Usage of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is linked with B12 deficiency and other adverse effects, like osteoporosis.  Your body produces stomach acids for good reason- to absorb vitamin B12 (cobalamin), iron and other essential nutrients.  While heartburn is a painful symptom of acid reflux, having too few stomach acids can also cause debilitating symptoms.

What are PPIs?

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are drugs that lower the amount of stomach acid your body produces.  It’s a popular treatment for preventing acid reflux symptoms like chronic heartburn, and it’s more effective than other acid secretion inhibitors like H2 blockers (Tagamet, Zantac).  Hospitals use PPIs to prevent stomach ulcers in 40%-70% of inpatients.  Examples of proton pump inhibitors are Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Aciphex, and Protonix.

The following illnesses and conditions are treated with PPIs:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Barrett’s esophagus
• Dyspepsia
• Gastrinomas
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
• Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)
• Peptic ulcer disease (PUD)
• Stress gastritis prevention.

The 20 Do’s and Don’ts of the GERD Diet

What are possible adverse effects of PPIs?

Severe vitamin B12 deficiency

Long-term PPI usage has been linked with nutritional malabsorption of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and iron.  Your body needs gastric acid in order to digest vitamin B12 foods sources like beef, chicken, fish, and eggs.  Without stomach acids, vitamin B12 remains bonded to the food you eat and never enters the bloodstream, eventually resulting in vitamin B12 deficiency.  Similarly, insufficient stomach acids also result in iron deficiency.

Because stomach acid production reduces with age, senior citizens, in addition to PPI users, are advised to check their vitamin B12 levels periodically.  Other people at risk for B12 deficiency are vegans, people who suffer from autoimmune and gastrointestinal disorders and anybody who has had gastric bypass or other gastrointestinal surgery.

Gastrointestinal Surgery for Crohn’s (IBD) and B12 Warnings

Osteoporosis

Long-term PPI usage has been linked with increased risk of hip, spine, or wrist fractures resulting from severe osteoporosis.  Researchers believe that PPIs inhibit calcium absorption and bone growth.  In studies, high doses of PPIs were directly linked with osteoporosis, and that risk increased over time.

It should be noted that osteoporosis is also a vitamin B12 deficiency side effect from PPIs, as vitamin B12 benefits include sustained bone mass.

Increased chances of intestinal infection

Long-term and short-term PPI usage can lead to clostridium difficile infection (diarrhea), according to scientific studies published by the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Gut Bugs:Winning the Bacteria Battle

Community-acquired pneumonia

If you stay at a hospital and are given proton pump inhibitors, your chances of acquiring pneumonia during your visit is increased by 30%, according to studies. While the use of PPIs for preventing stress-related ulcers is a valuable life-saving procedure, a significant amount of hospital patients who receive PPIs are not at risk for suffering from ulcers.

Rebound acid hypersecretion

If you try to wean off proton pump inhibitors, you’re likely to experience severe withdrawal effects, including sudden overproduction of stomach acids- hypergastrinemia. For this reason, PPI users become dependent on the heartburn drugs, and may suffer from adverse effects such as diarrhea, stomach tumors, and neoplasia.  Dependence on PPIs happens quickly, as early as one month into prescription.

Heart disease

Studies have linked PPI usage with decreased effectiveness of clopidogrel (Plavix), a medication prescribed for heart disease.  Also, decreased vitamin B12 is linked with increased risk for heart disease and stroke through elevated levels of homocysteine.

12 Healthy Heart Habits, Including Vitamin B12 Supplements

Please tell us…

Have you been diagnosed with GERD, or one of the other illnesses treated with PPIs?  If so, have you noticed vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms like chronic fatigue, “pins and needles” in hands and feet, memory loss, and anxiety?

As always, we welcome your comments, inquiries, and suggestions!

Read more about vitamin B12 deficiency and your gut:

Leaky Gut Syndrome Symptoms and Causes

Absorbing Vitamin B12, a Metabolic Gastrointestinal Journey

5 Ways to Prevent Diverticulosis-Diverticulitis Gastro Illness

Sources:

Proton Pump Inhibitor Use Linked to Clostridium Difficile Infection

Proton Pump Inhibitors Should Have Black-box Warnings, Group Tell FDA

Long-term Proton Pump Inhibitor Therapy and Risk of Hip Fracture- JAMA

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease- NEJM

Acid Blockers Linked to Pneumonia Risk

What does Vitamin B12 deficiency have to do with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease and restless leg syndrome?  Vitamin B12 protects your nervous system, and many of the symptoms of pernicious anemia from B12 deficiency result in poor muscle control, including muscular spasms, nervous eye twitching, decreased motor skills, and difficulty walking.

