Peripheral Neuropathy

I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy around 6 months ago. My initial symptom (around 18 months ago) was some numbness / stiffness in my toes, however that is now the entire front of both feet and there is also a tingling feeling. I also now have the same symptons in both hands and upper forearms .

I had various blood teststry to determine the cause (there are many) however my GP agreed that the prime suspect is low Vitamin B12 levels due to taking omeprasole (40mg) per day for the past 20 years.

Omeprasole works by suppressing the production of acid in the stomach thereby preventing acid reflux (which caused, in my case, barrets osophageous). It works very well in that regard, however, Vitamin B12 which you ingest, requires stomach acid to alter its composition to a form which can be absorbed into your blood and Vitamin B12 is essential for healthy nerve endings. A lack of VB12 will cause the myelin nerve sheath to break down (over a long period of time) resulting eventually in peripheral neuropathy.

My treatment, which started around 4 months ago, was a course of 5 weekly VB12 injections with one further injection every three months.

I am concerned, however, that I am not aware of improvement as yet. Has anyone in this forum gone down this same route? How long did it take for signs of improvement, or were there none?

It may be the case that improvement takes many months of even years (bearing in mind that it probably took years for the condition to manifest itself) or it may be the case that the damage is not repairable and that the treatment will just prevent further deterioration.

I should add that I caught Covid 19 in December 2020 and my PN symptoms became more apparent thereafter. I also have muscle aches and stiffness in my arms and shoulders which may be due to long covid.

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