r/B12_Deficiency

Treatment is working. This sub is a godsend. I feel such relief. I've been taken off of six medications so far, and the world feels bright and beautiful. Things feel calm.

I can't stop crying.

I didn't know how badly I acted when I was deficient. I mean... I *knew*, people would respond, I would be ostracized. I could see how people looked at me.

But it feels like I've finally broken the surface of the water after drowning for decades. Things are easier, calmer. I don't get as agitated, as paranoid, as anxious. It's easier to consider my words, to hold back, to let things go.

I have no idea who I am. I feel mortified. I keep on having flashbacks to how I created chaos in the lives of the people I loved. It feels like I'm reviewing my whole life in bursts, and I finally have the missing piece that makes all the mysteries fall into place.

I'm despairing. My health is so much better. I feel amazing. Tons of symptoms are gone, even ones I didn't know were problems. And yet, I can't look my partner in the eye without collapsing into tears because I remember all the fights we had and all the times he didn't understand why I was acting so erratically... and now I don't understand it either. I feel shame to the core of my being.

Has anyone felt like this after treatment?

Like, seriously. It was WAY EASIER than I expected !!!

A nurse or my partner used to give me the shots in the glutes. But it made me pretty anxious because I know there’s a risk of hitting the sciatic nerve there. I knew the thigh was much safer, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

10 minutes ago, I finally did! And I kind of regret waiting so long lol. On top of that, it hurt way less than in the butt. 😂

I wanted to share this post for anyone who’s still hesitant to start self-injecting or afraid of doing something wrong. I promise it’s not nearly as bad as it seems, and you’ll feel really proud once you’ve done it yourself. It’s just a step to take, like jumping off a diving board. You just have to take the leap!

I know it might sound a bit silly to get this excited over something so small, but I feel invincible now. :D

Probably because of my severe b12, d-vitamin, iron and folate deficiency.. I had a manic episode because of the Zoloft I was given for my postpartum depression after giving birth to my first child in 2003.

2005: full blown manic episode. Lost my husband, my child (he got custody), my home and my job.

2005: while being manic I got pregnant with a man I didn’t know. ( yes, my mania caused me to do things I was not proud of..)

2006: after a manic episode, a deep depression followed. Gave birth. Today I cannot but wonder if my condition, the numbness of the depression, hurt my child’s development.

2008/2009: Another depression.

2012: Another downward spiral starts and I end up placing my daughter permanently with a foster family that has been a good support to both of us. I just wanted my child to have a somewhat normal life with loving, stable and.. normal family.

2014: a complete and utter crash resulting in long stay at a mental hospital.

2014: At this time the medication I am on: Zoloft : 200.mg Lamotrigin: ( mood stabilizer)450.mg Risperidon: ( anti psychotic) cannot remember the dosage A sleep medication: (cannot recall the name)

2016: My doctor tested my cholesterol and wants me to take statins. I decline. She also suggests vitamin d. I accept. By this time I have also developed bad psoriatic and my whole body, from top to toe, is covered in bleeding sores.

2017: My doctor tested me positive for COPD (I smoke). Suggest medication. I decline. By this time I have hardly moved, bathed or brushed my teeth in 3 years. I have also gained over 100.lbs. All I want is to disappear.

2018, January: I start talking Methotrexate for my psoriasis. Also folic acid 5.mg.

2018, april: I tell my doctor that I’m going to stop taking risperidon. Over the next 2-3 months I also stop taking lamotringin and Zoloft. Against my doctors advise but under his supervision.

2018, July: I start drinking homemade iced coffee ( decaf). This means I’m drinking 4-500.ml of milk every day. Lots of b12 among other things.

2019, July: I have lost 75.lbs. I’m start to “feel” my body. What a strange sensation!

2025, July: Discover in my medical journal online that I have had known vitamin deficiencies since 2010. Actually one of my psychiatrist in 2010 suggests that many of my symptoms could perhaps be caused by b12 deficiency but nobody follows up on that. I also discover that while hospitalized in 2014 I’m given b12 and folic acid for 3-4 months because I have a homocysteine level of 110,4! But nobody tells me. Nobody follows up on it.

2026: My doctor has removed his COPD diagnosis. I never had it. My cholesterol is slightly raised but not significantly. I do now take bio similar medications for psoriasis but beside that no medication. Homocysteine is down from 110,4 to 14. B12 up from 121 to 443.

I have not had a “bipolar” episode since I stopped taking medication in 2018. Actually I probably never had true bipolar but a Zoloft induced mania in 2005 further compounded by severe vitamin deficiencies. I have also, successfully, taken some high school classes online.

My finances are also the best they have ever been probably because it’s easier to take good decisions when your living and not just surviving minute to minute..

