How long should one take the loading doses ?

[LuceyLocket]

Hi, my husband was diagnosed with PA about 2/3 weeks ago. He is suffering from a lot of stiffness and pain and tiredness (no pins and needles). He has had 6 shots of 1000mcg. His doctor says maybe he has enough for now, saying it just needs time to infuse his cells. He has no improvement in symptoms. Is his doctor right or should he continue with shots every 2nd day until symptoms go ?

Any help is appreciated.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi LuceyLocket the guidelines say loading doses until there is no further improvement in symptoms - not until all the symptoms disappear. Perhaps you should have a word with your husband's doctor

It is not uncommon for some symptoms to appear to get worse before they get better as the B12 you are having 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.

It is also important that your husband's 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

Folic acid works closely with vitamin B12 in making red blood cells and helps iron function properly in the body.

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 and your husband well.

[fbirder]

If you don’t have neurological symptoms then 6 loading doses over two weeks, followed by maintenance shots every three months is standard. Of course, that’s nowhere’s near enough for some people, but it can be a real hassle persuading a doc to inject more frequently.

If you do have neurological symptoms then it’s loading doses every other day until no further improvement. Some symptoms never go completely.