B-12 Shots Anyone?

[House Cat]

My B-12 level was at 210 and I was having issues with muscles twitching and severe memory loss. Because of this, my doctor ordered B-12 shots once per month for six months and then I am to retest to see if my level has gone up to 700. When I get my B-12 shot, I feel better for about a week to ten days, but then all of the twitching and memory loss/confusion comes back.

Confusion might be a strong word. It is more like if I have to think about too many things at once, I get a little jumbled and I have to slow things down. I'm only 39 here...


I'm just wondering if anyone gets B-12 shots and if you feel marked improvement or only slight improvement in your quality of life. How often do you get them? Did it take a period of months to feel improvement?

I'm just wondering if maybe I should talk to my doctor about this or if maybe I am expecting too much from this vitamin.

 

[movie zombie]

have you tried oral B12? there are some that one takes under the tongue. I found this works for me as well or better than the shots.
the shots didn't make a great improvement and I always felt itchy afterwards: I have chemical allergies and no one could confirm the ingredients in the shots.....sigh.

even if you are not in menopause yet I would note that hormonal changes in the body occur much earlier than the onset of the obvious changes. this can effect our vitamin levels. I run low in vitamin D as well and have to supplement at very high levels with that.

I wish you luck. I found that a lot of my "brain fog" was also thyroid and of course thyroid is a very complicated issue.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I have a condition called pernicious anemia. Vitamin B12 is normally absorbed in the stomach. In this condition, which did not appear until i was 56 yrs old, the Vitamin no longer was absorbed into my body. This effects the peripherial nervous system and eventually the central nervous system.I was very tired, my handd and feet began to tingle and eventually I was hospitalized as no one could make the diagnosis. For me, this became quite serious.

This is a heriditary disease that is passed through the female line. I give myself an injection EVERY three weeks. Initially I got them everyday, then once a week, and 15 ys later I still must take them.

I am sad to say it crippledme for life and damaged my spinal cord. I am confined to a wheelchair.

It is important for a correct diagnosis to be made. Older people get the shot to give them a boost in energy, and you may only need that. But make sure, as the B12 shot prevents further damage. My diagnosis was made too late. Ask your doctor.


Annette

 

[luv2sparkle]

Housecat, someone in another thread (I am not sure who, so sorry!) recommended some liquid vitamins by a company called Buried Treasure called VM-100. They are made from plant derived ingredients and absorb in the digestive system better. They have quite a bit of B-12 (1000 mcg). I can tell you, both my DH and I started taking them and I really felt the difference. The OP (it might have been Jewelfreak?), mentioned that the best price she found was at Lucky Vitamins. I mix them in a bit of water, but DH uses orange juice. Anyway, it might be an option for you to supplement your shots. I have never taken a vitamin before that actually made a difference in how I felt before this one.


It does sound like it would be a good idea to run your symptoms by a Dr. though. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[chrono]

Smit,
I'm very sorry; I didn't realize such a disease could cause a loss in mobility.

I like my oral B very much. It is a combination of several B vitamins, mixed at different percentages that allow the best utilization by our bodies. I hold it under my tongue for a minute to allow absorption through the mouth, then swallow. It takes effect within 30 minutes and lasts several hours. It help me be alert, stay focused and feel more energetic. I've never had shots before though.

 

[VRBeauty]

even if you are not in menopause yet I would note that hormonal changes in the body occur much earlier than the onset of the obvious changes. this can effect our vitamin levels. I run low in vitamin D as well and have to supplement at very high levels with that.

I wish you luck. I found that a lot of my "brain fog" was also thyroid and of course thyroid is a very complicated issue.

I also thought "menopause" when you mentioned the brain fog. Has your doctor checked your hormone levels?

 

[Autumnovember]

HC - I give B12 shots to my patients and it does help a lot.

I am positive he has taken a full chemistry and blood work up on you. Are all of your levels normal? Magnesium? Potassium?

How are your iron and ferretin levels? I have a lot of patients who I treat for iron deficiency anemia that complain of very similar characteristics are you are. I'm wondering if that could be causing these problems...

 

[House Cat]

Hi,

I have a condition called pernicious anemia. Vitamin B12 is normally absorbed in the stomach. In this condition, which did not appear until i was 56 yrs old, the Vitamin no longer was absorbed into my body. This effects the peripherial nervous system and eventually the central nervous system.I was very tired, my handd and feet began to tingle and eventually I was hospitalized as no one could make the diagnosis. For me, this became quite serious.

