I just had some blood work done last week. B-12 was low. My Rheumy said B-12 deficiency may explain some of my fatigue and had me start on OTC sublingual B-12 tablets. She said B-12 deficiency is common in those of us who have autoimmune conditions. Has anyone else been told this? Have you taken B-12 and did it help? Back in the fall, my daughter was having problems with headaches and I was so frightened that it could be related to some type of autoimmune condition that she could have inherited from me. Her pediatrician did an ANA test and when it was negative, he thought it would calm me down. She ended up being diagnosed with migraines and B-12 deficiency. She had to take B-12 injections for a while and then B-12 tablets ongoing. Now my B-12 is low. My cousin, who is a nurse says that I am overreacting, because up to 85% of the U.S. population has B-12 deficiency. There must be a lot of exhausted people in the U.S.
Yes, I was and the sublingual tablets took care my deficiency but I still have the fatigue. So for me it must be caused by multiple problems. Later on, I had a colonocopy and they found a polyp in my intestine and one in my stomach. I got a copy of the results which said that I had auto-immune gastritis and that causes a B12 deficiency.
Sorry to hear about your daughter! Think you are right. Be sure to take the tablets and you may want to google causes of fatigure. There are so many. One of them is Lupus. I also have Sarcoidosis which causes it. If your Lupus is already under control, there may be another reason. It is good to take care of the deficiency because that kind can cause perniciuos anemia. But you may be like me and have more causes.
Please check out the book, Could it be B12? You can get it online at Amazon. This book was written by a doctor and a nurse. I was recently diagnosed with B12 deficiency and am waiting to meet with my doctors to find out what the next steps are. I read the book to get more info while I'm waiting.
According to this book, it can cause all sorts of problems, in particular neurological problems and depression/anxiety. If you have been diagnosed with B12 deficiency, it is likely due to not being able to break it down in your intestines. Therefore, you cannot treat the deficiency by swallowing it because it still won't be broken down.
I am not sure if sublingual B12 will work but from what I've read B12 injections do work well. You will need to do whatever treatment for the rest of your life because the inability to process it won't go away, though you will not have to treat as often once the deficiency is addressed. Also 85% of the population is not B12 deficient but it could be much higher than the current estimate of around 18%.
B12 is very abundant but it can only be gotten by eating meat, dairy, eggs, fish, which most of us get in abundance. There are many things that can prevent you from getting enough of it like: having an autoimmune disorder, having a thyroid problem, taking stomach acid blockers, or being older, or having some sort of illness that affects your stomach or intestines. Not treating it can lead to very serious, permanent damage so it is important to get it treated, to treat it correctly and to continue to supplement with B12 using an effective method (i.e. not oral) for life.
I am not a doctor but simply a patient dealing with this issue and passing on this as information for you to discuss with your doctor. Hope you get this figured out soon.
I have B-12 deficiency which I take supplements for, but I am also anemic which I take ferrous sulfate for on top of having Lupus. so this may not even be much help aside from telling you I'm in the same boat as you. I wouldn't be able to tell you if its the B-12 that makes me feel any less exhausted because I feel like theres days when i'd obviously be exhausted anyways. But it hasn't hurt me to take the supplement either, so I still take it. again, sorry if this isn't even helpful.lol
I've been deficent on Vit B12 as well as Vit D. I take Vit D tablets and was taking Vit B12 tablets but I was still deficent so my rhuemy put me on one ml of Vitamin B12 shots once a month and I do them at home now.
I also was dx with B12 deficiency and taking sublingual does help. Your body absorbs sub lingual through the blood vessels under your tongue so it works as well as the shots. If you take it by mouth or through the foods that have it , you will not absorb it.
The neurlogical problems occur because it effects the pathways. I was having "lapses" in time. I called them nano seconds but it was scary none the less. Once my levels were back to normal , i didn't have them anymore.
I found the GNC brand to be the most efficient as far as melting under my tongue quickly and tasting great.
your cousin may be a nurse BUT she is NOT a person with an autoimmune disease. I am a Nurse Practitioner and have Lupus, RA, and Sjogren's . I always worry about my daughter and any "weird" symptom she has. I think it is smart to consider it because as you know it is better to know earlier in the diagnosis than to wait until a full blown flare. My rheumotolgist thought that I was crazy because when my daughter got dX with Lyme, I told them I thought they needed to work her up for Lupus because I was dx with Lyme 3X before they realized that I had Lupus. Only through persistance and knowledge did they finally do a work up on me and I had Lupus. My daughter's blood work came back fine, so she was treated for Lyme and has been feeling okay.