I cringed at that comment (lasting minutes), mrsD...I'm so sensitive to methylcobalamin that a small amt causes drastic changes in minutes and hangs on for 24 hrs. Each small dose represents a slight change in my deficiency status, for lack of a better way to describe it, which remains. My inadequate dosing of suppliment shows just how important keeping a steady amt of b12 in our system but it also shows me how I have stored enough b12 to keep some of the more serious deficiency problems at bay.

Food with B12
 

Can I pig out on meat?

I read meat is a good source of B12.

Dietary sources of Vitamin B12 (mcg / 100g)

Lamb's liver 54
Pork liver 23
Lamb 2.1
Beef 1.8

I stopped eating meat last year when my BP got high. Now my BP is down from 127/93 to 108/66 (thank you, Magnesium Chloride).

I'm ready to eat high on the hog again, and I found a really good local butcher's shop...

Hi. I hope you are kidding when you ask that question.

People should never "pig out" on any animal products. I don't think having a steak once a week would do any great harm, I can't imagine eating meat and potatoes every night and it not doing any harm to one's body.

Think PLANT BASED DIET and take Methyl B-12.

I've been doing this for YEARS and boy has it paid off.

Melody

B12 deficiency symptoms?
 

Hi all,

For a year now I have been suffering from some random symptoms that up until this point have still not been diagnosed despite seeing various gps, specialists and ers over the last year. I had many tests including endoscopy and colonoscopy, ultrasounds, ct scans of the abdomen and MRI of the brain with not much being found besides some mild chronic gastritis which I have tried numerous diets and medications for and a pituitary prolactinoma which my endo said would not cause my symptoms and I guess she is right because their has even no change in symptoms in the 2 months I have been on medication for it. Also had blood tests for thyroid, cortisol and reproductive hormones - all normal. So I feel like there is something else causing my problems because I can tell my body doesn't feel right even though the doctors say they cant find anything wrong and basically say live with it or try antidepressant/anxiety meds which I did actually try because I thought I might be crazy and still no improvement besides being less moody about feeling sick 24/7 haha. Which brings me to my symptoms, I have been experiencing daily chronic nausea and loss of appetite, numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, ringing in the ears and I will randomly be short of breath and have a rapid heartbeat without doing anything? I also experience dizziness sometimes and my toe nails seem to crack alot and feel rough. My hair doesn't seem as healthy as it use to, very brittle and falling out and I even saw a few grey hairs and I'm only 18! my skin appears more pale than it use too also but that maybe due to me not going outside as much as before? Also one other thing I have noticed is that I got cuts/sores on the corners of my mouth a few times since I've been sick and I've read that can be a sign of b12 defiency? The only problem is I've had a full blood count and my haemoglobin and mcv are within normal range with haemoglobin at 148 (120 - 160) and mcv at 90.6 (78 - 98). What I have noticed though from some of the results I have is that there is an upward trend in my mcv with a result from 04/09/2008 reading 85 then a result from 19/03/2011 reading 86 and then another reading from an er on 28/03/2011 at 90.6. Seems strange to have a 4 point jump after only 1 point difference since 2008 and the first 2011 reading but I'm not sure if it means anything. Just also wanted to note that I have not had my b12 level or folate level tested and only my serum iron was tested so is it possible that I do have a b12 defiency still? Or perhaps some other kind of vitamin defiency? I have been tested for alot with no real results so I'm not sure what it could be!

Anyway thanks for reading :)

Ps. This whole thing started a week after I had just got over some kind of viral stomach bug, not sure of that may have triggered it somehow?

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

I'd get tested. Results in other countries may be given in different "units" than US testing.

It is true that an elevated MCV indicates possible low B12.
But you are not out of range yet. Some people, do feel better on higher blood levels of B12 than others.

Also if you take acid blocking drugs, then you will be not absorbing B12 from your animal food sources efficiently.

Frank anemia may not happen until you have been low for a LONG time. So anemia is not a good barometer for low B12 issues.

The testing is simple, and you can get MMA and Vit D done too.
MMA may show more information combined with the serum B12.

Cracking at the corners of the mouth can be herpes, or cheiliosis (Bvitamin deficiencies), or the yeast, Candida infection. Using alot of antibiotics can promote Candida. B12 deficiency also causes a bright red tongue.(the color of raw beef).

Hi mrsD,

Thanks for your reply :), I have just been to my GP and asked to get some vitamins checked, fortunately for me there was a student doctor there and as soon as I mentioned the tingling in my hands and feet she suggested the possibility of b12 deficiency. When I had mentioned this to my GP months earlier she just shook her head and said "i don't know, I don't think it's a problem". Maybe because I was very sick at the time she didn't take much notice because it was a minor complaint. Anyways I have now had blood drawn for b12/folate and vitamin D (because my mother was low) and she also added zinc and magnesium along with a FBE and LFT's. Unfortunately there was no MMA test added, but i will ask the GP at my next appointment if all comes back normal.

I actually did take Zantac for 2 months twice a day but this was after I become ill and I'm not sure if that's a long enough time to cause a substantial deficiency. I also tried Nexium and Pariet but both made me feel much worse after a few days.

My GP doesn't believe I could have a Candida infection and from what I've read the diet is the main way to get rid of it, which I have tried with many others but maybe not for long enough? And I have taken three different courses of antibiotics over the year for repeated UTI's but I made sure to take probiotics with each course and kept taking them long after I had finished each course.

Moderation in all things - including excess. :D

I'm on a high protein diet for intractable pain that recommends meats & cheese even for snacks, but small amounts are enough (especially because I'm trying to - and am - losing weight on this diet).

I don't think I'd want to pig out on meat even if I wanted to (redundancy intentional) - it just makes me feel... weird, especially red meats & coldcuts.

As I posted earlier in another thread here someplace, eating more slowly - taking at least 20 minutes to savor and enjoy smaller portions - also helps with the need to gormandize. You hit a brain-chemical satiation point sooner.

By all means, get and enjoy some really good cuts, but the pigging out part may not be necessary. It works for animals who, in the wild, may go several days between meals, but for humans with cultural backgrounds used to eating regularly, it may not be as healthy either.

Just my opinion...

Doc

@Jdeelm

Did you take fluoroquinolones? Cipro? or Macrodantin? Some drugs including antibiotics can cause neuropathies.

And do get the number for your B12 test including the concentration...pmol/L or picogram/ml. Don't accept "normal", as the ranges have not been fixed to reflect the new information as to what "normal" means.

I have a conversion table for those readers here in other countries.

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/sc...ical_data.html

The three antibiotics I have taken are metronidazole, trimethoprim and cephalexin. Not sure if those particular ones cause neuropathy but I have kept a diary of my symptoms, medications and appointments since I first got sick and from my records the tingling started before I was ever put on antibiotics and the first time I experienced it was about a month after initially becoming unwell. I have noticed however that the onset of my tinnitus is at the same time as my second course of antibiotics (trimethoprim) so I was wondering if it could be associated with that possibly?

Anyways I'll be sure to post my blood test results when I get them so I can get your interpretation of the results, but thanks for all your help so far I really appreciate it. :)

Metronidazole is a known PN causer.... sorry I have to tell you that.

http://www.neurologyindia.com/articl...3;aulast=Gupta

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2154078

more on toxic neuropathies:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1175276-overview

I'd still get the testing.
But for your case, since Metronidazole is a potential culprit...
I'd focus on the supplements that affect mitochondrial functions:

magnesium
R-lipoic acid (stabilized form)
acetyl carnitine
CoQ-10

My supplement thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread121683.html