Vitamin b12 Supplements making me feel like s***?

[JhonnyBoy]

Hi,i'm a 20 years old male who had been diagnosed with a vitamin b12 deficiency over a month ago,iv'e had symptoms for about 6-7 years but have recently self-diagnosed my problem by getting a vitamin b12 test done and finding out that i have a vitamin b12 level of 142.After finding out that i am b12 deficient,i went to the doctor to get supplements.He provided me with supplements of methylcobalamin(500 mcg,one in morning,one during night) and methlyfolate(300mcg,daily).I started taking the supplements and immediately felt my sleep getting better but did have a constant headache for days.I do feel to have my insomnia cured.

A few days back, i had my exams and forcibly tried to elongate my waking times and disturbed my sleep cycles purposely so that i could study more.Now after stretching my limits for a few days,my exams are now over but all my previous b12 deficiency related problems seem like they have gotten worse. My nerve pains are back and are really painful,my head hurts all the time,the foggy thinking is back and i'm tired again.Before i was taking the supplements,my body didn't react so harshly to me changing my sleep patterns and stretching myself to study more(or perhaps my body was used to all these problems and now it isn't).I also have weak eyesight and don't know whether it is down to the deficiency or not but there has been changes in my night vision with lights getting more bright and a little increase in detail in the things i see. Could anyone explain these problems,if they have any knowledge about it?

I will also go to the doctor in a few days and then he'll carry out a blood test to see whether the supplements are being absorbed or not.What time would it take for me to feel perfectly well again?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

JhonyBoy - Please note that I edited the title of your post slightly.

Some people don't respond well to methylcobalamin so it may be worth trying cyanocobalamin (unless you have a family history of lebers) instead and see if that doesn't produce side effects.

Having said that though, recovering from B12 deficiency isn't necessarily an easy ride and it is quite common for aches and pains to actually get worse before they get better. Some refer to this as 'reversing out' - I tend to think of it as being about the brain needing some time to adjust to all the changes that happen as your nerve signals start to come through stronger etc.

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to how long it takes to feel better - some improve quickly - others find it takes months or even years and it can be significantly affected by how well the absorption problem is being treated and whether the treatment is actually maintaining your B12 levels where they need to be (which can be quite different if serum B12 levels have been raised, eg by injections.

[JhonnyBoy in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit62, thanks for your answer.

One thing i would like to know is that a lot of sources say that recovering from nerve problems will be difficult if you have had symptoms for more than 6 months.Is this true and does that mean that the chances of me recovering could be slim to none?

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to JhonnyBoy]

B12 plays a part in maintaining the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells - this takes a very long time to recover if it is damaged. There have also been cases where people have suffered permanent nerve damage. The window appears to be 6 months - ie nobody has been reported to have permanent nerve damage where symptoms were treated within 6 months - though that is a long way from saying that everyone who has neurological problems for 6 months or more is going to have permanent nerve damage - far from it. I can trace some of my neurological symptoms back for decades but haven't had permanent nerve damage.

The BCSH guidelines recommend prompt treatment to prevent the risk of permanent nerve damage but that is because dealing with risk means weighing the consequences AND the likelihood, meaning that if the consequences of the risk are high (loss of nerve function) even if the likelihood is low you still come down on the side of acting to prevent the consequences.

The effect on the myelin sheath isn't the only way in which B12 can affect nerve signals. B12 also plays a part in COMT which is the process that resets neurotransmitters between cells ... and no doubt there are probably a number of other processes that affect nerves but won't run so efficiently if there isn't enough B12 in your cells.