Need to re confirm basics please.

[BlueBoyMico]

Ok, I'm making progress at the moment but this morning have terrible brain fog and have woken up feeling knackered.

4th maybe 5th day off Lansoprazole-the cause of my B12 deficiency.

Have been using sub lingual spray for B12 with 1 liquid B-complex sachet in the morning daily and spray throughout the day evenly spaced.

Last 3 days have increased my dairy and red meat intake with steak and liver, small portions, and a good basic calcium caseinate protein drink, as well as good basic foodstuffs like potatoes and veg.

Symptoms (cold and numb fingers, tinnitius, weakness and fogginess, pounding heart) have been improving and highs and lows which I understand are said to be a sign that repair work is underway.

Yesterday evening I kind of went down with a bang, wiped out, felt really hypoglycemic, tinnitus got worse and a fair bit of chest discomfort which I initially thought was indigestion perhaps but also felt it was this low potassium caused by increased B12 needing other elements to perform.

So....... am I on the right track with this thinking? I have read other threads with people reporting the chest pain (much worse than mine) and I am hoping to pre-empt it by increasing correct foods and/or using a form of supplement to avoid this as it must be a terrifying place to be with massive chest pain, panic etc.

I though about some of those sports tablets with electrolytes would help with potassium, magnesium and the other bits?

I'm at the stage now where I'm frightened to take more B12 or even foodstuffs rich in the B vits as I don't want these chest pains to increase until I satisfy the lack of potassium or whatever the lowered mineral is.

I'd search more but its taken me nearly half an hour to type this much and I'm in a sea of mist at the moment lol

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Do you have anaemia - potassium deficiency is a result of anaemia being reversed so if you don't it is unlikely to be an issue.

Unfortunately it may well be the case that the Lansoprazole was actually masking a symptom of PA - low stomach acidity and making the B12 deficiency appear faster rather than lansoprazole being the only cause.

Suggest you try taking something acidic - a little lime juice in water - and see if that helps relieve the 'indigestion'.

As I understand it the stomach needs certain levels of acidity to stop producing gastrin which stimulates the production of bile. If you don't have enough acid the reaction keeps going and can lead to acid reflux - just as too much acidity can.

I find that taking a little lime-juice in water resolves any acid reflux I have much better than anti-acids.

[BlueBoyMico in reply to Gambit62]

Thanks for replying Gambit. Maybe I'm not making a lot of sense at the moment lol

I had all the classical symptoms of B12 deficiency the last 6 months or so, getting worse by the week until I found the PA Society and then this forum here.

I only started B12 sprays about a week ago right after I gave blood (the results are due this Friday).

I'd had been on Lansoprazole for 20 years, the last year or so I've been weaning myself down to lower doses in preparation to stopping it.

I have no gall bladder.

Since starting the B12 sprays, B-complex liquid and improving my diet I have been making good steady progress until yesterday when I experienced the chest discomfort.

I know my own body well enough to know it wasn't indigestion and I can't help but think that all the myelination and RBC repair due to the sudden heightened available B12 levels is causing a depletion in my levels of potassium or magnesium also used in the repair processes and so am asking for clarification on what minerals (the lack of) can lead to these chest pains, they're the upper area and sternum.

I have read of other members having the same experiences and alleviating them with minerals supplementation but cannot find the threads now.

[greenbexy in reply to BlueBoyMico]

It can be quite dangerous to take supplements that you are not deficient in, such as potassium. Also your B complex could possibly cause problems, if again, you aren't deficient. B6 toxicity.

I also get chest pain, but mine is put down to lack of iron and vitamin D deficient, diagnosed by low levels.

Definitely mention it to the doctor when you get your results. It could be anything from muscle spasms in the intercostals or at worst angina!

If you go to 'search posts' you might find the threads you read earlier.

[BlueBoyMico in reply to greenbexy]

Thanks Greenbexy, I'm due to get my bloods back end of this week so I'll hopefully have a better picture of what's what, right now my head is swimming with info and overlapping symptoms etc; I'm coming off PPI's after 20 years and I'm trying to give my body a balanced spectrum of all the good stuff so it can take what it needs, when it needs, to get things healthy again. I can cope with the lethargy, fatigue numbness etc but the chest pain/spasms and shortness of breath, it's like the grim reaper has arrived and no amount of trying to settle and talk myself around seems to work, but I guess I'm not the only one and there's surely loads more people much worse than me lol

[greenbexy in reply to BlueBoyMico]

That's why this forum is so good, for comparing notes (symptoms) and advice! Lol! So many symptoms gets the doctors scratching their heads and made to feel like hypochondriacs. Try eating potassium rich foods, bananas, avocados etc. Can also be a vicious circle, anxiety can cause chest pain and vice versa. Palpitations is the worst feeling I get, which again brings anxiety! Maybe worth getting vitamin D checked out, hopefully your results will include iron and folate on Friday.