A new study released by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) warns diabetics who take metformin to get their blood checked regularly for vitamin deficiencies, particularly B12.

Sold under the brand name of Glucophage, metformin is often prescribed to patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes.  Metformin increases the body’s receptiveness to insulin while, at the same time, significantly decreasing the amount of glucose secreted by the liver; additionally, it also aids in lowering bad cholesterol.   Scientists, however, have reason to believe that metformin may prevent the body from efficiently absorbing B12, a vitamin which is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system and red blood cell production.  According to recent research, patients who take metformin are 10% – 30% more likely to have difficulty utilizing B12.  Health experts urge anybody taking the medication over a long period of time to have their B12 levels tested routinely.

B12 deficiency is often misdiagnosed, as its symptoms are similar to those of many other illnesses.

Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Heart palpitations
• Trouble sleeping
• Depression
• Loss of memory
• Tingling and numbness in the extremities
• Fatigue
• Nervousness
• Slow reflexes
• Slow blood clotting
• Dandruff
• Trouble swallowing
• Red or sore tongue
• Menstrual complications

Treatment for B12 deficiency may include a series of B12 vitamin supplements taken in the form of intramuscular injections, nasal drops or patching.  The former can be quite painful; patching offers a much gentler solution for people who are unable to absorb B12 naturally and must rely on ongoing supplementation.

References:

Bloomberg Businessweek

Web MD

Diabetes Self-Management

Pernicious anemia (also known as Biermer’s anemia, Addison’s anemia, or Addison-Biermer anemia) is a form of megaloblastic anemia which occurs due to a vitamin B12 deficiency. It is most often caused by impaired absorption of vitamin B12 in the GI tract due to the absence of intrinsic factor in the setting of atrophic gastritis, and more specifically of loss of gastric parietal cells. Future posts will fully describe and explain exactly the functions of these processes.

The name of the disease comes from the historical fact that early sufferers were always properly diagnosed after they were classified as anemic (had low blood hemoglobin levels). However, with more modern tests which specifically target B12 absorption, the disease may properly be diagnosed before patients actually become anemic. An individual with this illness will have to supplement his/her B-12 for the rest of their lives or risk the onslaught of extremely unpleasant symptoms. Most commonly the cause for impaired binding of vitamin B12 by intrinsic factor is autoimmune atrophic gastritis, in which the person’s own antibodies are directed against certain cells, resulting in their death, as well as against the intrinsic factor itself, rendering it unable to bind vitamin B-12.

Sometimes the loss of the GI cells may simply due to a weakening digestive system, such as that frequently occurring in elderly people affected and Helicobacter pylori infection. Note that forms of vitamin B12 deficiency other than pernicious anemia must be considered as a B12 deficiency can cause megaloblastic anemia, which is easily mistaken for classical pernicious anemia, The deficiency may also be caused by infection with a tapeworm, possibly due to the parasite’s competition for vitamin B12

The treatment of Pernicious Anemia varies from country to country and from area to area, but there is yet no cure. Cobalamin (one of the forms of B-12) is usually injected and is given every month in some countries and every three months in others. The single most common cause of complaint by members of the Pernicious Anemia Society is that patients needs vary and some patients need more frequent injections than others.

Patients who are needle-phobic, or patients who are unable to receive injections for another reason can be prescribed cyanocobalmin tablets in very high doses, which means that some of the B12 is absorbed in other places in the bowel other than the terminal ileum where B12 absorption usually takes place. The efficacy of using B12 tablets to treat pernicious anemia (by definition due to atrophic gastritis) is likely not to be sufficient, as the body will have trouble absorbing it as it does from food. As an alternative the B12 Patch brings a great deal of flexibility and comfort for individuals in dire need of an effective, unintrusive vitamin supplementation.

A vitamin b12 injection (cyanocobalamin) is a synthetic form of vitamin b12.  The primary reason for getting a b12 injection is to treat b12 deficiency.  For many years b12 injections have also been given for patients suffering from fatigue and low energy.  The most common dosage is a 1000 microgram (mcg) b12 injection once a week. There are no upper limit dosages to vitamin b12 and there are no reported side effects to b12 overdose.

B12 Shot Instructions

1. Read the directions first which is essential in preparing for b12 shots.
2. Wash your hands thoroughly before giving a b12 shot.
3. Choose a spot for the b12 shot in the muscular area of the body.
4. Gently nip up the skin and put the needle into your skin at a 45° angle.
5. After you inject the needle completely you can let go of the skin.
6. Inject the b12 by gently pushing down the plunger.
7. After you have given the b12 shot remove the needle and syringe.
8. Press an alcohol swab on the area where the b12 shot was given.

B12 shots are being talked about now all over the news.  Everyone has known about the benefits of b12 shots for years.  The b12 shot story started to heat up with the Roger Clemens case. Roger Clemens admitted to taking B12 shots. Athletes are not the only people who take b12 shots. All kinds of people have been getting b12 injections for years. Now celebrities are catching up too! Even Madonna is getting and giving out B12 shots.  B12 shots give a boost of energy that people can really feel.  The irony though is that there is a less painful and more convenient b12 product on the market that gives the same energy boost through a small patch.  The B12 Patch is comparable to a 1000 mcg b12 injection.  The B12 patch is safe and very easy to use.  If only Justin Timberlake knew about it, he would have certainly preferred getting stuck with a patch rather than getting a shot in his buttocks.