Need Help

[Sol]

Hello, I am 39 years old female. and I have been experiencing some weird symptoms for the past month. Started with tingling/numbness in my foot then it spread to other parts of my body. My back and scalp were also tingling. Lately I have been having my ear numb at night. its really annoying and I am really really worried. I went to the dr and he told me my B12 was low and gave me a shot one week and another the next one but the tingling did not stop. I have also seen a neurologist and waiting to have an MRI. She did some tests at her office and mentioned that most reflexes were ok except the one in my knees were exacerbated. I was extremely anxious that day but I m not sure that can make an impact in the reflexes. Not sure what else to do!! I can even sleep, I am all day worrying about this and I can no longer enjoy my life.

Could this be MS?

Thank you,

[jimmylegs]

could be lots of things! why would your b12 have been low?

[Sol]

thank you, I'm not sure why my B12 was low. I have been since taking 500 mg every day (sublingual) and I have received 2 shots at my dr's office. but my symptoms don't seem to go away. It's so scary I can even function anymore from stress.

[jimmylegs]

how are your serum cobalamin levels after the shots and sublingual b12 (you mean 500 mcg i presume)?

i once had symptoms that i knew were pure b12 and i could fix them 100% with supplementation. i had no idea the kind of fire i was playing with at the time. then one day the b12 stopped working. then i had a snowboarding crash with no helmet on, and that really set things off. permanent damage, but i did get a LOT better once i started working diligently to ensure i was in the best possible shape nutrition-wise. for me, my diet had become more and more restrictive over years and years. i had to do a real 180 to recover some function. there was a lot more to it than b12 i had just used up tissue stores of quite a few essential nutrients. i figured, i spent 15 years digging this hole, will have a long haul to get back on the right track :S i'm 10 years in so far, learned what NOT to do via guinea pigging myself, and hanging in there. doing better than ever before in many many ways.

along the same lines, there are a few other things you could think about, to help make sure you don't match the nutritional profile of a sick person in general, or an ms patient in particular. if you feel comfortable sharing, there may be something to be gained from reviewing daily habits surrounding food, fluids, meds supplements, and activity level, plus family health history, etc.

re stress/anxiety. one thing you can do in the short term to help you relax and cope with uncertainty and waiting, is ensure you are meeting public health recommendations for daily magnesium intake. aim for 7-10mg/kg body weight each day. it's a target most people are not meeting and even more so, folks with ms. because it's an essential mineral with hundreds of different functions and interactions in the human body, deficiency symptoms can vary widely depending on interactions with other nutrient levels plus other in-born and environmental factors. you can emphasize magnesium-dense foods in meals and snacks, take epsom salts baths to absorb the mag sulfate (or find mag chloride if you can) through skin, and if you can find some of this http://naturalvitality.com/natural-calm/ mix it up as a daily beverage. i take a magnesium glycinate powder capsule myself, but i hear nc's lemon raspberry and cherry flavours are popular

chin up, you have control, take care of yourself while awaiting that mri!!

[NHE]

Hello, I am 39 years old female. and I have been experiencing some weird symptoms for the past month. Started with tingling/numbness in my foot then it spread to other parts of my body. My back and scalp were also tingling. Lately I have been having my ear numb at night. its really annoying and I am really really worried. I went to the dr and he told me my B12 was low and gave me a shot one week and another the next one but the tingling did not stop.

Do you know what type of B12 injection you were given? The most common form is cyanocobalamin. However, this form has a low retention rate in the body. Some people who have not responded to cyanocobalamin shots have done better with the hydroxocobalamin form. This type can easily be converted by the body into both active forms, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin (the latter of which is the primary form stored by the liver).

Keep in mind though that B12 is not an instant fix if you already have B12 deficiency induced neurological damage. Both B12 shots and sublingual supplements will likely give you an energy boost if you're B12 deficient and they should also stop the progression of B12 deficiency induced neurological damage. However, any existing damage caused by B12 deficiency will still take time to heal.

By the way, are you taking any methylfolate? B12 and methylfolate work together. Low RBC folate might potentially explain why you experienced little to no benefit from the B12. In addition, a B12 injection regimen usually lasts for around 2-3 months with shots once per week. It could be that you just didn't have a long enough dosage regimen.

By the way, when you say that your B12 was low, do you know your actual test results (usually in pg/mL)? Lastly, adenosylcobalamin combined with methylcobalamin (the two natural forms) are available in several supplements. One that I've used is called Advanced B12 from Superior Source.

[Sol]

Thank hou for the detailed responses. Its really nice to know how caring people are in this site. I believe my actual number of b12 was 282. Im not sure if its so low but that was what the dr told me at the time.
I just know i have not feeling well lately with all this weird symptoms happening. And I am so desesperate for an answer and also very scared. I also feel some pain in my neck And this crazy tingling!! aghh i wish i could just be thinking about christmas!!

[jimmylegs]

hi again. 282 is low in most common units. aim for at least 500 pg/ml aka 370 pmol/L. (i just try to stay over 500 pmol/L so there's no question hehehe). you can take more than 500 mcg methylcobalamin in one day if you feel like trying more. i used to take 2000 mcg per day.

[NHE]

Adenosylcobalamin is important for myelin production.


Treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency – methylcobalamin? Cyanocobalamin? Hydroxocobalamin? – Clearing the confusion.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015 Jan;69(1):1-2.

• Vitamin B12 (cyancobalamin, Cbl) has two active co-enzyme forms, methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenosylcobalamin (AdCbl). There has been a paradigm shift in the treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency such that MeCbl is being extensively used and promoted. This is despite the fact that both MeCbl and AdCbl are essential and have distinct metabolic fates and functions. MeCbl is primarily involved along with folate in hematopiesis and development of the brain during childhood. Whereas deficiency of AdCbl disturbs the carbohydrate, fat and amino-acid metabolism, and hence interferes with the formation of myelin. Thereby, it is important to treat vitamin B12 deficiency with a combination of MeCbl and AdCbl or hydroxocobalamin or Cbl. Regarding the route, it has been proved that the oral route is comparable to the intramuscular route for rectifying vitamin B12 deficiency.