Can b12 deficiency cause heart pain?

Posted , 2 users are following.

I was suffering from insomnia for a period of over one year. It began with nocturia (waking up to pee anywhere between once and four times a night, irrelevant to the amount of fluids I took) and slowly became full blown insomnia. At time of onset, I was going through a difficult emotional patch, and even though my emotional status improved quite quickly over the course of 1 month, my symptoms continued nonetheless.

Other than the lethargy and black rings under the eyes that many people report, I slowly began to feel that my heart was the underlying cause for many of my symptoms:

Chest ‘pain’ (more like unease), heart palpitations, border-line low blood pressure, poor circulation (I would wake up in the night with numb hands, irrelevant of my sleeping posture); today I am also of the understanding that the nocturia is also caused from this poor circulation/low blood pressure). All these were aggravated by exercise.

All my blood tests were normal (at the time I didn’t check for B12), except for a borderline low level of platelets (which my records show were already low 4-5 years ago, and in hindsight are indicative of long-lasting B12 deficiency)

After more than 1 year, I discovered that my B12 level was 170 and began taking supplements. It has been 1 month and the brain fog, lethargy and ‘pure’ insomnia symptoms (being unable to fall asleep even though obviously deprived of sleep) are drastically better.

However, many heart-related issues still remain: chest pain, numbness of hands (to the point where I wake up from this symptom), as well as nocturia (which, again, is very clearly related to this heart ‘weakness’)

My questions are:

1)     Does anyone relate to these heart symptoms? (Please do not comment regarding the relation between B12 and anemia. I am curious to know specifically if this is something other people who have suffered from B12 deficiency have experienced)

2)     If you have experienced these symptoms, how long was needed after supplementing B12 inorder for them to improve?

Thanks!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Tom,

    Has anyone ever mentioned chronic fatigue syndrome/ME to you? Research it online and see if the symptoms tally for you. Blood tests tend to come back clear. Brain fog, numbness and heart/chest pain etc are some symptoms for some. Also b12 deficiency is quite common too.

    Hope that's helpful

    Keep us posted

    Beverley

    • Posted

      Hi Beverly,

      Thanks for the reply,

      At this point, since starting supplementing B12, symptoms like fatigue and brain fog are not an issue.

      Just out of curiousity - what symptoms would shift your focus from, for example, B12 deficiency too chronic fatigue syndrome?

    • Posted

      Hi Tom,

      Glad to hear that taking b12 has improved these things for you. One of the main signs of cfs/me is'post exertional fatigue' which is feeling worse after exercise. The reason I mentioned it to you was regarding you feeling your symptoms got worse after doing things. My friend who has cgs/me

    • Posted

      (Sorry phone sent early!) Cfs/me has the chest and heart pains. They got their condition after a virus. I have intermittent heart but not chest pain.

      In regards b12 deficiency, I had this about 10 years ago and it was making me fall to one side. Started with the b12 vitamins (I didn't want to take the Injections) and symptoms improved in a few weeks. I've had cfs/me for 3 1/2 years now. I take multiple b vitamins but, not really alleviating symptoms. It s a fluctuating condition though and sometimes I feel nearly ok but exhausted.

      Check out with your gp what they feel is happening re chest and heart. see if you feel any worse laying down or sitting up too as there's also a condition called pots (google ) though I think symptoms are quite severe with this regarding sitting up/ laying down.

      Best wishes

      Beverley

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.