B12 & Health Anxiety

[Jessie8]

Has anyone’s low b12 triggered health anxiety?

I was diagnosed with b12 deficiency last year and ever since have felt really bad anxiety. I know anxiety can be a symptom but I have been having regular injections for b12 and still can’t seem to shake the anxiety feeling?

[Nackapan]

Yes anxiety is one of the many symptoms of b12 defiency or PA. I had it badly at the start. I do get waves now when I don't seem to be moving forward in the way i hoped. I think like all symptoms they come and go. I use aromatherapy oils buying them in my bedroom (a safe haven) breathing exercises can help pain and anxiety. Write things down. HAve you anyone close to talk about your anxiety to? If there all the time discuss it with your doctor. Cbt can sometimes help. When you are unwell I personally think it's normal to have some anxiety. It's the way you deal with it that is important. Hope you find a way. I wish you well.

[Jessie8 in reply to Nackapan]

Thanks so much for your reply.

Yes, I have a great husband and friends who listen to my worries and understand.

I am on the waiting list for CBT so should hopefully be in the next month or so.

I am eating healthy, exsercising and doing mindfulness but I can’t seem to get the anxiety under control. I have always had anxiety but never as constant as this.

[Nackapan in reply to Jessie8]

So you doing all the right things. Hope the cbt helps you

[Marz]

Low thyroid can be linked to anxiety and often goes hand in hand with Low B12 - so am wondering if you have been tested. Also testing Folate - Ferritin and VitD - if not already done

[Jessie8 in reply to Marz]

Thanks Marz!

Yes I have had a full blood test checking everything. Just need to ride it out until my CBT therapy x

[Marz in reply to Jessie8]

Sadly the NHS rarely does the correct thyroid testing and patients are missed. Do you obtain copies of all your results with ranges ? - so you can monitor your progress and check what has been missed Yes it often happens. I have been a member of the Thyroid UK forum for over seven years and read many posts about anxiety - when on further testing of the thyroid, vitamins and minerals - levels are so often low.

Your TSH is good around/under 2 - The FT4 and FT3 are good in the upper part of the range and Anti-bodies TPO & Tg should be tested to rule out Hashimotos - auto-immune thyroid. The most common thyroid condition and often the anti-bodies are not tested - Sigh ! The NHS has a habit of just testing the TSH which tells you very little about how your thyroid is workin ...

I have just typed Anxiety into the Search Box on Thyroid UK and almost 4500 posts appeared !

Docs often say fine/normal/OK when discussing results - when they mean they are in range It is important where they are in the range for you to feel well. Ferritin and Folate are good mid-range and VitD around 100 +

I have Hashimotos and a B12 issue due to surgery.

thyroiduk.org

[pvanderaa]

Paranoia and anxiety were two severe symptoms for me before getting the B12 jab.

One neuro-psychologist dr. Told me to exercise my brain to stimulate nerve repair. This was mainly for short-term memory loss but it seemed to also help with these other psychological symptoms.

Games like Majong, solitaire, etc stimulate short term memory.

There are also free graphical short term memory games/tests on the internet - some are text based, some numbers, but the one I found was a 10 part graphic drawing of a cartoon person and you had to remember the features like hair style and ears etc. then redraw by choosing parts. i used this to assess how bad I was on the day. I could then track what medication etc was working for me.

Second- acknowledge to yourself that you have psychological symptoms and don’t try to be in denial. This way you can step back and treat it like any other symptom such as tiredness or balance.

Third- step back and try to assess the severity of all your symptoms including the psychological ones and you will identify a marker symptom that tracks your functioning B12 level.

I want any blood test results to be >1500 pg/ml to feel normal and repair nerve damage.

Take extra supplements or energy drinks daily to fill in between jabs. You can not overdose as you pee away the excess.

Are you supplementing with folic acid and a daily multivitamin to support the B12?