Hello. I'm on B vitamin shots. My main symptom of peripheral neuropathy is burning feet. My other symptoms is very slight numbness on my left foot (kind of like when you put your foot in cold water for a long time)
I have been taking B-complex shots for 1 month and 1 week. Right after my first shot which was actually an IV infusion, I developed new symptoms that I didn't have before. The new symptoms are:
1- Pins and needle sensation all over the body but mainly in hands and feet
2- Spider sensation on left temple
3- Tinnitus
4- Mild migraine-like pain on left side of face
I thank God all these new symptoms have left. Occasionally I feel a tiny pin or needle. But my main neuropathy pain is still there, which is the burning feet. For those who have been thru this, how long has it taken for neuropathy to clear?
Thanks. I didn't know B6 could make things worse. I'm going to see if my doctor will want to change it to B12. If not, then I'm skipping the shot. As most of you know, doctors sadly know very little about this. I told my doctor (one of them) about the "pins and needles" that I started feeling and she said it was not the shot. She said it was high cholesterol. Another question: if she doesn't want to change me to B12, do you think a sublingual B12 would be fine for me?
p.s. I found out that a man over-consumed B6 just from energy drinks! Wow. He developed peripheral neuropathy. And I have been injecting it for over a month. The drink was NOS. I did the math and that comes out at 36mg from the 6 energy drinks the man drank per day for who knows how long, yet the supposed upper limit for B6 is 100mg. I've seen some injection vials online that state they supply 100mg of B6 per dose, that being the upper limit. Basically, I've been overdoing it, and that's with my doctors advice. Right now I'm not feeling worse than when I started the injections. I'm a little better. Just not much better. And yes, now I'm concerned that the B6 in the injection might actually be slowing things down. Thanks again fbirder, you saved me from a lot of misery, God bless you. The link for the man who drank too much energy drink and got B6 toxicity is here:
I have doubts about sublingual B12 being any better than oral B12.
The B12 molecule is too large to easily cross biological membranes without any help. Saliva contains a protein called haptocorrin (HC) that is especially 'designed' to bind to the B12 molecule (to protect it from stomach acid). This protein makes the HC-B12 way too large to ever cross a membrane passively.
If B12 were large enough to cross a biological membrane then the correct way to administer it would be to get it in contact with such a membrane for a long time with no haptocorrin present. But nobody has ever suggested B12 suppositories - which would fit the bill perfectly. That, to me, suggests that they don't work.
If my doctor ever suggests tablets replace my injections I know where I'll be telling him to stick them.
Thanks again. I just found another case, this time a woman, who had very high serum B6 just from using B-complex tablets over a period of 4 years. There's definitely something going on with vitamin B6 that's causing problems even at "safe" levels of consumption. Europe has an upper limit of 25mg. This upper limit would explain how 6 energy drinks could deliver toxic levels of B6.
I am confused. I thought it was good to take other b vitamins to help the b12 do its thing. I get b vitamins in my b12 shot every two weeks. Should I stop that? What vitamins exactly are the co-factors we are supposed to be taking?
You might well have read that on here. It's an oft-quoted 'fact' that is written on many web sites. It is wrong.
B12 and folate work together in one particular biochemical reaction. But an increase in the amount of one doesn't result in an increase in the need for the other. If there's enough, then the body just uses what it needs.
Suppose I make sandwiches for the kid's lunch. I need to make six sandwiches a day. So I need 12 slices of bread and 6 slices of cheese; and I keep those two stocked up so that always have enough.
Then one day, the minimum amount of bread I can order doubles - so I always have too much bread. I could order double the amount of cheese and make twice as many sandwiches. But that would be stupid - nobody else likes cheese sandwiches. So I would have to throw them all away.
Instead I throw away the excess amount of bread (B12) and keep ordering the same amount of cheese (folate). And I make just enough sandwiches.