Vitamin B12 benefits the nerves

Cyanocobalamin or Vitamin B12 benefits your body in many ways- it lends itself in red blood cell production, DNA synthesis, healthy cognitive functioning, energy production, and homocysteine control.  Also, vitamin B12 helps your body produce myelin, a fatty substance that protects your nervous system’s sensitive nerve fibers in the brain and the spinal cord.

Without sufficient levels of vitamin B12, you may develop severe nerve damage- peripheral neuropathy.

Some symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency- peripheral neuropathy include:

• painful tingling and numbness in the hands, feet, and ankles
• sore tongue
• burning mouth syndrome
• muscular weakness
• muscle spasms
• decreased motor control
• frequent clumsiness and tripping
• difficulty balancing on one foot
• eye twitching

Vitamin B12 deficiency and other movement disorders

It should come as no surprise, then, that other movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease (PD) have close ties with vitamin B12 deficiency.  Involuntary muscular movements may or may not be caused by low B12 levels, but

• In some movement disorder cases, scientists have noted improvement with vitamin B12 supplements.
• Even when pernicious anemia is not a cause of muscle spasms or walking difficulties, researchers sometimes notice a comorbid relationship with vitamin B12 deficiency.
• Another occurrence in diagnosing movement disorders is a tendency for doctors to misdiagnose vitamin B12 deficiency as a more serious illness, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease

In a scientific report on Parkinson’s and neuropathy, researchers confirmed a high rate of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with Parkinson’s disease, and recommended close monitoring of B12 levels and routine administration of vitamin B12 supplements. Results were published in Neurology.

Chorea- focal dystonia

Chorea is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, part of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesia.  Chorea is a symptom of Huntington’s disease, but it can also occur in other illnesses, including focal dystonia.  In one of many studies on vitamin B12 deficiency and focal dystonia, scientists saw a complete reversal in chorea symptoms with cyanocobalamin supplementation, attributing it to decreased homocysteine levels.

Restless leg syndrome

The most common symptom of restless leg syndrome is the urgent need to shake your leg to relieve “creeping, crawling” sensations, usually between the kneecap and ankle.Restless leg syndrome occurs often with peripheral neuropathy, a symptom of pernicious anemia.    Other possible causes are kidney disease, diabetes neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, and drug interactions.

Stiff person syndrome

Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological disorder that occurs with autoimmune disease. Symptoms of SPS are muscle spasms in the limbs and trunk, hypersensitivity to touch, noise, and stress, and stiff posture.  People who often suffer stiff person syndrome are patients of pernicious anemia (vitamin B12 deficiency), diabetes, thyroiditis, and vitiligo.

Gait ataxia

Ataxia is an inability to control muscular movements used in walking, jumping, balancing, or holding objects. Chronic ataxia is one of the earliest symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, along with muscular weakness, poor reflexes, spasticity, vision impairment, dementia, and psychosis, according to a Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center study of 153 patients suffering from cobalamin deficiency neuropathy.

Eye movement disorders

Nystagmus, uncontrollable movements of the eyeballs, might be caused by low vitamin B12 levels, according to a study focusing on downbeat nystagmus and vitamin B12 deficiency.  Another phenomenon common with B12 deficiency is myokymia- eyelid twitching.

Read more about B12 deficiency and your nervous system:

Balance your B12, Balance your Nerves

Myokymia is not a Hawaiian Island- Eyelid Twitching and Eye Spasms

If Vitamin B12 Deficiency Mimics Multiple Sclerosis, How do you tell the Difference?

Sources:

The Movement Disorder Society- MDS

Eye movement disorders in vitamin B12 deficiency: two new cases and a review of the literature

Neuropathy in Parkinson disease

Reversible Chorea and Focal Dystonia in Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Restless leg syndrome

Neurologic aspects of cobalamin deficiency- PubMed NCBI

Stiff-Person Syndrome

Images, from top:

eye2eye, milos milosevic

According to a recent study, listening to music can ease pain- great news for fibromyalgia (chronic pain) patients. Many pain clinics already utilize the analgesic effects of music, finding that soothing melodies reduce anxiety and enhance pain relief treatments.

Music therapy for chronic pain?