This is a heriditary disease that is passed through the female line. I give myself an injection EVERY three weeks. Initially I got them everyday, then once a week, and 15 ys later I still must take them.

I am sad to say it crippledme for life and damaged my spinal cord. I am confined to a wheelchair.

It is important for a correct diagnosis to be made. Older people get the shot to give them a boost in energy, and you may only need that. But make sure, as the B12 shot prevents further damage. My diagnosis was made too late. Ask your doctor.


Annette

Annette,

I am so sorry this happened to you! I had no idea that pernicious anemia could be so serious. I am supposed to be retested in another month and I will ask my doctor about this at that time. Thank you for the warning.



I am going to start taking an oral supplement and see if that helps. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Do you really think these memory issues and confusion are menopause related? Is this what menopause is like?? I don't remember stuff that happened ten minutes ago. The short term memory is really shot. This is alarming if this is normal menopause stuff.

 

[VRBeauty]

ce.

Do you really think these memory issues and confusion are menopause related? Is this what menopause is like?? I don't remember stuff that happened ten minutes ago. The short term memory is really shot. This is alarming if this is normal menopause stuff.

Not for everybody, certainly! But hormonal deficiencies can cause memory loss -- and depression and a whole host of other things. I had a chance to experience first-hand the effects of a sudden drop in estrogen (to a very estrogen-deprived state). We're talking about the kind of memory lapses where you get to the middle of a sentence and have no idea what you were trying to say. Finishing an issue paper sure that you got it all right, only to find later that it was full of incomplete thoughts and sentences etc. My situation was probably pretty unique but it did allow me to see those connections.

 

[House Cat]

HC - I give B12 shots to my patients and it does help a lot.

I am positive he has taken a full chemistry and blood work up on you. Are all of your levels normal? Magnesium? Potassium?

How are your iron and ferretin levels? I have a lot of patients who I treat for iron deficiency anemia that complain of very similar characteristics are you are. I'm wondering if that could be causing these problems...

My magnesium was normal and potassium wasn't tested. My CBC was totally normal too. Both my OBGyn and General Practitioner said I wasn't anemic, but I don't see a ferretin level anywhere in my lab results.

I wonder if there is a tactful way to ask my doctor to have this test done? I feel kind of strange asking for a specific test to be done.

 

[Autumnovember]

HC - I give B12 shots to my patients and it does help a lot.

I am positive he has taken a full chemistry and blood work up on you. Are all of your levels normal? Magnesium? Potassium?

How are your iron and ferretin levels? I have a lot of patients who I treat for iron deficiency anemia that complain of very similar characteristics are you are. I'm wondering if that could be causing these problems...

My magnesium was normal and potassium wasn't tested. My CBC was totally normal too. Both my OBGyn and General Practitioner said I wasn't anemic, but I don't see a ferretin level anywhere in my lab results.

I wonder if there is a tactful way to ask my doctor to have this test done? I feel kind of strange asking for a specific test to be done.

He checked your magnesium levels but not the rest of your electrolyte levels?? Ok, don't worry about the ferretin. If they were able to determine you aren't anemic from the tests they performed, you should be ok with that. Ferretin is just something that basically houses the iron so if your iron is sufficient your ferretin levels should be fine too. Ferretin = real estate property for iron looking for homes to live in They go hand in hand. Your iron wouldn't be of normal value if you didn't have enough places for it to be stored.

 

[TooPatient]

You ladies are great!

HouseCat, I hope you are able to work with your doctors to find something that takes care of all the problems for you!


So I've been hauling DH to every specialist in town since the end of July. He's been in agony and was getting worse despite the best efforts of all of the doctors. I saw this thread and realized that none of the doctors (three separate doctors!) had checked his blood for any sort of deficiencies! Since it was a couple of days before Christmas, I just went to the store and got over the counter supplements. OMG what a difference! He is feeling SO much better! He is slowly (okay, so it has only been a week!) regaining the ability to use his hands/arms and all of the neurological stuff seems to be fading away
Far from all healed but he is now "sore" instead of curled in a ball unable to move!

 

[pinkelephant]

I have pernicious anemia also. It may be that your levels are low and need time to be built up. You may want to go get shots once every week until the level of b12 increases and then go once a month for maintenance. I stuck to that schedule when I was first diagnosed and seemed to help me with the twitches and lethargy.