Confused about symptoms

[Hayley31]

I self inject B12 once a week. In the last few months I have been feeling really run down, same symptoms I get with B12 deficiency. Tiredness, brain fog, low energy, low mood, sore lips, sore tongue, dry skin. I went to an immunologist as I also suffer from angioedema when I'm really run down. Straight away she could see I was vitamin D deficient. My test results confirmed this. She also said that my lips were indicative of iron deficiency, but my blood results didn't say I was anaemic, so didn't prescribe iron. I do know that in the past my iron has been on the low side, but not enough for it to be classed as anaemic. I have had anaemia before. Should I go back to my GP and ask for iron tablets or will the ones you get from Holland and Barrett be enough, I know they're nowhere near as strong, or will increasing my B12 sort this out. I get breathless when going up the stairs. I also have chronic candida, does anyone else have a problem with this? I just can't keep going on like this, dragging myself in every day and pretending I'm okay when I'm really not. It's wrecking my life. What should I do?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Have you also had test for thyroid function? There's a 40% chance of developing Hashis if you have PA.

I would suggest that you at least talk to a pharmacist, if not your GP before supplementing iron.

[deniseinmilden]

The processes of DNA synthesis, nerve function and energy release that use B12 also need lots of other things to work properly so many people benefit from taking a broad spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement plus extra folate, potassium, magnesium and iron - from their diet at least.

Vitamin D deficiency will make you feel pretty terrible on its own so sorting that should help.

Do you take folic acid? It works directly with B12 and the symptoms of this deficiency are very similar to that of B12 deficiency. A deficiency of it could easily be your problem and would be worth getting your blood levels tested for. If you can't get enough from your diet, cheap supermarket folic acid tablets are as good a supplement as any for most people and without a specific deficiency identified by a blood test, one 400 mcg tablet a day will be fine to take but if you have become deficient you may need either stronger 5mg (=5000 mcg) ones from your Dr or several of the 400 mcg ones to get your levels back up so that you feel better. For a very few people simple folic acid doesn't work well enough and they need methylfolate or maybe even folinic acid but this is rare.

So long as you are getting enough B12 then Vitamin B9 or folate as folic acid is pretty safe to supplement at low levels with reasonably high tolerable levels but the minerals such as iron are much less so, with it being fairly easy to get your levels too high which can cause as many problems as a deficiency. This is why the over the counter iron supplements are so weak. If you take a broad spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement (again cheap supermarket ones are as good as or better than expensive branded ones) this will have enough in it to maintain your levels.

As your blood test suggested your iron levels were OK, if you feel this is still a problem for you, it might be that you specifically need more haem or heme iron (because your body isn't converting it properly for some reason) which you can only get from meat and fish, with beef and lamb being the best sources.

Calcium "locks up" iron so it may well be worth avoiding sources of this (in dairy products and some vegetables) and eggs for at least an hour either side of eating meat and fish to make sure that you get most value from your iron intake. I suggest that you Google sources of calcium to see what is best to eat and drink separately from your iron sources, at least until you feel better.

I know it's miserable when you feel like you are going backwards again but don't despair - you can get this sorted and feel better; it's just a case of working out what's wrong. If it is a case of getting your vitamins and minerals balanced properly, when you do it will help your other problems too.

I'm just wondering... have you tried increasing your injection frequency but found that you don't get any further improvement when you do? If not this probably should be your first step to make sure that you have got on top of your B12 deficiency first as this is arguably the most important, and is definitely the safest, parameter to change.

Good luck with everything!

[tcj190]

I would suggest you to boost your vitamin D with sunlight. This will make digestion,,,absorption good and your body will store good amount of b12

[Vicky2822]

Did you get your folate levels checked?

[Hayley31]

Thank you for all your replies. I'm now taking vitamin D which I hope will really help. I'm going to increase my B12 to two or three times a week. I will ask my GP if I need to be on iron tablets. I take a multivitamin. I have had my thyroid tested and it's completely normal as is my folate which is on the high side. However I do feel a bit better when I drink beetroot juice (high in folate) or take folic acid supplements. I have had a B12 injection today and it makes a massive difference to how I feel.

[deniseinmilden]

😎 Good for you!

It's heartening to know when people are doing everything they can to help themselves and makes taking the time to reply to posts seem so worthwhile.

Good luck!

[Hayley31]

Thank you.