B12 and IBD

Vitamin B12 plays a very important part in the body as it helps to keep the nervous system healthy and also is needed to make new cells in the body. A lack in it can be a cause of pernicious anaemia which leads to a reduction of oxygen being carried around the body in the blood. 

The most common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

·         Tiredness

·         Lethargy

·         Feeling faint

·         Breathlessness

Less common symptoms include:

·         Headaches

·         Heart palpitations

·         Taste being altered

·         Loss of appetite

·         Ringing in the ears also known as tinnitus

·         Looking pale

·         Sore mouth and tongue

If the deficiency is left untreated it can get worse and end up with long term issues such as:

Psychological problems like depressions, confusion and memory problems.

Nerve problems like numbness, pins and needles, vision changes and unsteadiness.

A simple blood test from your doctors or hospital can indicate if you have a B12 deficiency.

Pernicious anaemia is very common in people who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. Vitamin B12 is absorbed in the end of the small intestine in the ileum. People with Crohn’s disease in this area may not be able to absorb B12 very well. People who have had to have surgery to remove the stomach or the end of the small intestine may also struggle to absorb vitamin B12.

To treat vitamin B12 deficiency, injections are often given to people who have a big deficiency and those who have a mild deficiency are told to purchase vitamin tablets with extra vitamin B12 or to eat foods rich in the vitamin. The injections help to quickly build up stores of the vitamin. Once the stores have been replaced then the doctor will only often maintenance injections depending on the reason behind the deficiency.

Vitamin B12 supplements are available to buy from many places like health food stores like Holland and Barrett’s or in the supermarket like Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda. These may be recommended for people if their diet is lacking in B12. Vitamin B12 can be found naturally in certain foods including:

·         Meat

·         Fish

·         Eggs

·         Milk

I had been told by my doctor in my GP surgery that I was low in B12 and to get some supplements even though I had about 6 of the symptoms of a vitamin deficiency. I ended up going into Holland and Barrett’s on my dinner break in work and explained I was lacking B12 and magnesium as that is what my bloods were telling us. I explained to the lady what the doctors have told me and that I also had Crohn’s disease in the ileum. She was a lovely and understanding lady and understood that if I were to take B12 tablets I would not absorb the goodness of the vitamin in my small intestine. She went the whole way through the products in the store and found something which would be better for me to absorb the B12 and magnesium. I have been using both sprays for just over a week now and I can start to feel a difference in myself. I normally need a mid-afternoon nap and the first few days I needed a nap in the afternoon to see me through the rest of the day. Now I am a week in I have not been relying on needing a nap in the afternoon it is now early evening but the longer I hold out the better I sleep at night time. I hope it stays working as there are days the fatigue just knocks me clean out before I even get to lunch time.