B12 supplements;side effects?

[KatyMac]

It has been suggested (by my dad of all people) that I take a vitamin B12 supplement

Does it have any side effects?

I am considering quite a high dose one

bump

You can go to the doctor and have your level tested if you have a real reason to suspect it is low. You store it for years, so a healthy level in a test now should put your mind at rest for a few years.

It's quite low but within the normal range, apparently

My dad just thought that maybe I'm particularly susceptible or normal for me is a bit different to 'other' people

I have symptoms like my mum who has pernicious anaemia

Anyone take these?

I have a B12 injection every 3 months as I can't absorb it myself. I have not noticed any side effects but the nurse always asks me if it perks me up after having it, can't say I have noticed it does though

My mum does too; I have problems with tingling/pins & needles in my hands & feet which my dad is sure my mum used to have

Katy - it is highly unlikely that your B12 levels are low, this would only be the case if you were either vegetarian / vegan, or if you too have pernicious aneamia.

Your doctor can check this for you, but the tingly numbness is much more likely to be folate deficiency. The doctor should test for both before giving you supplements though, because folate masks the results of B12.

TBH I am playing hunt the condition/syndrome

I have CFS & Fibromyalgia & Hypermobility

Foolishly I am trying to alleviate symptoms rather than 'just get on with it' like everyone seems to want me to

I am so fed up of feeling crap all the time; everything is on the low side (but still within the limits) of normal, anaemia/thyroid/blood sugar/blood pressure

But I am scared of making things worse so I'm only messing about with one thing at a time

I guess I'm just so hacked off with being in pain that any little thing that might change would be great

God I was miserable last night

Sorry

Don't be sorry, I think that grasping at straws (especially the easy ones that would only involve taking a tablet) is a completely natural phase of coming to terms will chronic illness. I tried all kinds of things that I look back on as daft and desperate (and I'm a scientist).

The only things that really helped me were lifestyle changes, just being as healthy as I could possibly be in all the things that were under my control, as much for the sensation of control as anything else. The tingly hands and feet can just be low blood pressure/dehydration and don't necessarily mean you have another condition. Perhaps you would be better seeing a physio if possible, they might be able to help you alleviate your symptoms or minimise your hypermobility associated joint pain. If you are worried about deficiencies, stick with going to the doctor to get to the bottom of it, because just now you sound vulnerable and you don't want to be exploited by anyone offering a quick fix.

Oh I won't sign up for any quackery, honest; I am way to sceptical

I'm just fed up & miserable atm

The CFS is 16 yrs old the other 2 only a month or two; I am seeing a physio - but we aren't doing well

Look at this website www.pernicious-anaemia-society.org/phpbb/ look at the symptoms of B12 deficiency. Tingling in hands and feet is one of them.

I've just done this & got quite a high score

Thanks for the link

B12 is wonderful stuff. At a BUPA healthcheck a few years ago, a doctor told me to take it as my blood tests suggested a deficiency. You want to take the sub-lingual type, not tablets, as some people have a problem digesting B12 through the stomach. I find it has helped my energy and concentration levels and stopped heart palpitations.

How much do you take?

Get tested first before you take the sublinguals. PA sufferers use them to keep themselves topped up until their next injection.

The tablets aren't as good as the sub lingual liquid which they sell in Holland and Barrett. I get teh jabs every 2 months and it has really improved my energy levels and general aches and pains.

Sorry hit return to quick. You really need to know if you have it before self medicating. What did your level come back as?

The problem is, that all the symptoms are so similiar for all these things

GP just said on the low side of normal, same as my thyroid, my blood sugar & my blood pressure

Yes, that is the problem with these types of symptoms, they do apply to quite alot of things.

From what I know, a proper deficiency of B12 would be caused by lack of intrinsic factor (pernicious aneamia) and therefore tablets would be a waste of time as you cannot absorb them. So better to get the injections which would be prescribed by your doctor and given at the surgery. See how you feel then and then consider "top ups" elsewhere if you wan to .

The GP says all my problems are Fibromyalgia/CFS; or if they aren't that then they are depression

I can't win

It's annoying

I am booked on a course but can't attend as I have everything on the list for not attending except heart problems & asthma

I'm sure I'd be fine

You must be so frustrated. Go onto the forum and someone will give you info on what you need to know before you go back to your GP. People can be within the 'normal' range and have PA. The standard test is not reliable and although it showed my levels were low this is not the case with everyone. I also know of people who have tested 'negative, positive, positive' for the intrinsic factor. Good Luck.

The Solgar sub-lingual tablets I take dissolve in your mouth, so they by-pass the stomach. When I had my blood tests done two years after I'd been taking the B12 I was in the normal range again, so they work, no questions. I actually felt much better within a few weeks. I literally used to wonder how people could do 'normal' things like cleaning their house. And I was very fit in the cardio-vascular sense: took lots of exercise. It was quite frightening.