worried about eye pain possibly caused by B12

[hellbound]

Doc thinks I have PA. Have been taking sub lingual pills and liquid, and also patches as surgery won’t help. Have previously had occasional shots. Recently noticed my eyes have become painful. I read some research papers that say high levels of B12 can cause Glaucoma. No idea what to do now. Have several markers for PA, which my doc thinks I should get treatment for but worried about possible damage to my eyes. I would be grateful for some advice please.

[Jillymo]

You need to be taken seriously and your B12 treated efficiently, sublingal meds do not work for everyone depending on the cause of your deficiency. The patches are useless so dont waste your money...........

Lack of vitamin B12 in the body can cause serious dry eye issues and eye pain. It damages the corneal nerve layer. Oral vitamin B12 supplements and artificial tears can improve the issue of dry eye syndrome. Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ocular neuropathic pain and dry eye in patients presenting with recalcitrant ocular neuropathic pain

Vitamin B12 helps the body most by making DNA and nerve cells, but recent studies have shown that deficiency in this vitamin is associated with severe dry eye disease and eye pain. Some studies have shown that Vitamin B12 can repair the corneal nerve layer, which can alleviate burning sensation symptoms in dry eyes. 17 Jul 2024

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

[doityourself in reply to Jillymo]

I have been diagnosed with PA for over 12 years now and have had dry eyes throughout this time. Only being recently diagnosed and treated. I had no idea dry eyes were related to B12 issues. Have I interpreted the posts accurately, that high levels of b12 can cause Glaucoma?

[Jillymo in reply to doityourself]

As far as I am aware there is no proof of this, in most cases B 12 repairs damage. It has been reported in lebers disease of the eye. I have sjogrens dry eyes and one of my first symptoms of a B 12 deficiency was blurred vision and not being able to focus which rapidly improved with B12 injections.

Dry eyes are a symptom of Sjogrens an autoimmune condition which should be ruled out by an opthalmologist.

I am not medically trained but do suffer with dry eyes so seen in opthalmology for the condition.

[doityourself in reply to Jillymo]

Thank you for reply. Opthalmology identified the dry eyes so I'll find out if it's Sjogrens. I seem to have quite a collection of other autoimmune conditions sadly.

[helvella]

The paper below may be of interest. However, I feel a good editor could have been employed to make it more readable. There is lots of detail - most of which can be skipped.

Association of dietary intake of B vitamins with glaucoma.

europepmc.org/article/MED/3...

[Jillymo in reply to helvella]

I also came across that report but cant say I found the report very indepth or conclusive. Our very own CliveAlive has been on B12 injections for over 50 years without any issues ! 🤔

[WiscGuy]

I was diagnosed with glaucoma five years before I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency, so if anything, glaucoma would have developed under conditions of B12 insufficiency//deficiency. My understanding is that glaucoma is not well understood, but many researchers think glaucoma is nerve damage, so it makes more sense, if B12 deficiency is associated with glaucoma at all (and so far there is no evidence that it is), that the association would be not enough B12 rather than too much B12. In addition, medical journal articles often state that there are no known adverse effects of injecting B12.

[EMCLEAN58]

I have suffered with dry eyes for many years. It made it difficult to wear my gas permeable contact lenses as they would sometimes stick to my eyes and be very hard to take out. Early 2020, I got an eye infection and my eyes were sore. My optician referred me to the eye hospital for an examination which found blepharitis and very dry eyes. As well as advice on how to treat the blepharitis, I was prescribed eye drops to use once every 6 hours and ointment to use at night. I stopped wearing my contact lenses for a while. With very regular use of eye drops, I managed to wear my contact lenses again but for shorter periods of time. Then early this year I tested positive for B12 deficiency (174). My symptoms were mainly tingling/burning feet, sore heels, tight leg muscles, aching knee/hip and occasional numb hands and arms. Also gastritis/heartburn. I started on oral supplements. I had no idea that B12 deficiency could cause eye problems, but to my amazement, my dry eyes started to get better. This summer, my optician was very surprised and said that the problem had completely gone. I've now stopped taking the eye drops altogether and I can wear my contact lenses all day! (Just wish my other symptoms would get better too....but that's another story...)

[LynnBee0613]

While my PA was undiagnosed fro 4.5 years, I had terrible eye trouble. My sight would decline rapidly and then improve and up and down and over and over for months and months. Drove me and my eye doc mad. Once my B12 levels were stable and I started doing regular injections, then all that stopped. Hope this is helpful info.