B12

[Shonzi]

Hi I have recently been getting B12 injections I don’t know why I needed them but I have to now have them every 12 wks , I also have sore bones and tightening in my hands has any one had this before .

[Hidden]

Hi,

I have just been diagnosed with b13 deficiency after having bad pins and needles and burning sensations in my arms and legs.

I am interested to hear about your sore bones. I feel like my legs, shoulders and arms are achey.

Just had 2nd of 6 b12 loading dose injections and hoping I start to see some improvement soon.

I hope you start to feel better aswell.

I wonder how long it takes to feel a bit better after injections?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

B12 deficiency that should have said!

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Hidden]

F1987 - there is no real answer to how long it takes to feel better - it depends on the individual and many do find themselves feeling a little worse before They start feeling better - others go for months before they really notice a difference. Others notice a difference quite quickly.

B12 is used by a lot of processes in the body so there are a lot of systems that can go wrong and the damage to different systems takes different times to heal - anaemia will clear within a few months - damage to the lining around nerve cells will take much longer. Things get more difficult as many symptoms can be down to the effects of B12 on several symptoms.

[Hidden in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you for your reply.

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding that just b12 can be making me feel so bad and convincing myself their must be something else wrong. But many doctors have reassured me.

I can see it's the start of a long process.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Shonzi, the mechanism that allows you to absorb B12 from your food is very delicate and when something goes wrong it more or less means that you can't absorb B12 from your food.

The most likely thing to go wrong is an auto-immune condition called pernicious anaemia - which is a bit of a mis-nomer as anaemia is a symptom of B12 deficiency rather than the underlying cause of the disease, but it was the way the disease was first recognised - about 200 years before anyone actually knew anything about B12.

Your body stores B12 in good quantities in the liver which means that an absorption problem can actually go on for years or even decades before it finally becomes a deficiency. The mechanism that allows you to access the stores is the same as the one that allows you to absorb B12 from your food so it's a bit like having a leaky tap/pipe on a reservoir - and the leak gets worse as time goes on - eventually the tank is empty and it doesn't matter if you refill it - you can't use the tank anymore. That means that you need to find a way of periodically topping up the levels in your blood so enough that doesn't rely upon your gut - hence the injections every 3 months.

Note: many people find that 3 months really isn't frequently enough.

Because a deficiency takes a very long time to manifest the symptoms creep up on you very slowly and it's easy not to realise that there is something going on.

Suggest that you make a list of symptoms (even if you have had them for years) and monitor how they change with time.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Shonzi

Have you had your Folate level tested since you started having the B12 injections?

Anyone at any age, can become B12 deficient. THowever, certain people are at an elevated risk. They include the following:

Vegetarians, vegans and people eating macrobiotic diets.

People aged sixty and over

People who’ve undergone any gastric and/or intestinal surgery, including bariatric surgery for weight loss purposes (Gastric bypass).

People who regularly use proton-pump- inhibitors. H2 blockers, antacids, Metformin, and related diabetes drugs, or other medications that can interfere with B12 absorption.

People who undergo surgeries or dental procedures involving nitrous oxide, or who use the drug recreationally.

People with a history of eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia).

People with a history of alcoholism.

People with a family history of pernicious anaemia.

People diagnosed with anaemia (including iron deficiency anaemia, sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia).

People with Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten enteropathy (celiac disease), or any other disease that cause malabsorption of nutrients.

People with autoimmune disorders (especially thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease) Type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, lupus, Addison’s disease, ulcerative colitis, infertility, acquired agammaglobulinemia, or a family history of these disorders.

Women with a history of infertility or multiple miscarriages.

Can you "see yourself" among any of the above people?

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

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.

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

.

[Shonzi in reply to clivealive]

Thank you for your help I only have sore legs and hands as if I have been at the gym the day before this slackens off after I get up and about I am 51 years old so put that down to ware n rare on my hip joint , I am concerned that I should look more into it what advice would you give I have no other symptoms above .

[clivealive Forum Support]

I just don't understand why your doctor (or whoever) has given you Vitamin B12 injections without telling you a reason.

Have you got any recent blood test results showing that you might be B12 deficient?

Have you had an "Intrinsic Factor Antibodies" test?

[Shonzi in reply to clivealive]

I was feeling tired and sore , Doctor gave me blood test said that I had b12 deficiency and that a would need injections that’s was it , then I got speaking to one of my friends who has the same ,,,,,,, she gave me more information on this disease this is why I am on asking for advice as I don’t know anything and doctors are just fobbing me off saying I will be fine as long as I keep taking the injections.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Well Shonzi your doctor is giving you the right treatment for your Vitamin B12 Deficiency and as long as you don't have any of the causes I listed above as long as the injections continue I shouldn't worry about it.

By comparison when my doctor told me in 1972 that I had Pernicious Anaemia - which is a form of B12 deficiency - she said I only had two years to live - unless I had the injections for the rest of my life.

46 years on I'm still "clivealive" and am now over 75 so they worked for me.

[Shonzi]

Thank you Clive for your help I do have sore legs and pins and needles in my hands I am a beauty therapist and constantly using my hands /machines I thought this was just me getting on in age do you think this might have anything to do with it