I have been dealing with what I believe is B12 deficiency for a couple of months now. I'm vegan and have been deficient a couple of times in the past. Doctors can't find anything wrong with me. I was taking B12 for a few days before my first test in November. Then I was off them until the first week in January.
My results went from 800 to 400 in 7 weeks. I presume this would be expected having stopped the supplements? I know from having done some reading that this reading still might not be accurate.
My doctor tested a whole bunch of things and everything came back normal. Including anti-intrinsic and anti-parietal antibody which he did just to be safe.
I am really breathless with a fast heart rate and a lot of burning nerve pain in my feet and just finding it hard to walk now. It's awful. I've been taking sublinguals for a few weeks now the testing is over and I don't feel any better for it.
I see my doctor tomorrow and I will discuss this with him again. Can anyone just give me encouragement? I feel like I'm facing an uphill battle trying to get him to consider what I'm saying. It still could be B12 right I'm not just going mad?
I am considering just buying some injectable B12 and seeing if one of those might actually give me some improvement! But the idea also seems really out there!
Thanks for any replies. Please be kind. I'm really feeling down and out.
Maria. x
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MariaMe
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Get back to the oral supplements.. If your level was 800 then you're obviously absorbing it. It doesn't matter if the result was out by 20%, it's still over 600, which is more than about 75% of the normal population.
There's no point in a higher dose as you can't absorb more than about 10 mcg at a time. There's no point in other types of B12 as they are all equivalent once they get into the cell. There's no point in sublinguals because they're just absorbed after they get swallowed.
Try that for three months.
If it still doesn't get rid of your symptoms try a test for MMA and/or homocysteine. These two chemicals are used up in reactions mediated by B12. If there's lots in the blood but it's not getting into the cells then both of these will be raised.
If, after three months your B12 is sky high, and your MMA and hCys are both low, then it looks like your symptoms aren't caused by B12.
Agree with fbirder. I'm veggo and take 100mcg (cyanocobalamin) twice a day every day to help with my deficiency after initial injections. Plenty of improvements after 10 months. Eventually will take this down to 50mcg twice a day once improvements have stopped. Kinda prefer taking supplements to injections as it keeps my symptoms more stable and consistent with occasionally increasing supplementing in times of higher stress, workload or physical fitness.
Improvements take time, so a few months (rather than a week or 2)of oral supplementing will give you time to recognise if you are feeling any changes.
Important to obtain copies of all your results with ranges so you can monitor your progress and make posting here easier. Many surgeries have on-line access to records so worth checking. I believe Enhanced Access is required to view results
As your B12 is low then I would also check Folate - Ferritin - VitD. If Ferritin is low in range then request a full iron Profile. All - if low - can be a cause of fatigue.
You need supplements for life with a vegan diet. Esoecially as you get older. You are a absorbing g from a tablet - that's great. Like others have said get everything g tested to rule things out. I personally would wait before turning to Injections.
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