B12 level of 115

Hi, hope you are feeling a bit better! Glad you mentioned the spots because I now have loads of red and quite sore spots all over my face which is unusual as I don't really get spots normally.  Do you have general muscle fatigue? I get weary walking a flight of stairs right now!! I so hope I start to feel more like myself soon. !

The pimples/acne, is likely to be caused by microbes on your skin reacting to the additional B12 by producing substances that your skin is then reacting to.

In theory this could be resolved by use of a good skin wash.

You might have better luck talking to your pharmacist and seeing what they can recommend prior to your next maintenance shot - though there is always a chance that it was something that won't recur..

I hope you get to feel better soon

Thanks for your reply. I thought I would get a boost after each injection and by the last one I'd be absolutely on tip top form. It seems to have been the opposite and I feel worse than I did before. Im sure it will regulate itself and all will be fine :-)

Hi Karen, so glad I joined this forum,getting answers.

I had my 5th booster on the 22nd DEC,and felt really ,tired and emotional and snappy, Clive's answers gave me hope that I would start to feel better soon, and by Christmas day, I began feeling a lot better, my 6th booster came yesterday, and I'm OK, the day will tell.

I told the nurse who did the injections about the itchy rash and the style in my eye, and she didn't really have any answers, so it was interesting, to hear what Clive said.

I go back on Friday to see the Dr, will she or won't she put me on 3 monthly top ups , watch this space.

I do hope she will ,may have to insist, as I'm starting to feel the benefit,

I wasn't very low Karen 169, so maybe you will take longer.

Happy new Year to you,and hope you start to pick up soon.

Pat.

It is also important for both you and Karen84569 that your Folate level is monitored as this is essential to process the B12.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Symptoms of a folate deficiency can include:

symptoms related to anaemia

reduced sense of taste

diarrhoea

numbness and tingling in the feet and hands

muscle weakness

depression

Folic acid works closely with vitamin B12 in making red blood cells and helps iron function properly in the body. 

Have been back to my drs follow up after 6 injections deff. feeling better,she is going to check my b12 levels again and for folic and something else too,but quite a hard one to remember, but its to see about my absorption levels,I really have a wonderful Dr,who understands me and my symptoms,told her about joining this forum and she said a very good idea,not a lot Is known about B12 with very conflicting figures, if it helps me to go for a better understanding about B12, go for it. but I am. beginning to feel some benefit,not so tired, but my feet still tingle ???anyone else the same ?? Thanks.

Patricia.

Your doctor needs to try to establish the cause of your deficiency.

Anyone at any age, can become B12 deficient. However, certain people are at an elevated risk. They include the following:

Vegetarians, vegans and people eating macrobiotic diets.

People aged sixty and over

People who’ve undergone any gastric and/or intestinal surgery, including bariatric surgery for weight loss purposes (Gastric bypass).

People who regularly use proton-pump- inhibitors. H2 blockers, antacids, Metformin, and related diabetes drugs, or other medications that can interfere with B12 absorption.

People who undergo surgeries or dental procedures involving nitrous oxide, or who use the drug recreationally.

People with a history of eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia).

People with a history of alcoholism.

People with a family history of pernicious anaemia.

People diagnosed with anaemia (including iron deficiency anaemia, sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia).

People with Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten enteropathy (celiac disease), or any other disease that cause malabsorption of nutrients.

People with autoimmune disorders (especially thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease) Type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, lupus, Addison’s disease, ulcerative colitis, infertility, acquired agammaglobulinemia, or a family history of these disorders.

Women with a history of infertility or multiple miscarriages.

Can you "see yourself" among any of the above people?

Testing your B12 level after the loading doses will inevitably give a high reading and will only be significant if it comes back LOW.

It is not uncommon for some symptoms to appear to get worse before they get better as the B12 starts repairing the damage done to your nervous system and your brain starts getting multiple messages from part of the body it had "forgotten about" or lost contact with.

I sometimes liken it to a badly tuned radio on which you have turned the volume up high trying to catch the programme you want when all of a sudden the signal comes in loud and clear and the blast nearly deafens you.

A lot will depend on the severity and longevity of your B12 deficiency as to how long before there is no further improvement or recovery.

Some symptoms will "disappear" quite quickly whereas others may take months or even years. There is no set timescale as we are all different.

I am not a medically trained person but I've had P.A. (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 45 years and I'm still "clivealive" and over 75

.

I wish you well   

I'm aware that my stomache doesn't absorb b12, as I've been on omeprazole 20 mg

a PPI for 20 years, just find it very strange that I've not had any symptoms previously,it all started up 12 months ago with the tingling hot itchy feet and tinnitus, then no energy and feeling very tearful, it was only in august that blood tests were done , my b12 came back early sept with a reading of 169 I was then told all my tests were neg, it was late Nov that I went back to the drs and said how rotten I felt, she said did we check your b12??? , said I think so,she looked again, and then said I think we will try loading dose and see if it helps, I'm also 70, so age a factor as well, i do have more energy and mood swings better, but my feet tingle just the same, but will wait to see what next blood test shows, its really to look at my folate levels, anyway will have to wait another week now, wish me luck,

Happy new year.

Hi Patricia,

I'm so glad you're feeling much better. You sound like you're on the right track now which is good. I will get my blood result next week which will of course be high Id imagine after the loading dose of B12.  I'm still feeling a bit all over the place to the point that the gp put me on a low dose of antidepressant. That could be the result of a hormone imbalance as I'm 48. So, it's all happening right now!! I'm not a vegetarian but don't eat red meat only. I wonder if that's the cause of my deficiency.... who knows? Anyway, happy new year to you! Keep well! X