Most doctors know little more about thyroid than B12. It can take a very long time to find one who will diagnose you correctly even after you learn the narrowed "normal" range, etc.

Oh, I see that you did. I don't have those ranges in my brain. I only remember that the TSH most think is fine is not. The fact that you got the other tests is remarkable. Most can't get them to do them.

Mary Shomon thyroid placed in a search engine will get you loads of info.

rose

So glad I found you all. Our experiences have much in common. Anyone found a correlation between long-term b12 deficiency (like almost 20 years of being told I was a hypochondriac) and epileptic-like condition? I am sooo sensitive to motion and light. Am going through a battery of testing, but it's getting pricey. Wondering if I should just go it alone like I have been? I'm just thrilled someone finally listened to me, that I have feeling back in my fingers and toes, that I'm healing somewhat normally (my once OK skin looks like it could hold a day of rain.)

a connection between gluten intolerance and malabsorption
of B12.

Then there is the further connection between gluten intolerance and seizures.

Your link may be gluten intolerance, causing the low B12.
So I would investigate that.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1872.html
If you go to the link in The Gluten File... there are papers illustrating this link.

This is all so fascinating and makes perfect sense. Have realized a gluten connection with other symptoms for years, but I had never run across this. My 15 year old daughter is just starting up with this and is now gluten-free, receiving weekly B12. Hers is a brain worth preserving. Thanks again.

I'm glad I stumbled on to this site..... I just spent the last 3 1/2 years thinking I was going crazy and just excepting that I would never feel good again. It's a very funny tale because if it was not for the loss of my health insurance I would still be living in dailly pain.

I was on PPI for acid reflux and my doctor told me that I could be on them as long as I wanted. They made the reflux go away but longterm use can cause b12 absorbtion problems as I now learned. Not to mentioned the side effects to PPI can be simmilar to some of the B12 problems. Dizziness, conentration problems, memory loss and recall issues, mood swings, aneity and dpression....the list gose on.

I would feel exasuted all the time, I would wake up in the morning and feel like I awful. When I exercised I just felt worse. I would tell my doctor and he just wanted to put me on Lexapro...WTF!

Anyway, as I mentioned, I went to walgreens to fill my prescription and when they told me what the cost was going to be, with out insurance, I said I would get back to them. Well it has been to weeks and I feel much better, the reflux sucks but I can think, my muscles are relaxing and working out actully feels good. I don't feel like I'm going to fall over and I want to spend time with people. My wife says it like I woke up.

So been taking a time release b complex and slowly working my muscle and mind out. What a nightmare!! I hope no one else ever has to be robbed of their life like I have been...

It is a shame. They call it mental illness. They call it nothing. It is not nothing. It is not mental illness. It is so easy for doctors to label anything and everything as "nothing" or as "mental" by just not looking.

No, you are not going crazy... don't accept that you'll never feel well again. Scratch "crazy" and just below the surface you find the medical issues.

A family member also had burning neuropathic pain, fatigue, abdominal issues. Her cognition and mood was affected. That was called nothing and mental also. And that was a child. Another of the children they said had ADD and put on a stimulant and she went bonkers. The doctors didn't stop to question what physically was going wrong with these children that they had these problems. (If parents are searching, see www.itsnotmental.com blog info)

B12 deficiency and its symptoms can be insidious. But there are a host of problems that can contribute. Methylation of the B vitamins, or the gluten problem causing malabsorption... or both. There can be more than one problem.

I'd get an extensive nutritional profile. There are many labs that can do this. Lab Corp, Quest Diagnostics... and some private labs like at www.Genovadiagnostics.com, www.greatplainslaboratory.com, www.lef.org and many more... or even use a combination of them for different things.

Perhaps you would know, how long to completely recover from vit B12 deficiency?

I recall that rose, who is the original poster who brought B12 issues publicly to this board and it predecessor, said it was taking years for her to recover.

If you have severe damage, recovery is slower, and may not be complete if nerves have actually died.

For example in Japan where the terrible accident occurred with Vioform (clioquinol), people were permanently damaged, and blinded due to low B12.
http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/...mm0493_11.html

This devastating accident led to Japan being very aggressive in treating low serum B12 levels. They typically treat below 500-550.

So I would say recovery depends on how severe the damage has become.