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.
