Am I on the right track? B12 deficiency

[VaishaliG]

Hi, I am posting my blood reports here. These were done a month back.

1. B12 - 134 ( very very low )

2. Vit D - 10.1 ( severe deficiency )

3. Calcium - 8.4.

4.Thyroid - 2.81 ( normal )

I was started with B12 injections - one every week for 5 weeks. And other supplements below:

1. Tb. Uprise 60,000 - twice a week (16)

2. Tb.Veba - for a month everyday

3. Tb.Livogen z - for a month every day

4. Tb.MCBM -l - for a month every day.

So my 5 injections per week are over and so are the other supplements.

I have experienced improvement in terms of shortness of breath reducing, reduced fatigue, able to do household chores ( but not with the same energy as before ) etc.

However, I have noticed that just before getting the 5th shot, I started feeling weakness again, especially in my legs. Even after having the 5th injection, I m feeling quite weak. Is it possible that the dose of my other supplements is over ( like Vit D and Folic acid) that's why I am feeling the weakness.

I may not be given more injections by my doctor. And she told me she would continue me on tablets.

I would like to know if I am on the right path. Should I ask for more frequent injections - may be 3 more doses per week. The injections are methylcobalamin. If she doesn't agree, should I start injecting myself? Can somebody also guide me with what diet to follow. I have been a non - vegetarian since childhood. Went to the Neurologist as well - his Neurological examination was normal. ( Went with complaints of tingling in fingers and toes - they are also reducing though )

Kindly guide me for further course of action since I do not trust the doctors who take such kind of deficiency so lightly.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

VaishaliG I have taken down the photo on the post as it showed your full name and other details.

Please note that there is feed from HU on other platforms - including NHS site - you can avoid your posts being on this feed by making them private = only visible to the community.

[Foggyme Administrator in reply to Gambit62]

Snap Gambit.

[VaishaliG in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you for taking down the image. I was not aware about this. Apology

[Foggyme Administrator]

Hi VaishaligG. The image containing your results contains your name and date of birth so I've deleted it to protect your identity / prevent identity theft. (The posts here are streamed to several different sites and can also be seen by anyone searching the Internet).

Please can you redact your personal information and the re-post the image contains your results (you can do this by clicking the 'more' tab at the bottom of your post and then clicking 'edit'). This will allow you to re-insert the image.

👍

[VaishaliG in reply to Foggyme]

Hello foggyme, I don't think the image is important since I have mentioned my levels in the post. But thank you for informing and protecting my identity.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Both vitamin B12 and vitamin D will cause the symptoms you had.

Whilst some people get on okay with high dose tablets for maintaining levels after loading shots (presume you are not UK based) not everyone does - would help to know where you are based as protocols vary from country to country

Looks like you probably have an absorption problem - most likely auto-immune gastritis - this mainly affects B12 but can affect other vitamins and minerals - notably iron and folate - so worth monitoring levels of those.

Diet won't make much difference to B12 if you have an absorption problem.

B12 and folate are used together in a number of processes at the cell level so you need both - best form of folate is from food - eg green leafy vegetables.

I would suggest that you see how you get on with the tablets.

[VaishaliG in reply to Gambit62]

I am based in India but I m not aware of the protocol here for B12. I was suggested 5 per week in the beginning, then once a month for 3 month's and then once in 3 month's injections. However, my doc said that I will need to repeat the blood tests to check for B12 levels and then decide.

If I get on with the tablets and still don't feel better, then can I go back to having injections?

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to VaishaliG]

I'm afraid I also don't know the protocols in India - if there are any national protocols.

As you aren't a vegetarian the problem definitely isn't dietary - you could ask your GP to check for h pylori infection - which is a treatable cause - but still most likely that it is PA/autoimmune gastritis. Serum B12 can be a useful test - in as much as if it comes back low then you know that you need more aggressive treatement - but going by symptoms is more likely to be a win-win strategy - ie if your symptoms are returning then you need a top up. Unfortunately B12 shots seem to introduce another factor that makes the normal range pretty useless - though the bottom end still applies.

See how you get on and come back if you find you are getting into problems and we will do our best to point you at information to help you and your doctor ensure you are getting the treatment appropriate to you.