| Vitamin B12 History, Illustrations and Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency |
Vitamin B12 deficiency - a health boundary that bites
REMEMBER: Not every one has the same symptoms of vitamin B12
deficiency. You and your best friend may both be low in vitamin B12, but
have very different symptoms.
Because the symptoms of low vitamin B12 vary so much from person to
person the medical community has often concentrated on one symptom
and ignored others, with the result that many people with severe symptoms
of low B12 do not get treatment because they don't have the symptom
popular on a given day, the "symptom d'jour" you might say.
Even today when there is more knowledge about vitamin B12 and its
symptoms, with a lot more research having been done to shed light on the
symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, there is still a tendency for
healthcare providers to do what they are familiar with from the past. And
that might not be best for you if you have different symptoms than your
healthcare provider has commonly thought of for vitamin B12.
For example, even after I was diagnosed with "profound vitamin B12
deficiency" another doctor, one not at the hospital where I was diagnosed,
said that I couldn't have a vitamin B12 deficiency because I wasn't a
vegetarian. For that particular doctor, the first and most important thing
she looked for, to see if someone might be vitamin B12 deficient, was a
vegetarian diet.
So, anyone coming to her who wasn't a vegetarian wasn't going to have
their vitamin B12 level considered as a possible cause of any negative
health issues they might be experiencing.
Another example is more general and has to do with the fact that there are
two general categories of vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms: those that are
related to nerves, and those that are related to blood.
While it appears that a low vitamin B12 level if experienced over a long
time will inevitably lead to blood disorders, that is, to the blood cells being
too large, not everyone who initially has serious B12 problems will have
the large blood cells associated with advanced deficiency or the disease of
pernicious anemia.
Because of the wide and confusing variety of low vitamin B12 symptoms,
it is useful to look at your fingernails and see whether they have ridges or
are losing their moons. These simple signs show low B12.
deficiency. You and your best friend may both be low in vitamin B12, but
have very different symptoms.
Because the symptoms of low vitamin B12 vary so much from person to
person the medical community has often concentrated on one symptom
and ignored others, with the result that many people with severe symptoms
of low B12 do not get treatment because they don't have the symptom
popular on a given day, the "symptom d'jour" you might say.
Even today when there is more knowledge about vitamin B12 and its
symptoms, with a lot more research having been done to shed light on the
symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, there is still a tendency for
healthcare providers to do what they are familiar with from the past. And
that might not be best for you if you have different symptoms than your
healthcare provider has commonly thought of for vitamin B12.
For example, even after I was diagnosed with "profound vitamin B12
deficiency" another doctor, one not at the hospital where I was diagnosed,
said that I couldn't have a vitamin B12 deficiency because I wasn't a
vegetarian. For that particular doctor, the first and most important thing
she looked for, to see if someone might be vitamin B12 deficient, was a
vegetarian diet.
So, anyone coming to her who wasn't a vegetarian wasn't going to have
their vitamin B12 level considered as a possible cause of any negative
health issues they might be experiencing.
Another example is more general and has to do with the fact that there are
two general categories of vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms: those that are
related to nerves, and those that are related to blood.
While it appears that a low vitamin B12 level if experienced over a long
time will inevitably lead to blood disorders, that is, to the blood cells being
too large, not everyone who initially has serious B12 problems will have
the large blood cells associated with advanced deficiency or the disease of
pernicious anemia.
Because of the wide and confusing variety of low vitamin B12 symptoms,
it is useful to look at your fingernails and see whether they have ridges or
are losing their moons. These simple signs show low B12.
I have always paid my web hosting first. It's $11.95 a month. Even
when I was living on $11 a week after my tenants burned out my boiler
and I wasn't renting my condo because I was worried there might be a
second privy pit, I paid for web hosting first because I know the
information on my site can help people.
But only, of course, if they have problems which are related to low B12
and they begin taking B12 (either injections or Methylcobalamin in the
form of lozenges to replace the B12 they are missing).
My links gave me hope that I would miraculously get some help... and
once someone bought a desk, and another time someone bought a table
(that was almost two weeks I was given!!!! out of over 200 weeks)...
but mostly my links give me hope rather than an income. And I need
hope right now to get to February when I can refinance. (8/7/07)
2/2/09 - I forgot about the woman on some forums who believed that
everyone should take 1,000mcg of B12 a day, and it didn't matter what
kind. She used to follow me around and give me so much trouble
because I disagreed with her. I put the above here because of her
hounding. Now I have to laugh because the people on the forums who
made decisions based on their own health improved, and those who
blindly followed her advice, did not. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it was
so horrible for so long to have her hound me that the laughing is a
release of all the stress.
when I was living on $11 a week after my tenants burned out my boiler
and I wasn't renting my condo because I was worried there might be a
second privy pit, I paid for web hosting first because I know the
information on my site can help people.