Thank you for the analogy. Its true the our body's actual utilization of either vitamin is fairly microscopic at the cell level (i would imagine, I'm not a doctor or scientist). It's my opinion that if you have a digestion problem like IBS or IBD, then you should broadly supplement all nutrients if possible. If you don't have digestion problems, you eat varied and healthy, your not an alcoholic, and you don't suspect a nutritional deficiency other than B12, then you don't need to supplement folate. However, it won't hurt to occasionally throw in a folate supplement.
I started talking to my GP about peripheral neuropathy in May of 2017 as I was having problems of nails and bolts in my hands - it they were pins and needles then they were bl--dy great big ones, burning feet and felt toes. He decided to write to a heamatologist for an opinion which he hoped would allow him to support the additional injection I was requesting. The reply, 2 months later, was for me to stop all injections for 6 months then we could see what was going on. My response began with b and ended with s and is rather rude. So my German friends sent me 100 ampoules of hydroxocobalamin. The pins and needles, etc were hit on the head, for about 2 weeks, then another injection did the trick again. But no official recognition of Peripheral Neuropathy or the injection regime required.
Let's move on, to 2 months ago. I was exploring the Fife coast with wife and daughter when I got a call on my mobile. Make an arrangement to see GP about results of a blood test. So that showed I now had Diabetes Type 2 to add to the list of problems. Another pill in the dispenser and then the meeting with the Diabetes Nurse, lovely lass, who checked my feet and got me to shut my eyes whilst poking bare feet with some sort of sharp object - she said she was poking my feet, I never felt a thing, she could have been poking the fire. Immediately I have peripheral neuropathy, through Diabetes T2, the 18 months before has now been ignored. (The 3 weekly b12 injections are still working fine) We will now see what the 'Specialist' Podiatrist has to say about Peripheral Neuropathy in 2 weeks.
Then comes the complete bombshell (Diabetes T2 has been on the cards for a few years so it wasn't really a surprise), I also have Atrial Fibrilation, sounds like something which shouldn't be done in the middle of a building. They got rather excited about that, firstly the 'brisk' 30 minute walk became 'gentle ambles' and a couple of more pills were added and come with dire warnings of exsanguination (heavy bleeding) if I am cut. (I have a nice printed card to that effect which I have to carry around with me.) They did then try saying it wasn't a serious problem as loads of people have it - but you must tell the DVLA.
Life looked a little grim, the week before Christmas. Fortunately I had a half bottle of 12 year old Glenffidich, a bottle of GlenKeith and a bottle of single cask cask strength to add to the last of the 10 year old Edradour. (They gave the Atriums something to get excited about.)
Somehow I think life has become far more interesting lately. Then I got a dose of the flu.
I am still better off than a guy I know, or knew. Fit as a fiddle, loved sea cruises and him and his wife can/could afford several each year. Had a heart attack on New Years Eve and a stent was fitted. Died of another Heart Attack on Thursday morning. No more cruising for him.
At least I haven't to inject otherwise I might start looking like a lace curtain.
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I'm glad you improved a little. Sorry about your fit friend that passed away. It's important to keep diabetes under control. I have a friend who lost most of his vision to diabetes and has now spent $80,000 just to preserve what little he has left. He even got cataracts from the eye injections he gets every so many months. The sad thing is that a diabetes test at my doctors office cost $25. Not the full blood work, just the fasting diabetes test. In the world of medicine, $25 can get you a long way. All his siblings have diabetes, but for some reason this never worried him.
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I have a retinopathy appointment a week come Wednesday. They say it takes about 30 minutes but i will not be able to drive for 6 hours after it. Hopefully there will not be any problems but even if there is I might be concerned if they are going to poke me in the eye with a sharp stick but not about any associated costs. Like all of us here in UK my lifetime of National Insurance contributions means my medical expenses are covered no matter what. It really is a very good scheme and I have been covered by it since I was 4. It doesn’t take all of the worries out of Health but it means you can concentrate on being ill when you are.
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I have a friend that had this same problem. He was diabetic and didn't know it.
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Vitamin Deficiencies and Peripheral Neuropathy
B12 deficiency. How long before permanent nerve damage is done?
How long before improvement
How long before your improvement from b12 shots plateaued? 
How long before vitamin b12 tablets start to work? 