I am also so angry.. so furious. So endlessly horrified and sad. All that loss. Fortunately my children love me and despite everything we have a beautiful relationship.

I hope some of you can use my experience.

So I got diagnosed at 22yo with pernicious anemia after going to the hospital because my legs stopped working and i had terrible pressure behind my left eye, they first diagnosed me with MS but the MS specialist i went to said no no no thats very wrong. My b12 was at 116 and my ferritin was at 6. I had to have weekly b12 injections and iron infusions and now im 25 and inject myself monthly. Heres my problem i still have terrible symptoms that didnt get better… and i dont know what to do. First off my numbers monthly are awful, i inject and go up to like 600 and then am back to 200-300 at the end of the month, I saw an eye doctor because i lost my peripheral vision and turns out my ocular nerve is paling… my muscles cramp up and i disassociate really bad when its almost time for my injection… I also feel like im suffocating and dizzy ALL THE TIME its awful, i get like 1 week of feeling good and then im suffering again, why isnt it getting better and will my legs and fingers ever work right again, will my ocular nerve ever get better? What do i need to do… oh and im also VERY tachycardic like resting heart rate of 100 laying down, and up to 150 when i stand. Please help. Im just want to be healthy again :(

First Question-

Just left my cardiologist appointment. Let's start on why I was in cardiology in the 1st place. On March 9th I came into the doctor about my frequent lightheadedness. They put me on a holter monitor for 7 days. After I got the results they said it was fine but still wanted me to refer me to cardiology. Today at cardiology, I showed my doctor my symptoms and he basically just looked at them and didn't really make a comment. Then he ordered me a echogram for me to attend later this month. Also my doctor ordered my echo before I showed him my symptoms.

Is it normal for them to just not acknowledge my other symptoms at all? To be honest, my PCP actually did the same thing. Kinda of just ignored my other symptoms. Keep in mind I am new to this. I don't really know if this a normal thing in US Healthcare (I live in the US) and I don't wanna just assume they are being dismissive so correct me if I am wrong.

My symptoms are:

-Fatigue

-Lightheadedness

-Brain Fog

-Stuttering (More than I usually do)

-Headaches/Migranes

-Tingling (Face, arms, legs, feet) -Numbness

-Depersonalization

-Slight unsteadiness/swaying (started after period, got worse after having blood drawn yesterday)

-Increased Anxiety/Sense of Doom (like I am gonna die everyday)

-Shortness of Breath (This could be from GERD, however it has increased) -Perceived Weakness

-Random Body Aches

They seem to be only focusing on my lightheadedness. After I finish my echo and things are fine (which I am sure they will be) Whar are they gonna do after that? No more testing for my other symptoms? That is what I'm afraid of

-Second Question

I am iron deficienct, ​some are my symptoms are from that. Like my fatigue and unsteadiness. But at the same time, a lot of these are symptoms that show sign of a B12 deficiency. Like my brain fog and increased stuttering, tingling and numbness. I believe I am B12 deficienct as well. But I heard B12 can deplete iron...and I plan buying some if there is no more testing.

So I'm 18f and have been a student studying for competitive exams since a couple of years. Since more than a few months I've been experiencing things like loss of cognitive abilities, feeling very slow in thinking, general fatigue all throughout the day, and as the time went by I started sleeping like 11-12 hrs every single day. Now as there's this grind culture thats very popular in these exam communities as they say "if u wanted to, you would", i ended up in endless cycles of brute forcing myself to study, trying to push myself every single day while blaming everything on me because I was lazy and i didnt work hard enough to blame anyone else. Now I feel helpless. Months have passed and I've lost almost all my exams, even in my drop year where i was supposed to work my ass off. I have nowhere to go and my near future which depended on which uni i get, its all blurred now. I dont know i cant even cry.

In between all of this I finally managed to get my bloodwork done and found my b12 to be 170pg/mL and D3 less than 7ng/mL. My doctor prescribed melcobalmin sublinguals (1500mcg) along with folic acid everyday and 60k d3 talbets once a week.
Its been 3 weeks since then, now I know I need to be patient with the healing but I still have some exams left and those are my last hope. The people around me do not take these deficiencies as seriously, every time I say my head is spinning, i have brainfog or smthg like that, almost all of it gets a "even I feel the same" even if they care, they're like "try to sleep more today" and I just can't, right? its making me feel hopeless and helpless with my body. I'm still sleeping 11-12hrs everyday and I am not able to study. If I don't manage to do something, I fear I might be in a very bad place with my and my family's dreams, and this is breaking me apart. Is there any way I can push myself? I've tried everything but I cant focus for more than a few minutes and the only way I keep myself up is by distracting myself and that is neither helping me, nor the exams.
Thank you so much to this subreddit btw, reading y'alls stories make me feel seen.

