I am new to the world of B12 deficiency. I have been away for a few days and during that time I drank a reasonable amount of alchohol, namely champagne and cocktails. The last two days I felt dreadful and ended up giving myself an injection of B12 two days running as many of my symptoms had returned. Ive started to feel better now since doing that. Ive now discovered there is a link between b12 depletion and alcohol. I had no idea!!
Do you have to avoid alchohol or has this happened because I am in the process of recovering and was still loading? I feel rather stupid! I am not a big drinker but I do like the odd glass when socialising. No biggy to give up if needs be.
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waveylines
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Hi wavylines. Whilst alcoholism can result in B12 deficiency, that's not what we're talking about here 😉. You're on B12 injections so 'normal' social drinking won't have this effect.
However, many here (me included) find that their tolerance for alcohol is reduced - for some to almost nothing. If I have one glass of wine (sometimes even half an inch) I suffer a hang-over for several days. No idea why, never used to be like that. Process of aging - body not as efficient at filtering out alcohol- no idea.
I haven't stopped drinking entirely but know that if I do, I'm going to suffer with a big-time long-time hangover. ...so if I do it, I know that there will be a price to pay. And sometimes for such a little sip sip sip. Sad 😢.
So...think perhaps it's the case that the after-effects of alcohol last for longer, rather than their being an actual increase in the need for B12.
Bottoms up...cheers....or not, as the case may be 😉😀
Ah ok. Well nearly all my symptoms returned: weakness, fatigue, blurred vision, incontinence etc. Now all much improved since gave myself a daily injection. Weird!
I also find that alcohol can leave me feeling that my B12 levels are depleted and symptoms coming back - it's not the same for everyone. Alcohol affects how a lot of processes in your body and your cell run so possible that some of us are more susceptible to the impact.
Thanks Gambit. It certainly seemed to wipe mine. My tremors were much worse too. I think I will have one more injection tomorrow then resume my normal loading. Ive made sure Ive eaten my banana & taken my b complex too.
Alcohol will deplete your B12 so therefore best to inject again with B12 before a drink and maybe one the day after your drink although most people like said here previously cannot consume much drink when on B12 injections ,like myself I have one glass of wine every blue moon xx
Me too! Half a drink and I fall over and then pay for it for days...
I first knew about B12 decades ago because we used to give it to cattle (who's rumen [stomach] bugs normally make plenty for them) if they had liver damage or poisoning. Also occasionally they would eat fruit (eg get out and raid an apple tree) which would ferment inside them making them drunk and the best way to get them over their subsequent hangover was to give them B12!
Alcohol is a poison (hence why it affects us - being drunk is just the side effects of the poison) and B12 is an anti-toxin so maybe we are using up our very meagre reserves trying to eliminate this poison from our system.
I know of drinkers who don't normally have a B12 problem who take B12 supplements if they go binge drinking because it helps them recover much quicker.
Slightly different slant on it! Several years ago now, I'm primarily a underactive thyroid sufferer, I found sometimes I could have a single G&T and no probs, other times I could feel very drunk and there didn't seem to be any other changes that could account for that! This has lessened since my thyroid health has improved though again I supplement B12 alongside other things as well. So interesting that it could be a B12 problem which I've addressed. One thing I never do now though it's have any alcohol when I have the car with me but it is annoying that I can't pin down the reasons and most things could be an either/or theory. Hope you soon improve.
No, alcohol can’t deplete B12. Alcoholism can result in B12 problems because of its effect on the liver. But social drinking can’t.
In the same way that suffering from a B12 deficiency can reduce the amount of exercise required to get one totally knackered, I can see that it might reduce the amount of alcohol required to get a hangover.
I do drink more than average. But very rarely is it enough to have a hangover, even a slight one. And I don’t notice any difference between the weeks where I might drink quite a lot and the weeks where I drink nothing.
I find all of these comments so interesting. I have a non alcoholic fatty liver, which showed up in a scan. I drink rarely but when I do, I have many symptoms related to PA. I am really trying to keep my liver healthy re diet as obviously I have eaten excess fat in my life. VitB12 will still need processed...this may explain some of my really rubbish days. I had some prosecco and gin at the weekend and my stomach is far from right and I feel exhausted. I am still new to all this and it is really quite complicated, thank you everyone, I am so greatful for information x
Thanks for all the comments....seems Im not alone! Lol....though fbirder your lucky & get away with it!
For me given am on my fourth day & just coming up for air, think its not worth the consequences. I had no problem with alchohol prior to the b12 issue so it must be linked in someway....whatever that might be.
Be an interesting research project for someone out there!
I had to give up drinking during my recovery - I too was more a social drinker and also a wine-with-dinner drinker. I love certain drinks and thought of wine as a must with a nice meal (still do!)
But while I was recovering I could not handle drinking. It does seem to be temporary for me as I am now having wine and minimal cocktails again and not swing any return of symptoms when I do. But while my body was doing the big repair work I don’t think it could handle any alcohol. All my symptoms would come back and I would crash for a few days when I was otherwise seeing steady improvements. I would feel sick and so I gave it up completely for the time I was recovering then gradually added it back very slowly.
Thanks Llawry.....I must admit I felt it seemed quite harsh not drinking at all ever again but I will give it a year & then review whether the odd glass is tolerated. But when the chips are down if abstaining keeps me well Id choose that over how poorly I felt again these last few days!! Lol...
My tolerance to alcohol is almost Zero: I now find even 1/2 glass of wine feels toxic. I’ve never been able to drink more than 2 glasses .... it’s reassuring in a strange way to think that it could be the B12 deficiency xx
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