But only, of course, if they have problems which are related to low B12
and they begin taking B12 (either injections or Methylcobalamin in the
form of lozenges to replace the B12 they are missing).
My links gave me hope that I would miraculously get some help... and
once someone bought a desk, and another time someone bought a table
(that was almost two weeks I was given!!!! out of over 200 weeks)...
but mostly my links give me hope rather than an income. And I need
hope right now to get to February when I can refinance. (8/7/07)
2/2/09 - I forgot about the woman on some forums who believed that
everyone should take 1,000mcg of B12 a day, and it didn't matter what
kind. She used to follow me around and give me so much trouble
because I disagreed with her. I put the above here because of her
hounding. Now I have to laugh because the people on the forums who
made decisions based on their own health improved, and those who
blindly followed her advice, did not. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it was
so horrible for so long to have her hound me that the laughing is a
release of all the stress.
"Ask and you shall receive." So, please will you donate, or shop? To
understand why I'm asking please look at my TD Ameritrade page.
That was so sweet of the person who donated $5 when I was trying to get
a wood stove. It was much appreciated!
understand why I'm asking please look at my TD Ameritrade page.
That was so sweet of the person who donated $5 when I was trying to get
a wood stove. It was much appreciated!
http://www.health-boundaries-bite.com
Your fingernails reflect your health --
Learn some warning signs --
Karen Kline
Your fingernails reflect your health --
Learn some warning signs --
Karen Kline
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Learning to recognize signs of low B12 in your body is your BEST DEFENSE against the ravages of B12 Malabsorption Illness. |
While expensive tests are developed to test for B12 deficiency, as for
instance using a determination of holotranscobalamin, the transport
protein with selectively bound active cobalamin . . .
instance using a determination of holotranscobalamin, the transport
protein with selectively bound active cobalamin . . .
Too little stomach acid and B12
remains trapped in protein.
remains trapped in protein.
When there is adequate
stomach acid vitamin B12
is released from protein.
stomach acid vitamin B12
is released from protein.
You need intrinsic factor
before vitamin B12 can be
used by your body.
before vitamin B12 can be
used by your body.
In 1997 the lines/ridges on my fingernails were the worst. I was unable to
think; things "looked" unclear; things seemed hopeless; I tried to kill
myself, and I had such horrible bone pain that it didn't seem like it would
make any difference if I immolated myself because of abuse by IRS. B12
changed all that!
think; things "looked" unclear; things seemed hopeless; I tried to kill
myself, and I had such horrible bone pain that it didn't seem like it would
make any difference if I immolated myself because of abuse by IRS. B12
changed all that!
1850s -- English doctor, Thomas Addison, described a lethal "pernicious"
form of anemia, related to pathological gastric mucosa and associated with
the stomach having little or no acid.
1926 -- Georges Richard Minot and William Parry Murphy reported that
45 patients with pernicious anemia had been cured by eating large
quantities of raw liver.
1929 -- William Castle discovered that “intrinsic
factor” in the gastric mucosa was needed to absorb
liver's active ingredient, initially called “extrinsic
factor,” and that intrinsic factor was lacking in
pernicious anemia patients.
1934 -- Minot, Murphy and Whipple received
the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their
research isolating extrinsic factor
and identifying it as a vitamin.
1948 -- Pure vitamin B12 was produced.
1956 -- British chemist, Dorothy
Hodgkin, described the structure
of the B12 molecule.
1964 -- Dorothy Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
With knowledge of the B12 molecule, pernicious
anemia, once fatal, could be treated with
injectionsof vitamin B12, as cyanocobalamin,
and patients recovered.
Because blood cells in B12 deficient people were
often larger than normal blood cells, B12
deficiency was linked with the blood disorder,
anemia; the fact that B12 deficiency
was known to be accompanied by
nerve and neuropsychiatric problems
was overlooked. The governing belief
was that without anemia, there was no
B12 deficiency.
This inaccurate view is changing as new
markers are found. Two markers relating
to intracellular functional deficiency
are methylmalonic acid and homocysteine.
Today it is clear that anemia is only one of many different symptoms of
B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia with its lack of intrinsic factor is now
thought to be relatively rare.
