Joint problems

[Edna11]

Does anyone get joint problems due to b12 deficiency ie inflammation

[Martin_12]

Hi Edna11

I had pain and stiffness in my ankles and thumbs well before my peripheral neuropathy started in 2005. My GP called my thumb pain arthritis. I was told by a physician that B12 deficiency doesn't cause joint pain, but when I started on high dose (5 mg daily) oral B12 supplements my ankle pain cleared up completely, and the pain in my thumb joints disappeared almost completely. I haven't found any published evidence that B12 deficiency causes joint pain, but I did read somewhere that homocysteine (levels of which which increase in B12 deficiency) is pro-inflammatory and can make a mild arthritis quite severe. I suspect that is what happened in my thumbs. Don't know if that is the explanation for my ankle pain.

[fbirder]

I've suffered from painful joints since my mid-20s. Soon after my PA diagnosis the pains stopped. I assumed it was because I had been B12 deficient for all those years.

Then the pains came back in November 2017 , with a vengeance. I had to buy a zimmerframe for the really bad days. Then, in March 2018, they disappeared again. and have stayed gone.

Later I realised that this three-month period had been when I switched from taking methylfolate supplements to folic acid - to see if there was any difference. When I switched back to methylfolate the joint pain went away.

I have the C677T mutation (homozygous) on the MTHFR gene. Some people with that mutation feel better if they take methylfolate, which is why I’d initially used it. But the switch to folic acid was to see if it made any noticeable difference - and it didn’t, until the arthritis came back.

I found a couple of papers. This one says they found a highly significant correlation between homozygous C677T and osteoarthritis. They also found a correlation with a mutation in the ACE gene - which I also carry. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/230... They didn’t look into using methylfolate to rectify the arthritis.

Now this is purely anecdotal. But there is some science to back it up. I would suggest that those with OA might give the methylfolate a trial run - 400 mcg a day should do. It can’t do any harm.

[Mewsmom]

Hi Edna11,

I'm suffering so bad with joint pain, I have to have a physio assessment,

I've just had my third B12 injection (12 weeks apart +6loading injections) opinions vary as to whether these joint pains are a result of PA,

I shall (of course) be very interested in what the assessment shows! but having read a lot of the posts on here it does seem a little of us with PA suffer with joint pain.

[Mewsmom]

Oops, that should of course read.....a lot of us with PA suffer joint pain.

[greenbexy]

My joint pain didn't go away with loading injections two years ago. I went back to the doctor, he did more blood tests and my vitamin D was extremely low. I have to supplement daily now, when I forget to take them my elbows, knees and hips seem tender. Could be worth getting checked, even just to rule it out.