I used a lot of nitrous over the past few months (6L every 2 weeks or so) and started to experience low mood and increased anxiety. I have also been extremely stressed at work. My hair is shedding but I believe this is tied to a motorbike accident I had 3 months ago (telogen effluvium).

Got my bloods done and B12 was low.

Vitamin B12: 162

Serum Folate: 25.4

Homocysteine: 118

Doc put me on 1 injection per week for 3 weeks and said I will be fine after that. I am concerned the Homocysteine is really high but the doctors were not super concerned, said mine is not terrible, but its cause for concern.

My B12 is at 230 and ferritin is at 11, while everything else is in range. These deficiencies are most likely because of my diet and not an underlying cause.

Because they’re diet related, it seems like it will be an easier fix and the levels should be able to be reversed with oral supplementation, so I’ve started supplementing both daily starting today (I used to take b12 probably once every 2 weeks and I’ve never supplemented iron).

I’ve been dealing with pretty bad anxiety and depression for the past few months, as well as GI issues, and I’m wondering if these deficiencies likely played a role, and if so how much of a role. Does anyone have an idea?

I’m also a bit annoyed with my PCP. I inquired about further testing last year, and she said any deficiencies would show up on my CBC. I pay out-of-pocket to see an osteopath, and he’s the one who urged me to get a more extensive work up. I also realize now I should’ve gotten an MMA test, which I’ll be requesting at my appointment with my PCP next week.

Hi everyone,

I’m dealing with something complicated and I’m hoping someone here might have insight.

About 6 months ago I started B12 injections because I had low folate levels and reacted badly to folic acid. The idea was to see how I would respond to folate after correcting B12 first.

At the beginning, I felt great. I had a daily energy boost and felt like I was improving. But after about 2 weeks, everything crashed. I became extremely fatigued again, felt terrible, and suddenly couldn’t tolerate magnesium anymore — I would get really bad reactions.

At that time I was taking:

•	B12 injections every other day (1.5 mg)

•	A B-complex (without B6)

•	Magnesium (around 400 mg daily)

•	5 mg folinic acid

I then went to a B12-focused doctor. He told me the folinic acid dose was way too high and that I only needed a B-complex twice a week. I followed his advice on the folinic acid and reduced it to 400 mcg.

Later on, after doing more research and experimenting:

•	I tried vitamin B1 → this gave me extreme depressive thoughts and fatigue

•	I did an HTMA test → showed copper toxicity, which is often linked to low B6

•	I added B6 → felt better quite quickly

•	Then I tried B1 again → and it massively “activated” my system

But again, after about 2 weeks, I crashed.

Now I feel completely stuck. I’ve tried:

•	more potassium

•	more sodium

•	calcium

•	magnesium

Nothing really works. I react badly to magnesium and calcium, and I feel:

•	extremely fatigued

•	mentally empty / brain fog

•	like my whole system is out of balance

⸻

My question:

Is it possible that adding B1 and B6 has now “activated” my methylation so much that 400 mcg of 5-MTHF is no longer enough?

Or could something else be going on here?

How do you stop your iron from tanking every time you take b12 even with supplements I get such shortness of breath, but it does go away if I stop b12 and up my iron for a few days. It’s like no mater what I do, it happens. Thanks!!!

This sucks.

I’m having b12 injections every other day and taking liposomal iron every day.

I have pernicious anaemia and I’m iron deficient.

I’ve had no side effects with liposomal iron, no constipation or stomach aches.

Has anyone here increased the iron levels with liposomal iron?

So my original symptoms were the below:

-Very tight low back muscle a year ago (I'm not sure this is because of b12 but this was the start of everything)

-Fatigue

-Dizziness

-Tight neck and head pressure from sitting down

-Brain Fog

-Moments of feeling out of my body

They found low B12 back in December (162). I started supplementing and felt better probably a month or 2 later, but then I started having the following:

-Weak / Loose Hips and Hip Flexors

-Weak Shoulders, especially right side which feels like muscle tension is completely gone.

-Damage to right foot, loose ankles. Can't run

-Loose wrists, and pain if I'm not careful with workouts.

-Weight loss

-Head pressure after working upper back.

-I don't get stronger from workouts

-Head pressure from lights unless I wear blue light glasses.

So these symptoms haven't really gone away. Maybe a little better. I'm getting biweekly injections and 4,000 MCG of bilinguals (was Methly but switched to Hydroxo recently). I'm going to start EOD injections tomorrow. I guess my worry is that why would I get better in some aspects and then start more problems? I fear doing these EOD injections will not solve this issue and I will continue to still have these problems.

My blood test in March should know issues (1000 B12), but I know that doesn't really mean anything. Everything else was normal.