It’s not the first time researchers have investigated the painkilling powers of music, but this recent study on music engagement confirms what many practitioners of chronic pain management already know- that listening to music puts you in a state of relaxation that enables you to cope with…and minimize pain symptoms.  For sufferers of fibromyalgia, this could be a useful strategy for incorporating natural pain treatments with prescribed analgesic medications.

Boost Energy and Beat Fatigue All Day Long- 8 Sure-Fire Tips

What pain specialists found:

• In this University of Utah study on pain management, 153 volunteers elected to receive painful electric shocks in varying levels of intensity while listening to background music.
• In addition to listening to music, participants performed cognitive tasks that actively engaged them, such as following musical notes and focusing on the melody.
• Scientists noted that volunteers who became engrossed with the music-listening tasks exhibited the fewest pain responses.
• Researchers noted a correlation between personality and pain relief through music engagement.  The most significant results occurred with people who experience anxiety. People who suffer panic, nervousness, or stress often find relief in occupying themselves with some sort of activity; in this case, music provided certain anxiety-prone individuals an opportunity to escape from pain symptoms.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia- Is there a Difference?

How can music help fibromyalgia patients?

On a much grander scale, fibromyalgia patients may implement these findings in their own lives; if listening to music helps relieve small shocks of pain, what strategies may be employed to relieve more severe pain symptoms, like aching joints, sore muscles, or gastrointestinal ailments?

• Boost pain medicine! During fibromyalgia flare-ups, listening to music on your iPod may improve your mood and ease anxiety, increasing the effectiveness of your pain medicine.
• Meditate! If you’re stuck in bed rest, or at the hospital, try turning off the television and turning on a radio.  Close your eyes and picture the music in your mind (Think Fantasia).  By actively engaging your brain with the music, you are also incrementally distracting yourself from the pain.
• Sleep better! If pain symptoms keep you awake at night, listen to the sounds of relaxing mood music on your MP3 device. Many iTunes and Android apps provide the Relaxing Sounds of Nature, to help you go to Sleep!

B12 Deficiency: Don’t Ignore the Symptoms

Alternative treatments for chronic pain

Here are some more helpful tips to help you manage pain symptoms without the need for painkillers:

• Take your B12! Vitamin B12 deficiency is linked with a host of severe pain symptoms, including painful tingling in your hands and feet, painful numbness, burning mouth or tongue, stomach pains, joint achiness, and sore muscles.  Also, B12 deficiency increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, and severe nerve damage.
• Incorporate exercise! Here’s a great tip- listen to music while doing some gentle exercise routines, like light yoga, Tai Chi, or low-impact aerobics.
• Go under the needle! No, not B12 shots- acupuncture is proven effective at relieving numerous ailments, including fibromyalgia, chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, and chronic fatigue.

Learn more about fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency:

Fibromyalgia FAQs- 6 Need-to-Know Fibro Facts

Suffering from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue? B12 to the Rescue!

Back Pain Exercises and Fibromyalgia- the Do’s and Don’ts

Sources:

Individual differences in the effects of music engagement on responses to painful stimulation- PubMed, NCBI

Really? The Claim: Listening to Music Can Relieve Pain- NY Times

Study: Music Can Ease Pain

Image credits, from top:

Mari Z., just.Luc, canonsnapper, pinkiwinkitinki

If you suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD), then you probably won’t appreciate extravagant (albeit well-meaning) gifts like World’s Largest Cheese Ball, Seven-Spice fruitcake, or a subscription to the Beer of the Month club.  It’s hard for non-IBD sufferers to know what kind of gift to get for somebody with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.  Make it easier on them- print out this handy list, and avoid unnecessarily awkward gift-giving scenarios.

#1 The Vitamin B12 Patch

Most people don’t realize they suffer from low B12 levels until it’s too late, and they start feeling symptoms like extreme fatigue, fuzzy thinking, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, depression, and painfully tingling sensations in the hands and feet.  And if you suffer from gastrointestinal disorders such as IBD, then you are at high risk for getting vitamin B12 deficiency, as you are not able to digest vitamin B12 in the stomach.  The only way to prevent vitamin deficiency is to deposit vitamin B12 directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system completely.  Nip B12 deficiency in the bud by supplementing with vitamin B12 every day.

Gastrointestinal Surgery for Crohn’s (IBD) and B12 Warnings

#2 Numi Organic Tea Flowering Gift Set

Who wouldn’t appreciate this lovely, aesthetically appealing gift of tea?  Drop a tea bud into a pot of hot water, and watch as it slowly “blossoms” into a breathtaking underwater bouquet.  Choose from an assortment of organic black, white, green or oolong teas.

