Vitamin B12 Definicy.

[Belsfield]

When you are initially diagnosed with vitamin B12 definicy are you automatically tested for low folic acid. All I was told was your vit B12 is low Just under 200 and you will be on injections for the rest of your life every 3 months. This helps for only about a week after getting it. Then heart palpitations, lightheadness, confusion, headaches which are getting worse. Doctor doesn’t seem to know much about condition and nurses that give injection even worse. Have given up asking them anything after being told most old people get it!! Have been using patches and found they work with me. Only used them when I was bad but a week ago felt so bad that I tried using 3 one after the other until I had no systems. Wonderful I felt normal again no systems gone. Hopefully today I will feel the same. Each of these patches contained 5000. (can’t remember what this is called) it is what we are injected with every 3 months. Can anyone tell me if vitB can cause migraine. Can anyone tell me what a normal vitB level should be. Thanks.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Belsfield are you in the U.K? Different protocols are used in other countries.

Folate is not always routinely tested - you could check if yours was by asking for copies of your blood test results.

Do I understand that you just get one B12 injection every three months and were not given one every other day for two weeks to begin with?

I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anaemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.

I wish you well.

[Belsfield in reply to clivealive]

Thank you.

[Polaris]

I'm glad the patches are helping Belsfield.

Here is the latest BMJ research document summary (full document behind a paywall) but GP should be able to access if necessary:

bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5226

At the bottom of page 4 ' under 'Parental Treatment' :

"Parenteral treatment"

"Data from randomised controlled trials and observational studies for parenteral treatment are lacking; however, the expert consensus for standard treatment in the United Kingdom is to begin parenteral treatment with intramuscular hydroxocobalamin. This bypasses the possibility of the debate about whether the treatment will be adequately taken, absorbed, and metabolised.

Standard initial treatment for patients without neurological involvement is 1000 μg intramuscularly three times a week for two weeks.

If there are neurological symptoms then 1000 μg intramuscularly on alternate days should be continued for up to three weeks or until there is no further improvement.4 25 In irreversible cases, for example, pernicious anaemia, the treatment should be continued for life. "

............

and another useful link with films, etc :

b12deficiency.info/b12

You'll see from the list of symptoms in above link that migraine can be one of the symptoms of low B12. I've had migraines with aura (implicated with leaky heart valve/PFO and higher risk of stroke) over many years but, since starting B12 injections, they are rare. Adequate treatment with B12 lowers homocysteine so, therefore, the risk of stroke and heart disease🤗

The Dutch links on the r/h side of this forum explain more about testing, B12 misconceptions and the importance of early and adequate treatment:

stichtingb12tekort.nl/weten...

..........

Two experts in the field, Sally Pacholok, "Could it Be B12?" and Dr Joseph Chandy, have been studying vitamin B12 deficiency for years and both describe how under diagnosis and treatment is causing severe and permanent neurological/psychological damage if not treated early and adequately.

Dr Chandy describes how low vitamin B12 affects every system — nervous, digestive, cardiovascular, endocrine, ear, nose and throat,’ that it should be easy to get all the B12 we need from our diet. It comes from every single animal product — meat, fish and dairy. But two problems can affect this.'

‘As we age, the stomach shrinks and produces less of of the stomach acid needed for B12 absorption to take place,’

‘Second, those with pernicious anaemia (*known as B12 neuropsychiatric syndrome) have an inherited glitch that means their body can’t absorb B12 from the stomach. This can kick in at any age, but is more common as we age.’

[deniseinmilden in reply to Polaris]

Wow - great reply: very comprehensive - I always feel I learn a lot from you! Thank you! My migraines seem to be linked to oestrogen but see this could be compounded by the B12d too.

[Polaris in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thank you Denise - I've learned a lot from you too! So good to share.

My grandaughter was also born with a PFO and suffers migraines with aura. Mine were aggravated over the years by menstrual cycle, but mostly by some foods, particularly, chocolate, cheese, tomato, red wine, especially if, inadvertently, eaten all in one day! Bright or flashing lights could also trigger an episode.

Interestingly, years ago, after a year visiting GP with fatigue, mounting BP and cholesterol, I read that having a PFO can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, so insisted on tests, which discovered Hashi's and another leaky valve😳 Three years ago, more tests revealed only the one 🤔 I can only speculate optimal treatment with thyroid medication and B12 healed the second one.......

[Belsfield in reply to Polaris]

Thankyou

[Polaris]

I agree absolutely about the Western diet - the website following the ideas of dentist, Weston Price, is one of my favourites 🤗.

He travelled all over the world to discover why western diets caused people to have so many problems with jaw formation and teeth. He was probably the forerunner in discovering importance of vitamin K2 and that the diets of indigenous people gave them perfect teeth, as well as being far superior for a healthy, long life.

PS. The reason why most of us are now deficient in K2 is that, with the rise of factory farming, there are fewer animals grazing the land.

[Miss-guineapig]

Hi Belsfield, My folic acid was not tested but my Dr prescribed 5mg daily for 4 months and now I am prescribed 5mg every second day...I am assuming this will be ongoing in conjunction with VitB12 injections every 10 weeks. I don't know about migraines but I certainly have significantly more headaches since diagnosed. I haven't mentioned them to the GP as I feel I am always moaning about something, it's a hard autoimmune for me to deal with as I can never separate any other health issues from PA. Wishing you well. X

[Belsfield in reply to Miss-guineapig]

Thanks for your info.