B12 deficiency

[Som003]

My vit b12 level is on the borderline I.e. I have 151ng/dl. I have taken 6 injections and I'm taking 1 b12 tab daily...It's been 1 month now...I still feel dizzy when I walk...I do feel numbness and tingling on my left thigh....Can someone tell me how much time it takes to recover???

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Som003 Do you know what your Folate level is?

It is 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

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 may "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 cause of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.

I wish you well.

[Som003 in reply to clivealive]

Thanks for the reply...My haemoglobin level is fine...Don't know about the folate level...Can I do a blood test to check that?

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Som003]

Your G.P. can order that for you.

[psawant]

How are you feeling now Som003