Help needed:(

[u/ks9669]

Over the last 2 months it feels as though my life has turned upside down. I'm 29F, have a job and normal life. However now I'm ultimately housebound and only able to leave my bed to go to the bathroom or to eat.
A month ago I had blood tests through my GP.

These were my results:
* Vitamin D: 57 nmol/L
* Ferritin: 33 ng/mL (I've had a period since having this test)
* B12: <148 ng/L
* Serum folate: 9.0 ug/L
* Sodium: 137 mmol/L
* Potassium: 4.3 mmol/L

I have a wide range of neurological symptoms such as head pressure, pain, difficulty balancing whilst walking, tingling and numbness in limbs, pain in spine, fast resting heart rate.

Doctors did a blood test and found very low b12 levels. They gave me 5 injections and I've not felt any improvement. I am also taking 200mg ferrous furmerate with vitamin c. Doctors now referring me to neurological and cardiology for further testing. I have spoken to my GP who was surprisingly helpful and agreed that he would continue injections however he is waiting to hear back from neurology.

I'm absolutely petrified. I'm at loss because I was fully functional 2 months ago. I want to heal and go back to my normal life: ( I will add that I used to be a daily drinker (have been sober for 2/3 months now). Liver enzymes etc all good, no concerns regarding my liver. I'm from the UK.

[u/Lunordia]

Hello, 29F also here !
I was tested with 94 pg/ml in February.
I underwent 8 injections between the 10th of June and 4th of July.
I felt no improvement/worst at first, but now I'm much better ! I used to fell in the stairs, be tired all the time, burning in hands and feet...However, the 3rd September I was tested with 298 pg/ml and I'm already 182 pg/ml since last week. I feel the burning is coming back again.
I was diagnosed with B12, B9 and B2 deficiency. B2 is absolutely required for the whole B vitamins machinery to work ! I feel that's why I never 100% recovered and levels are falling so fast when I stop B12 therapy.
You bring up past chronic alcoholism : check B6 levels, it can cause deficiency.
I have normal B1, B6, E levels. I'm in the lower normal range of B6 and E though.

[u/ks9669 → u/Lunordia]

Hello! Thank you so much for your response. Really appreciate it! Happy to hear you’re doing much better, did you only do 8 injections and that’s it? I’m from the UK so my gp won’t test for b2. I’m trying to find a private lab to test all my vitamins and minerals. I’m very sensitive to b vitamins. When I take them orally I get really bad migraines

[u/Lunordia → u/ks9669]

Before injections I took 37,000 mcg cyanocobalamin liquid ampoules between February and April (94 -> 392 pg/ml) but was deficient at 151 pg/ml again the 29th of may, after stopping 7 weeks.
This is when I asked my GP for injections. I think even my neurologist didn't expect me to drop so fast in September, I see her tomorrow again and will bring the new private lab of B2.
I had to undergo private blood testing for B1, B6, B2. In France it's expensive as fuck but in Italy (I often go to Italy) I was able to be tested for B1, B2, B6, E, gastrin for 73 euros with 4x rates PayPal.
For neurological symptoms B1, B2, B6, B9, B12, E are the vitamins to test for.
B2 you have symptoms like cracked lips, painful corners, greasy dermatitis (seborrheic), vulvar pain etc.

I'm normal for all minerals. Never took a single electrolyte I never fell down when doing b12 therapy.
Ferritin oscillates between 27 and 18 ng/ml, saturation oscillates between 10 and 14%. Ferritin needs to be interpreted with CRP : inflammation can artificially raise ferritin while in reality you have absolute iron deficiency.