Hypochlorhydria, less familiar than pernicious
anemia, is the condition of not enough gastric acid
to separate vitamin B12 from food. An estimated
47% of people in the U.S. have hypochlorhydria,
partially due to increased use of antacids marketed
as a good source of calcium.
Research shows that smoking,
high alcohol consumption, and
many prescription drugs
reduce B12, as do some common genetic
polymorphisms (variations occurring within
a species) that affect enzyme activity.
For myself, I think that it may be the case
that high stress is the underlying problem
that reduces B12. It may be that people
smoke and drink to relieve stress because
they can feel the damage that the stress is doing. I'm not saying that
drinking and smoking are a cure for the problems arising from stress, I'm
saying that it's very possible that when stress is lowered and/or B12 levels
are increased there is less desire to smoke and drink, from a purely
physical level.
Through scientific testing over a long period it was learned that "functional
deficiency," that is, a deficient distribution of B12 at the cellular level,
could come about even though serum levels were normal.
Sadly, the American medical community sees fit to keep the "normal"
range extremely low, which fosters confusion and mis-diagnosis.
News reports during 2008 that linked doctor prescriptions with kick backs
from drug companies may make the medical community's favoritism for
drugs over nutrients less sad than criminal.
More about Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
Such vague symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are easily overlooked,
especially as the serum concentration of vitamin B12 often lies within the
reference range. (In the United States the low for the reference range is
hundreds of points lower than the more realistic low in Japan and Europe.)
Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract can give rise to a deficiency of
vitamin B12, with symptoms being more or less pronounced. Poor
mucosal function may also be a cause and may show up with glossitis (a
swollen tongue).
The elderly are at great risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. Age-related, often
asymptomatic atrophic gastritis is common and may be enough to cause a
patient to slide slowly into a negative vitamin B12 balance with depleted
stores of the vitamin giving rise to dementia. (Because the low in the
United States is so low, this slide may go unnoticed for considerable
periods of time.)
Infants of vegetarian/vegan mothers are in danger of vitamin B12
deficiency, even though their mothers may not have B12 malabsorption
illness and may not show any deficiency symptoms. This is because of
the relatively high need for B12 in a rapidly growing child.
Overall, if your fingernails have ridges or you are beginning to lose the
moons on your fingernails, try Methylcobalamin and keep notes and see if
you begin to feel better with a reduction in the symptoms you may have
found worrying and/or baffling. I would appreciate it if you ordered
through my site: Methylcobalamin on line.
form of anemia, related to pathological gastric mucosa and associated with
the stomach having little or no acid.
1926 -- Georges Richard Minot and William Parry Murphy reported that
45 patients with pernicious anemia had been cured by eating large
quantities of raw liver.
1929 -- William Castle discovered that “intrinsic
factor” in the gastric mucosa was needed to absorb
liver's active ingredient, initially called “extrinsic
factor,” and that intrinsic factor was lacking in
pernicious anemia patients.
1934 -- Minot, Murphy and Whipple received
the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their
research isolating extrinsic factor
and identifying it as a vitamin.
1948 -- Pure vitamin B12 was produced.
1956 -- British chemist, Dorothy
Hodgkin, described the structure
of the B12 molecule.
1964 -- Dorothy Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
With knowledge of the B12 molecule, pernicious
anemia, once fatal, could be treated with
injectionsof vitamin B12, as cyanocobalamin,
and patients recovered.
Because blood cells in B12 deficient people were
often larger than normal blood cells, B12
deficiency was linked with the blood disorder,
anemia; the fact that B12 deficiency
was known to be accompanied by
nerve and neuropsychiatric problems
was overlooked. The governing belief
was that without anemia, there was no
B12 deficiency.
This inaccurate view is changing as new
markers are found. Two markers relating
to intracellular functional deficiency
are methylmalonic acid and homocysteine.
Today it is clear that anemia is only one of many different symptoms of
B12 deficiency. Pernicious anemia with its lack of intrinsic factor is now
thought to be relatively rare.
Hypochlorhydria, less familiar than pernicious
anemia, is the condition of not enough gastric acid
to separate vitamin B12 from food. An estimated
47% of people in the U.S. have hypochlorhydria,
partially due to increased use of antacids marketed
as a good source of calcium.
Research shows that smoking,
high alcohol consumption, and
many prescription drugs
reduce B12, as do some common genetic
polymorphisms (variations occurring within
a species) that affect enzyme activity.
