B12 - Please help! ....

[Sarahlouiseis33]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve not long found out I have a vitamin b12 deficiency and a folate deficiency. Has anyone else had this? Also my symptoms which started when I reduced my Levothyroxine for a thyroid problem are hair loss and oilier skin. Has anyone had these symptoms? I’m not sure if it’s my thyroid or the low b12 and folate causing my symptoms??? Please reply.....

Hi OP

Do you know why your B12 was low? Were you tested for pernicious anaemia? PA is an autoimmune condition, and I think that thyroid problems can be too. If you have one autoimmune condition you are much more likely to have another as well.

I've heard that hair loss is a symptom of B12 deficiency, but I don't think oily skin is typical. Are you having B12 injections? They can often cause skin outbreaks...

Yes tested negative for PA. Trying supplements. Have tried high strength sublinguals but they gave me acne so am going to try the 50mcg cyanocobalamin tablets instead. Hairloss and oilier than normal skin are my only symptoms. I’m wondering wether they may be more hormonal??? I’ve googled and found nothing about b12 deficiency and oily skin!!

Well, if you don't have any symptoms, I would try the tablets and see how you go. Do you know how low your B12 was?

Blood tests for PA are widely known to be unreliable -- my NHS lab report always comes back with a note saying that Intrinsic Factor test for PA is only 40 to 60% accurate.

If you were eating a normal diet with adequate B12 in for example a couple of portions a day of meat, fish, egg or dairy then it suggests you're unable to absorb B12 properly through the gut. This means that tablets may not raise your levels well.

Symptoms of low B12 can be similar to thyroid symptoms I think -- exhaustion being one.