7 Natural Remedies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

#3  Charmin To Go

Part of coping with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis means always being prepared for bathroom emergencies, and these flushable bathroom wipes are the best thing since sliced bread! This is a great stocking-stuffer for anybody with IBD.

On the Run with Crohn’s? 6 Ways to Ease Public Restroom Anxiety

#4 Travelon Hand Soap Toiletry Sheets

Let’s face it- you can’t always count on hand soap.  And while you’re ready to negotiate on comfort and convenience at rest stops, you’re not about to invite extra bouts of diarrhea from fecal contamination.  These soap sheets from Travelon are amazing- they’re compact, they last forever, they dissolve easily with very little water, and one small pack contains 50 sheets! Also available- body wash, shampoo, conditioner, shaving lotion, and laundry soap.

#5 Leather Toiletry Bag

Take your bathroom supplies with you without looking conspicuous.  This leather toiletry bag lets you bring your basic bathroom necessities like flushable wipes, Travelon soap sheets, and an extra vitamin B12 patch without raising any eyebrows.

#6 Heating Pad

Sooth lower back pain, ease hemorrhoids, or just get rid of an annoying headache by keeping an electric heating pad handy.  This should be a staple in the home of every chronic pain sufferer.

#7 Coca-Cola Personal Fridge with AC Adapter

If you spend an inordinate amount of time in bed, then you’ll appreciate having a compact refrigerator for storing things like iced tea, water, meds, or a soothing snack.  This cooler is great for people who live on a second floor, and don’t have the ability…or energy to climb up and down stairs.  Or, keep this in your car for emergency trips to the hospital.

#8 Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers

Uncle John has been entertaining restroom readers for 25 years, and it’s easy to see why.  Each tome is chock full of miscellaneous bits of interesting stories, anecdotes, facts, trivia games, and mini biographies.  It’s like having a compact library, right where you need it most.  You’ll probably never get through the whole book, but if you do, there are dozens of Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers to choose from, including one for kids!

#9 The Foul Bowel

By John Bradley, the Foul Bowel offers helpful facts, tips, and resources for all people suffering from Crohn’s disease.

101 Helpful Sites for Kids ‘n Teens with Crohn’s (and their Parents)

#10 Creative Colitis Cookbook

Not sure what to cook that won’t upset your tummy?  Take the blah out of your staple dinner routine by following some of the innovatively healthy recipes in the Creative
Colitis Cookbook for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Read more about vitamin B12 and Crohn’s disease:

Dressing after Crohn’s Surgery- 5 Post- Ostomy Fashion Tips

Crohn’s- 9 Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) Myths to Ignore

 
Vitiligo is a skin disease that often occurs with vitamin B12 deficiency- Find out if taking B12 supplements can treat your vitiligo symptoms and get rid of white patches on your skin forever.

What is vitiligo?

Vitiligo is a skin disorder that causes you to lose brown pigmentation, resulting in white patches on your skin.  Hair growing in white skin spots caused by vitiligo may turn white, as well.  About 1% of all people in the world have vitiligo, including roughly two million US citizens.  Although vitiligo affects people of all races, it is more noticeable in darker skinned ethnic groups.

Vitamin B12 for Healthy Hair, Skin and Nails

What causes vitiligo?

Doctors are uncertain what exactly causes the skin disorder vitiligo, but they believe it might be an autoimmune disorder.  Also, they have noticed strong correlations with certain chronic conditions.  People who suffer vitiligo usually fall into one of four groups:

• Hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid gland) patients
• Pernicious anemia (B12 deficiency) patients
• Addison’s disease (underactive adrenal gland) patients
• Alopecia areata patients (people with patches of baldness)

What are the symptoms of vitiligo?

Vitiligo causes telltale patches of white skin (depigmentation), typically on parts of your body that get the most sun exposure, like your hands, feet, and face, particularly around the eyes, mouth, and lips.  Vitiligo can also occur on covered-up parts of your body, like your stomach, hips, and armpits, though that is not as common.  Other symptoms of vitiligo may include premature hair greying, including grey eyelash hair.  White patches can also occur in the inside of the mouth.

For some, vitiligo symptoms remain only in one area of the body.  For others, patches of white skin may slowly spread over years to other parts of the body.

How will taking vitamin B12 supplements affect my vitiligo symptoms?

In one clinical study, vitamin B12 and folic acid were administered to patients who suffered from vitiligo.  They were also instructed to keep records of sun exposure.