For myself, I think that it may be the case
that high stress is the underlying problem
that reduces B12. It may be that people
smoke and drink to relieve stress because
they can feel the damage that the stress is doing. I'm not saying that
drinking and smoking are a cure for the problems arising from stress, I'm
saying that it's very possible that when stress is lowered and/or B12 levels
are increased there is less desire to smoke and drink, from a purely
physical level.
Through scientific testing over a long period it was learned that "functional
deficiency," that is, a deficient distribution of B12 at the cellular level,
could come about even though serum levels were normal.
Sadly, the American medical community sees fit to keep the "normal"
range extremely low, which fosters confusion and mis-diagnosis.
News reports during 2008 that linked doctor prescriptions with kick backs
from drug companies may make the medical community's favoritism for
drugs over nutrients less sad than criminal.
More about Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
- Initial symptoms of B12 deficiency are easily overlooked. Plus, early
symptoms of anemia may be masked by folic acid, or by an iron
deficiency. A variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms may be the
earliest and easily seen and felt symptoms.
The most common neurological symptoms in low vitamin B12 are
paraesthesia (numbness) of the hands and feet, diminished
perception of vibration and position, absence of reflexes, and
unsteady gait and balance -- the range of symptoms is broad.
Psychiatric symptoms seen in vitamin B12 deficiency are varied and
fall into several different categories:
Confusion and memory disturbances are the most common.
Depression, with or without psychotic components, and cognitive
decline are frequent. Swings in mood and personality changes from
low B12, if untreated, may become a psychiatric disease.
Such vague symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are easily overlooked,
especially as the serum concentration of vitamin B12 often lies within the
reference range. (In the United States the low for the reference range is
hundreds of points lower than the more realistic low in Japan and Europe.)
Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract can give rise to a deficiency of
vitamin B12, with symptoms being more or less pronounced. Poor
mucosal function may also be a cause and may show up with glossitis (a
swollen tongue).
The elderly are at great risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. Age-related, often
asymptomatic atrophic gastritis is common and may be enough to cause a
patient to slide slowly into a negative vitamin B12 balance with depleted
stores of the vitamin giving rise to dementia. (Because the low in the
United States is so low, this slide may go unnoticed for considerable
periods of time.)
Infants of vegetarian/vegan mothers are in danger of vitamin B12
deficiency, even though their mothers may not have B12 malabsorption
illness and may not show any deficiency symptoms. This is because of
the relatively high need for B12 in a rapidly growing child.
Overall, if your fingernails have ridges or you are beginning to lose the
moons on your fingernails, try Methylcobalamin and keep notes and see if
you begin to feel better with a reduction in the symptoms you may have
found worrying and/or baffling. I would appreciate it if you ordered
through my site: Methylcobalamin on line.
Methylcobalamin, the active form of vitamin B12
has been known to help:
ADHD symptoms
Memory
Anxiety
Chronic fatigue
Dyslexia
Depth Perception
Viewing Color
Speech (finding words, apraxia, articulation, etc)
Socialization
Mood
Behavior
Sleep Regulation
Depression
Neurotransmitter function
Autoimmune symptoms
Chemical Sensitivity
Digestion
Viral Infections
Inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica,
.....fibromyalgia
Asthma
Irritable bowel
Colitis
Eye or muscle "twittering"
Tinnitus
Nail bitting
Migraines
Visual and auditory processing
Modulation of light
Night vision
Improved ability to process sounds and modulate background
.....noise
Nerve regeneration
Blocking the effects of ethanol
Greatly reduces the desire for alcohol, marijuana,
.....methamphetamines, and possibly other addictive drugs and
.....behavior.
has been known to help:
ADHD symptoms
Memory
Anxiety
Chronic fatigue
Dyslexia
Depth Perception
Viewing Color
Speech (finding words, apraxia, articulation, etc)
Socialization
Mood
Behavior
Sleep Regulation
Depression
Neurotransmitter function
Autoimmune symptoms
Chemical Sensitivity
Digestion
Viral Infections
Inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica,
.....fibromyalgia
Asthma
Irritable bowel
Colitis
Eye or muscle "twittering"
Tinnitus
Nail bitting
Migraines
Visual and auditory processing
Modulation of light
Night vision
Improved ability to process sounds and modulate background
.....noise
Nerve regeneration
Blocking the effects of ethanol
Greatly reduces the desire for alcohol, marijuana,
.....methamphetamines, and possibly other addictive drugs and
.....behavior.
Neurological symptoms:
Numbness in hands and feet
Ataxia (irregularity of muscular action)
Impaired reflexes
Gait disturbances
Impaired vibration perception
Positive Romberg´s test:
.....closing the eyes increases unsteadiness;.indicates loss of
.....proprioceptive control (Proprioceptive: able to receive
.....stimuli from muscles, etc.)
