" or lost contact with.

I sometimes liken it to a badly tuned radio on which you have turned the volume up high trying to catch the programme you want when all of a sudden the signal comes in loud and clear and the blast nearly deafens you.

A lot will depend on the severity and longevity of your B12 deficiency as to how long before there is no further improvement or recovery.

Some symptoms will "disappear" quite quickly whereas others may take months or even years. There is no set timescale as we are all different.

Go back to your doctor and as Marz says get hold of the test results together with their ranges <from - to> and come back here.

I am not a medically trained person but I've had P.A. (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 45 years.

I wish you well

[Tommy33]

I had dialated cardiomyophy which is like a athletes heart ,so because of that my body does not absorb iron ,,,,I had to have 3 blood transfusions on different occasions because of this ,,,,,I went for a full red blood count and this time they mentioned about my b12 ,,,,usually I ask for a photocopy of all my bloods but it was so late I just went home from it was 2 in the morning ,,,,,,I have fought heart failure and come back from that I felt the doctors I dealt with for my heart where a lot more aggressive with treatment ,,,,,I feel don't get me wroung that they have tried ,,I have had iron infusions ,,,,but this was the first time they have mentioned my b12 ,,being anemic for me feels worse on my body than when I was in heart failure ,,,,I hate it ,do you feel sometimes doctors are in the dark abit on the treatment of anemia ,,correct Dosses

[Fudgemanjim]

Ive never been super muscle but before getting sevrley worse in the past 2 years i at least had a 6 pck and worked out so on... now im gaunt no muscles at all and struggkw to open doors ...any exersize destroys me and i struggle with a walking stick.. well done oand props to you for being strong enough to keep going and being as in good shape as your pic seems to be i hope you get as well as you can soon, i definitley sympisize with Drs not caring recomend calling PAS or seeking other drs till you fi d one good for b12 anemia, ive had drs tell me b12 jabs caused all manner of horrid issues that were just lies, ignored symptom to point of wheelchair, jobloss heart iissues, now i feel so poorly treated by them especially as i stated what i know now this was, that i wont go to nhs again... at least not in my area with those drs ... some get lucky though im no expert but i always thought more muscle was good as its an IM jab... but i dont know... anyway good luck hope you well enough to hit the wirghts again soon

Oh and sorry if i misunderstood any of post...i get tereibley confusled a d repetive these days

[BlueBoyMico]

Hi Tommy, ex bodybuilder here (from the 1980's) I feel your anguish.

We can private chat if you like.

[Hidden]

Hi tommy33 and fudgemanjim,

You may have done already but check out the B12d.org charity website. It’s a charity set up by a retired doctor to spread the word about B12 and to help assist people self supplement. If you contact them the dr will call u back to discuss your case and provide the ampoules of b12 if needed. So many doctors seem ill educated or disinterested in B12, and seem to give knee jerk diagnosies of ME or CFS. Whilst practising other doctors in the uk were very negative about Dr Chandy’s widespread supplementation of b12 for his patients but he has won awards overseas and had a bbc inside out on him several years ago.

They have helped me enormously, I too had issues with walking and mobility, which being a marathon runner was devastating, but I’m now completely mobile and back to ‘normal’... Not running again just yet but feeling more capable of it every day..

I don’t know whether a higher muscle mass can affect iron deficiency anaemia tommy33, but I know doing a lot of high impact sports can cause both iron deficiency and B12, and there is a suggestion that athletes should supplement both as they need more due to the damage the impact does to red blood cells, especially vegetarians (me) and vegans and those who don’t absorb iron or b12 very well (also me).... (Not saying I’m an ‘athlete’ or anything obvs! Just someone doing an abnormally large amount of exercise!! 😆 )

Abi

[Chazaitch]

New to this site and wondering how you're getting on with it Tommy33, 2 years on?

I'm a powerlifter - thankfully I don't have PA but a friend does and wants to come and train with me. Any advice on his meds/ vits please?