Living in a limbo for years now
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi everyone,
I have been feeling miserable at least for the last 3 to 4 years with the following symtoms:
Brain Fog
I feel that my brain is under performing/ functioning at less than optimum level. Constant brain fog. constant. No matter what I do, I feel like my days go past me and I hardly remember what I did.I am unable to focus on things except football of course.
Constant Fatigue
I feel tired all the time. I thought it was vitamin D deficiency but no matter how much I take it
Unexplained phobias and constant anxiety and depression
Tingling/parasthsias
So recently after getting tired of everything, I got my blood tests done, I found out that my b12 serum level was 153.
What does it mean? what to do? are my symptoms related to B12 deficiency? or is it something sinister involved.
Please help in this regard.
1 like, 4 replies
clivealive OwaisQ
Posted
Symptoms of B12 deficiency tend to develop slowly and may not be recognised immediately. As the condition worsens, common symptoms include:
Weakness and fatigue
Light-headedness and dizziness
Palpitations and rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath
A sore tongue that has a red, beefy appearance
Nausea or poor appetite
Weight loss
Diarrhoea
Yellowish tinge to the skin and eyes
If low levels of B12 remain for a long time, the condition also can lead to irreversible damage to nerve cells, which can cause the following symptoms:
Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
Difficulty walking
Muscle weakness
Irritability
Memory loss
Dementia
Depression
Psychosis
It is also important 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 and your B12 levels are "bumping along the bottom of the range.If you are in the UK Make a list of your symptoms and present this to your doctor and ask him to treat you according to your symptoms and (perhaps) even start you on loading doses "until there is no further improvement" according to the N.I.C.E guidelines.
I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.
I wish you well.
OwaisQ clivealive
Posted
Thanks a lot Clive!
So there is a probability that I might have had this dificiency for a few years now. Now i'm feeling the symptoms more I think.
I'm 31 years old what do you think it is reversible the damage that has been done.
clivealive OwaisQ
Posted
We have a several years store of B12 in our liver and just like the battery in a mobile 'phone needs "recharging" or "topping up" so too does our cobamalin by eating B12 rich foods - meat, fish, seafood, eggs, poultry and dairy produce.
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, or infections such as h-pylori 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" in any of the above "people"?
For example, is your diet good enough? Are you on any medications that affect absorption of B12? Do you have any of the diseases mentioned?
It is not uncommon for some symptoms to appear to get worse before they get better as the B12 you are having 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 was 13 years between having gastric surgery before I got the diagnosis of Pernicious Anaemia by which time I was a walking Zombie. I was put on B12 injections for the rest of my life and I'm still "clivealive" and coming up to 77.
Remember I'm not medically trained.
clivealive OwaisQ
Posted
You need to ask your doctor to try and find out why your B12 is so low.
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, or infections such as h-pylori 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 in any of the above people?