Babinski´s sign:
.....Extension of the great toe and abduction of the other toes
.....instead of normal reflex to plantar (sole of foot) stimulation,
.....considered indicative of pyramidal tract involvement
.....(Pyramidal: anatomy: one of the carpal bones.)
Lhermitte´s sign:
.....Sudden electric-like shocks go down spine on flexing head
Optic atrophy:
.....wasting away or reduction from degeneration of nerve fibres
.....of optic nerve
Chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia
Psychiatric symptoms:
Concentration difficulties
Confusion
Irritation
Impaired memory and memory loss
Dementia
Irritability
Depression
Personality changes
Psychosis:
.....gross impairment in reality testing
.....evidenced by delusions
Symptoms of anaemia:
Tiredness
Apathy
Dyspnoea upon exertion:
.....Shortness of breath,
.....difficult or laboured breathing.
Other symptoms
Aversion to meat
Impotence
Faecal/urinary incontinence
Infertility
Vitiligo:
.....nonpigmented white patches of skin
Diarrhea
Hair loss
Numbness in hands and feet
Ataxia (irregularity of muscular action)
Impaired reflexes
Gait disturbances
Impaired vibration perception
Positive Romberg´s test:
.....closing the eyes increases unsteadiness;.indicates loss of
.....proprioceptive control (Proprioceptive: able to receive
.....stimuli from muscles, etc.)
Babinski´s sign:
.....Extension of the great toe and abduction of the other toes
.....instead of normal reflex to plantar (sole of foot) stimulation,
.....considered indicative of pyramidal tract involvement
.....(Pyramidal: anatomy: one of the carpal bones.)
Lhermitte´s sign:
.....Sudden electric-like shocks go down spine on flexing head
Optic atrophy:
.....wasting away or reduction from degeneration of nerve fibres
.....of optic nerve
Chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia
Psychiatric symptoms:
Concentration difficulties
Confusion
Irritation
Impaired memory and memory loss
Dementia
Irritability
Depression
Personality changes
Psychosis:
.....gross impairment in reality testing
.....evidenced by delusions
Symptoms of anaemia:
Tiredness
Apathy
Dyspnoea upon exertion:
.....Shortness of breath,
.....difficult or laboured breathing.
Other symptoms
Aversion to meat
Impotence
Faecal/urinary incontinence
Infertility
Vitiligo:
.....nonpigmented white patches of skin
Diarrhea
Hair loss
Low B12 and deficiency may often be seen in:
Autoimmune diseases
Any person with:
inadequate nutrition
a smoking habit
high alcohol consumption
coping with significant stress
People complaining of:
Vertigo Asthenia
Loss of appetite
Loss of weight
Impaired memory
People who have had:
resection of stomach or ileum
stomach surgery
anaesthesia with nitrous oxide
adverse reactions to anaesthesia /surgery
People who use medicine affecting B12:
antacids: Prevacid, Prilosec, Tums, etc.
Omeprazole interferes w/B12 absorption from food
Metformin: drug used to treat diabetes
many antidepressants
Patients with Gastrointestinal disease:
Atrophy of the mucosa
Gluten-induced enteropathy
Crohn´s disease
Patients with Autoimmune diseases:
Diabetes
Rheumatoid arthritis
Hypothyroidism
Women:
following pregnancy complications
who produced an unusually large placenta
People with eating disorders:
Anorexia
Bulemia
People with marfanoid appearance
Vegans/vegetarians
Autoimmune diseases
Any person with:
inadequate nutrition
a smoking habit
high alcohol consumption
coping with significant stress
People complaining of:
Vertigo Asthenia
Loss of appetite
Loss of weight
Impaired memory
People who have had:
resection of stomach or ileum
stomach surgery
anaesthesia with nitrous oxide
adverse reactions to anaesthesia /surgery
People who use medicine affecting B12:
antacids: Prevacid, Prilosec, Tums, etc.
Omeprazole interferes w/B12 absorption from food
Metformin: drug used to treat diabetes
many antidepressants
Patients with Gastrointestinal disease:
Atrophy of the mucosa
Gluten-induced enteropathy
Crohn´s disease
Patients with Autoimmune diseases:
Diabetes
Rheumatoid arthritis
Hypothyroidism
Women:
following pregnancy complications
who produced an unusually large placenta
People with eating disorders:
Anorexia
Bulemia
People with marfanoid appearance
Vegans/vegetarians
