What is happening to me! B12 loading dose

[Emsy2009]

Hi Everyone,

I have recently been in hospital with viral meningitis, whilst I was in there blood tests revealed I have a low B12 count of 197. They prescribed the loading dose of 6 injections over 2 weeks. I left hospital after 10 days and then carried on having the remainder of injections through my GP. These were finished over a week ago. 4 days after finishing the loading dose I started to get pins and needles in my feet, legs and hands and also burning in my feet. Is this normal? I have also been left with a lot of anxiety, something I've never experienced before. The doctor has prescribed me propranolol for the anxiety and amitryptaline for the nerve pain and because I can't sleep at night but had to look everything up I was telling her and got the impression she thinks that everything I'm feeling is to do with the anxiety. My latest blood results were all ok for iron, potassium levels.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Emsy2009 I'm sorry to read you are feeling so unwell.

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.

If you can get to see a doctor please also ask him/her to check your Folate level as this and B12 help your iron to make red blood cells and to function properly.

Make a list of your symptoms and present this to your doctor and ask him/her to treat you according to your symptoms and (perhaps) even re-start you on loading doses "until there is no further improvement" according to the N.I.C.E guidelines below. Click on the link, then on "Scenario: Management" and scroll down to "Treatment for B12 deficiency"

google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j...

If possible take someone with you who can validate your neurological symptoms as the doctor is less likely to pooh pooh you in front of a witness.

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

.

[Emsy2009 in reply to clivealive]

Hi Clive,

Many thanks for your reply, my folate level was 4.6 ug/L which the doctor thinks is fine.

Many Thanks

Emma

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Emsy2009]

It is also important that your Folate level is monitored as this is essential to process the B12.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Symptoms of a folate deficiency can include:

symptoms related to anaemia

reduced sense of taste

diarrhoea

numbness and tingling in the feet and hands

muscle weakness

depression

As long as you don't have an absorption problem with your digestion Folate can be sourced naturally by eating plenty of leafy green vegetables - sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, peas, beans etc. Folic acid is also being fortified into many breakfast cereals too.

Personally I have taken 1 – Folic Acid 400μg tablet for more years than I can remember and these may be bought cheaply across the counter at any pharmacist or supermarket.

[Emsy2009 in reply to clivealive]

Thank you for the tips Clive, I will definitely look into the folate levels with the doctor and follow your suggestions for what to eat.

[deniseinmilden]

Hi!

I was going to suggest folate too.

[jimister]

The same happened to me when taking sublingual tablets. The burning in my feet and hands was unbearable. I had terrible anxiety and felt unsettled could not relax at all which i also did'nt have before. Even if i take a small dose of b12 i feel strange.

[Emsy2009 in reply to jimister]

It's so strange isn't it! I've been back to my GP today as my legs are so weak! He's done all my neurological signs again and all are ok, I asked him about my folate and he said it's fine and he doesn't think I need more injections. I'm starting to wish I had never had them in the first place tbh. I've had a terrible headache all day and painful neck too but I'm not sure if that's as a result of all the medication I'm on now or if it's an after effect of the viral meningitis! i can't wait to feel well again!

[SusanLMckinney in reply to Emsy2009]

It may very well be you have a stress headaches. I did from worrying about an illness no one would look for in 2000. One of the things that made me feel better was to take a walk on a sunny day. My husband asked me to go for a walk with him, of course I didn't feel like it but he begged me. Spring had just arrived. I had had a headache and neck problems for months. When I went outside it was so pretty and as we walked I could feel myself relax and eventually the headache was gone. Give it a try.

[SusanLMckinney]

You have a double wammy. Meningitis is in your spinal column and PA also affects your spinal column.