B12 Injections - please help

[Nicole223]

Hi, I’m really looking for some advice. I didn’t have any of the signs of B12 deficiency. I had a blood test for something else and then was advised I am dangerously low on B12 and folic acid. I have started a course of 6 injections over three weeks (on number 4) and after the third jab I become very very dizzy and heavy headed. I feel very spaced out and feels as if I am on a boat. I am extremely tiered and keep going hot & cold. I have spoken to my doctors who said it’s just a side effect and carry on. I cannot travel into work due to the severe dizziness, this is awful. When will it stop? Should I stop having the jabs? Is there anything I can do? This dizziness is also making me feel very sick.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Nicole223 sorry to read you are feeling so unwell. Have you been prescribed anything for your low Folate?

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

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

Initially, replacing B12 will lead to a huge increase in the production of blood cells and platelets (which occurs in the bone marrow) and can lead to rapid depletion of folate and iron stores; this can then limit the expected recovery of Haemoglobin.

Both iron and folate may be needed so please have these levels checked by your 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.

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

.

[Nicole223 in reply to clivealive]

Thank you so much for your reply. I have been prescribed folate tablets to take daily (I think 400mg). No mention of iron, although I have been low on iron before. I will mention this to the doctors. Do you think I should finish the six injections? Because of how bad the dizziness is, I have been unable to travel into work.

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Nicole223]

I think you should continue until there is no further improvement according to the N.I.C.E. guidelines below

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

Click on the link, then on "Scenario: Management" and scroll down.

Are you not entitled to "sick leave"? Please don't put yourself into harms way. Hopefully things will start to settle down soon.

I'll bid you goodnight now as it's my bedtime. Take care.

[topher2018]

I also got dizzy when I started my b12 shots. It happened to me after a shot of the hydrox version. I haven’t had that reaction with the cyano or methyl versions. Maybe try a different type? I think Clive also can’t do hydrox.

[Nicole223 in reply to topher2018]

Thank you, I will mention to the nurse.

[genesurf]

I wonder if you might be having an attack of vertigo? You said you feel dizzy-- did you mean seasickness, or a spinning feeling? If you are having a spinning sensation you might be having an episode of BPPV vertigo, and often the "Epley" or "Half Somersault" maneuver will fix it quickly.

youtube.com/watch?v=Xx5dUvt...(Not working as expected?)

webmd.com/brain/home-remedi...

youtube.com/watch?v=bu2YurN...(Not working as expected?)

[Nicole223]

Thank you for this, it’s more a pressure and feeling like I could be on a boat sensation rather than spinning. I was fine before I started the injections. Hoping this will disappear once it’s settled into my system. I will try the move.