Im 46 abd was diagnosed with early meno around age 44. Been sick for a long time and was started on HRT for meno. Ive struggled with hrt balance and have declined in health within the last 4 years but to the extreme last 6 months. I have extreme fatigue, heart palps, breathlessness, racing heart, low blood pressure, depression, lack of concentration, staring off into a stupor from brain fatigue, dizzyness, on and on it goes. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together now, I feel I habe been low and symptomatic for at least 10 years and reachinf deficient levels the last few years increasing to moderate to severe symptoms now. Also I did start a vegan diet 3 months ago trying to improve my declining health and feel the vegan diet is irrelevant and coincidental to the B12 deficiency. Anyway, B12 came back at 288 few days ago and my symptoms fit to a T of B12 deficiency. Getting to my questions... does B12 Deficiency cause early meno and if B12 is restored does early meno reverse? Like would estrogen and progesterone naturally increase to peri meno levels and periods start again? Please let me know if you have any experience with early meno. Thanks in advance fir your replies and help. 😊
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Cherie9742
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Even though your B12 is pretty low there are other things that could explain your symptoms. Have you had your Thyroid checked recently? Did you have folate, iron and vitamin D tested? Symptoms can overlap with other deficiencies. You could have a few deficiencies at the same time. Definitely get your Thyroid checked if you haven't already.
In answer to your question about B12 deficiency causing a false menopause - yes it can - but so can other conditions - such as thyroid problems.
progesterone treatment has been linked to a higher incidence of B12 deficiency in some studies so HRT may not have helped.
My periods became more regular and easier when I got my B12 levels right, but now going through menopause.
Your B12 level is not really conclusive for deficiency/an absorption problem - declining levels over time would be more conclusive ... and there are a few tests that can help to clarify - eg homocysteine and MMA which look at waste products that build up if B12 levels are low. In people low B12 can also activate the latent genes that will result in raised cholesterol levels (but that's quite a select group)
3 months on a vegan diet is not going to have a significant effect on B12 levels unless you already have an absorption problem.
Hi. My thyroid has been checked several times and comes back good. T3 and T4 checked at same time as B12 test. My homocysteine was 8.1 anything under 10 is normal. I would agree that modt likely declining levels as symptoms have been going on for many years. Im nor sure why level would decline on a low carb diet for many years. I see that ive been low and have really become symptomatic last 6 months and then symptoms are more pronounced last couple weeks with short of breath dizzyness and extreme fatige. Hormones are out of whack too. Doc keeps increasing my estrogen as my levels dont want to increase so even on hrt im low estrogen and low progesterone but still low estrogen dominent. I thought the strogen was giving me the heart palps but now I think its all B 12 related.
B12 deficiency is most generally caused by absorption problems - ie diet would be irrelevant. Daily requirement for B12 is very small and the body stores B12 in the liver but using the store in the liver depends on the same mechanism that you use to absorb B12 from you food so if you have an absorption problem it's like having a leaky tap and the B12 from your liver is used up over time - which can take years or even decades.
I'd still be more inclined to think that the heart palps are related to the hormones rather than the B12, though its possible that the B12 may be making some of the processes which the hormones control run a bit more efficiently, so you may find that levels of hormones need to be adjusted.
Do you have the results for your Thyroid tests - with ranges as labs vary ? Did they rule out Hashimotos ? - which can trash absorption and therefore the uptake of vitamins and minerals. Your TSH needs to be around 2 - FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the range and Anti-TPO and Anti-Tg need to be in the range given. Low B12 and Low thyroid have many overlapping symtpoms.
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Another question: did anyone have all their joints crunching, clicking, and sore when their b12 dropped into deficiency range?
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