[KelRN]

Hello! New here but have been reading threads on and off. I developed PN a few months ago and have been trying to figure out what is going on. I have seen several different physicians and so far, no one knows. I just saw a Rheumatologist who said my problems were not autoimmune, my ANA was a low positive. Here is some of my hx: I had a disc in my neck taken out a year ago in August, have been taking Celebrex 200mg and Nexium 40mg per day for over a year now. I also take zoloft 100mg and wellbutrin 150mg a day for anxiety/OCD and I have been taking the zoloft for over 9 yrs. About 6 mths after my surgery I started having a whole slew of new problems, pain in my joints, burning, numbness, pins and needles, intolerance to cold(thought I had raynauds, lupus). My Behavioral Health doc checked my vit d levels and they were low at 23 and everything else was okay except my triglycerides were 35 (40-210) which I thought was odd and she couldnt explain it either. Well, I have been taking the Vit D2 50,000 a week for about 3 mths now (Rheumie checked levels and now are at 90 and she she said I should start taking OTC at 1000mg/day) and I can tell a difference but still having problems esp with the burning and pain in my feet/legs.
I went to a nurse practioner between waiting on getting in to the Rheumie and she checked my Blevels and my b12 was 755, folate 15.5 B6 79, my magnesium 5.7 but my ferritin was a 9(levels are 10-232). When I went back to eval the labs she thought the B6 was a fluke and when I asked about the Ferritin (I always get a copy of my labs)she couldnt find it and I got distracted and didnt think anymore about it. But the Rheumie did tons of other tests on me and they were normal. So, I started thinking about what if it has something to do with my b6 and ferritin. And then I thought maybe it is malabsorption from taking the nexium. Im 42, slim and very active or I was before my neck problems and then just when I started to feel better all this other started to happen to me. Could it all be as a result of taking this nexium, I do have GERD pretty bad and I had it under control until I had to start taking some many NSAIDS d/t neck problems. Mrs. D and others what do I need to do? Should I stop the nexium and start taking a b vitamin and iron. I am not on any supplements and when the b6 tested high I was only taking a vitamin drink with 15mg of b6 1 - 2 times a day. I just got accepted into nurse practioner school (I applied right before all this happened). I need more energy!! Oh, I forgot to mention that I started taking Neurotin 600mg at night b/c I couldnt sleep(it has helped with sleeping)I also have been putting numbing cream on the bottom of my feet. Help! sorry this is so long but I have been needing to write for months!

[mrsD]

Ferritin is stored iron. It is complexed with a protein.
In order to see if you are iron deficient, you'd need to see what your other blood work says. People can be okay with iron, but using up stores, so the ferritin gets low.

Problems with protein can contribute to this. Iron and protein need stomach acid to be absorbed well. Nexium would reduce that stomach acid. Women who still have periods never get good ferritin levels sometimes because they are always losing the iron. So not much get stored. Some pre-menopausal women have heavy periods too, and that doesn't help.

Your B6 reading is still in the normal range...and probably reflects your vitamin intake. The ranges were not made from people using vitamins.

Some of those symptoms can reflect thyroid issues too...so I hope that was checked as well?

It is hard to say what is going on. Some drugs cause these sensations. Simple treatment with antibiotics can do it. (Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Flagyl). Vaccines, virus infections, toxins, all these can cause nerve sensations like you describe.

[KelRN]

My NP said that she had never seen anyone's B6 level that high, the range on the test was 2.1-21.7 so I thought it was elevated as well. My other blood levels were on the low side but norm, hgb 12.9, hct 40.1. Should I take a B6 supplement with iron, I mean its not going to hurt. The only thing left for me to do is see a neurologist and I am soooo tired of being blown off by this wonderful medical world that I work for.

[KelRN]

Mrs. D, I forgot to thank you for your response. Also, I was reading another thread regarding low thyroid and I think mine were okay but here are the results: tsh 2.06, t3 2.7 and t4 0.9. Do those look okay to you? I know the t3 & 4 are boderline but the doc said the tsh was normal.

[mrsD]

Decisions about taking iron should be made by your doctor.
Iron can accumulate in the body and cause problems.

So ask your doctor that question.

I'd stop the B6 completely for now. Some labs report B6 ranges up to 100 or 125 as normal. If you stop it and retest in 3 months you will see how your supplements are contributing.

There are over 100 causes of peripheral neuropathy.
Here is a list of tests to help identify that:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/...eralNeurop.htm

other resources:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread121606.html

PN is typically a lifestyle problem. Exposure to something that damaged your nerves (toxins, vaccines, infection, drugs, etc).
A disease process (low thyroid, impaired glucose tolerance leading to and including diabetes, lupus, etc)
Genetic running in families (Charcot Marie Tooth neuropathies).

If this continues, you'll have to put your detective hat on and start looking.

One simple cause you can determine is gluten intolerance. If you have antibodies to the gluten in your food, they sometimes attack the nerves. So going gluten free may show you something along these lines.

[KelRN]

Thanks Mrs. D! I appreciate your info. Yes, I quit taking my b6 supplement a couple of months ago and yes I do have on my detective hat. This site is wonderful with lots of info so I will cont to lurk, lol. Again, thanks.