That is not true. There are problems that may or may not improve. Some may go away altogether, but as the doctor you referred to said, the earlier the treatment the more likely things will improve substantially.

Repairs can continue for years in those serious cases, but there are no guarantees.

That is likely, but it not something a person can count on, especially in early days weeks or months. It is very likely that they will improve, but each case is different. There are some similar patterns in many of the cases, but individual makeups, types and extents of damage are different. And for some strange reason, a very few people do not even see the change until many months later.

Improvement is likely if people need B12. It is possible if they need methylcobalamin specifically. But there no guarantees. And if damage is severe, the process of improvement is likely to be long and bumpy.

rose

The fact is that if someone has symptoms of low B12 and takes a form that their body can use, then the symptoms will either go away or decrease.

If someone has bad symptoms and takes a very small amount, then the amount of improvement may be hard to distinguish.

I had bad PN for years. I never expected it to go away.

When my holistic M.D. gave me a prescription for a shot a day for a year, I thought she must have made a mistake and I didn't use it until after I had tetanus and the pain was screaming bad. Literally.

Then, after a couple of months of a shot a day (sometimes two), it was clear that my PN was a lot better.

The B12 did not cure my tetanus. Tetanus is a Central Nervous System disease caused by the the bacteria clostridia. Antibiotic in fairly heavy doses is required to kill the bacteria. After that, there may be, as in my case, risidual nerve damage.

B12 helps with the nerve damage, but after two years all of the nerve damage is not healed.

Here's the thing, though. If I had not had all that B12, would I be very much more sick than I am? I think that without a doubt I would be.

I am especially convinced I would be a lot more sick because recently when my lights were shut off (I have a page on that and on getting solar to avoid stress ) I found an old medical certificate my holistic M.D. had filled out for the power company and on it she said I have fibromyalgia...

Only when there's little stress (ha! I sure wish that was more often) I am so fine I know I do not have fibromyalgia.

It is vitally important for people to keep notes of how B12 works for them, and in what amounts. It is very important to keep track of what symptoms have been reduced, and to keep track of what kinds of things makes them rear their ugly heads again.






















Rose wrote -

PN is not what I'm talking about. If that is as far as the damage has gone, the problem will often be gone within weeks, months or a year.

I am talking about severe damage that usually does not go away, and sometimes repairs only partially over years. Central nervous system damage is what I am talking about. The "combined degeneration" of the spinal cord and even sometimes damage to the brain, which is the term for nerve damage caused those who go untreated long enough.

And the amount necessary depends on the level of malabsorption, not the amount of damage. A "small amount" will not do anyone with severe malabsorption any good, even if they have a tiny bit of damage. The damage in that case will continue until they get large enough doses to stop it.

A "small amount" consistently enough will do someone with mild or moderate malabsorption a great deal of good, even if it only stops the damage.

rose

Different people have different symptoms of low B12. Some people experience problems with their nerves, others with memory, others with balance, etc.

Not all people have changes in the shape of their blood cells early on.

It has been suggested that pernicious anemia, which years ago is what B12 deficiency was called, is a form of B12 deficiency that appears after a long time with low B12. It is a lack of intrinsic factor.

When I had tetanus, which is a central nervous system disease, I had so many different symptoms/health problems that I could not identify where one left off and another started.

For instance there was the inability to lift things... they were suddenly too heavy. My Brita pitcher with an inch of water in it was almost but not quite too heavy to lift.

I'm so silly, that I thought my kitty must have gained a lot of weight when I was sick and couldn't play with her, because she'd gotten so heavy I couldn't pick her up...

Once a friend brought me some bologne.... (how is that spelled?) because she thought I might like to have something to make sandwiches out of... and it took me days to open it... I was just not strong enough.

It always seemed to me that it was my muscles, there was some problem with my muscles.

The fact, however, was that it was my nerves.

My nerves made it hard to breath, they caused a huge extreme pain in my thoracic diaphragm, they made it impossible for me to stand long enough to take a shower... so I got very dirty ... literally, I was a crusty old woman.

The nerve damage was severe and the homeless doctor told me that's what was causing a lot of the problems I was left with.

(My home was foreclosed, so then I could see the homeless doctor. Up until then, I didn't have enough money for a doctor to see me.)

* A dynamite thing is that I was able to save my home and I'm still in it. I filed bankruptcy... And then I had time to sell my rental and pay the arrears on my home.

It's because I did that, I think, that the state court judges are so angry at me and foreclosed my condo without any notice to me, so I couldn't save it using federal law.

So it goes... the old grudge reaction at work.

It I can just not get too stressed, ... I hope, I need to keep fighting this out in the Appeals Court.

Today, if someone wants to file bankruptcy they need to have been in debt counciling prior, I think, in order to avoid it being dismissed. So if any of you are in dire straights financially, I would for sure get debt counciling so that bankruptcy is an option for you.

I appear to also have forgotten which kind of council is spelled which way.

The reason it is so important for people to keep notes about their symptoms, vitamins, B12 tests, etc, is so that they can see what is happening.

It's so easy to believe that something is or is not happening.

So to know what is happening, to be able to look back and see what the actual results were, you need to have taken notes for yourself.



Take notes!

Of course, symptoms vary, and of course many being damaged by B12 deficiency are not anemic. That is what I have saying for years. That is why I have been bothering to do this. I don't what that was in response to.

Memory, other psychiatric problems, severe motor problems (and often resulting imbalance), etc. are central nervous system problems.

Pernicious anemia is not a form of B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia is the inability to secrete intrinsic factor. Pernicious anemia has been known for many years now to be the primary cause of severe B12 malabsorption. If someone take lots of B12 and has been deficient for years, they will almost surely still lack intrinsic factor; thus, they still have "pernicious anemia."

Normal nerve function is necessary for normal muscle function.

rose

Pernicious anemia, which my mother had, has been described in some recent research as an advanced form of B12 deficiency.

Please notice how not everyone in a study has exactly the same results, and the different results are reported.

There are more that I could quote.... but this shows the general idea.



















Rose wrote-

Several posts at the end of this thread have been removed.

Some may come back, but I'm letting readers know, and I'm sorry for any confusion.

KD