• More than half of the one–hundred vitiligo patients noticed re-pigmentation in previously all-white skin patches, only 37 of which opted to expose their skin rash to the sun’s heat.
• Six volunteers who took the vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements experienced full reversal of vitiligo symptoms.
• The advancement of vitiligo symptoms halted in 64% of patients who received B12 and folic acid vitiligo treatments.

Scientists confirmed that supplementing with vitamin B12 and folic acid, combined with sun exposure, is more effective for treating vitiligo symptoms than sun exposure alone.

Read more about B12 deficiency:

Eat this to Prevent Hair Loss- 5 Foods for Healthy Hair

7 Commandments for Taming Frizzy Hair

Sources:

Improvement of vitiligo after oral treatment with vitamin B12 and folic acid and the importance of sun exposure- PubMed, NCBI

Vitiligo Treatment, Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Signs on MedicineNet.com

Image credits:

Stuart Miles

What is pernicious anemia, and how is it different from vitamin B12 deficiency or megaloblastic anemia? That is one of many questions that people have about pernicious anemia- questions that are answered here.

1. What’s the difference between pernicious anemia and megaloblastic anemia?

Pernicious anemia is a form of megaloblastic anemia, a disease of the red blood cells.  Pernicious anemia results from vitamin B12 deficiency; for that reason, it is also called vitamin B12 malabsorption anemia.  (It is worth mentioning that pernicious anemia is only one of many conditions caused by B12 deficiency.)  Other names for pernicious anemia are Biermer’s anemia, Addison’s anemia, and combined systems disease (a disorder of the nervous system).

2. What is the relationship between intrinsic factor and pernicious anemia?

Whenever you eat foods that contain vitamin B12- protein foods like beef, chicken, seafood, cheese, and eggs- your digestive system produces a chemical called intrinsic factor that grabs the B12 from your stomach, carries it through the small intestine, and delivers it to the ileum, where the vitamin B12 is then absorbed and dispersed into your bloodstream. That is how most people digest vitamin B12.

People who suffer from pernicious anemia, a deficiency in vitamin B12, are usually not able to manufacture intrinsic factor.  Even if they eat a strict high-protein diet rich in vitamin B12, the B12 will pass through the intestines without ever reaching the bloodstream, causing symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency.

3. What are the symptoms of B12 deficiency- pernicious anemia?

The most common pernicious anemia symptoms are:

• Extreme fatigue
• Depression
• Trouble concentrating
• Memory loss
• Irritability
• Painful tingling sensations in hands and feet
• Hands and feet often “falling asleep” or going numb
• Sore, red tongue
• Altered taste perception
• Constant stumbling while walking
• Clumsiness
• Muscular feebleness
• Pale complexion
• Diarrhea
• Stomach pains
• Trouble sleeping

Untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency causes low red blood cell production, dementia, severe nerve damage, increased risk for heart attack and stroke, cancer, and osteoporosis.

4. What natural remedies work best for pernicious anemia?

Since pernicious anemia results from vitamin B12 deficiency, the only remedy you need is…more B12!  The real question is: Can your body absorb vitamin B12 naturally from food sources- beef, chicken, fish, milk, and cheese- or not?  Only your doctor can answer that by taking blood tests, and determining if your body makes intrinsic factor.  If it is determined that you lack intrinsic factor, then you will need to take vitamin B12 supplements, most likely for the rest of your life, in order to avoid getting pernicious anemia.

5. Why is a pernicious anemia patient unable to take vitamin B12 orally?

Without intrinsic factor, your body cannot digest dietary sources of vitamin B12- and that includes vitamin B12 pills.  As a rule of thumb, if vitamin B12 passes through a digestive system that does not produce intrinsic factor, then the B12 will pass through without being broken down or digested.  In order to get vitamin B12 into your blood supply, you have to insert it there directly- usually through B12 shots or transdermal means.

6. How long does it take before you start to feel the benefits of vitamin B12 supplements?

Assuming you are getting the correct dose of vitamin B12, and are taking an efficient method of B12 supplements…most patients start to feel notably better within 24 hours of vitamin B12 supplementation.

7. Is Pernicious anemia genetic?

Family history is one of many causes of pernicious anemia.  If your family has a history of suffering from pernicious anemia, then you should take routine blood tests for vitamin B12 deficiency throughout your life.

What are the Symptoms of Pernicious Anemia- B12 deficiency?

8. If I have one autoimmune disease like pernicious anemia, am I more likely to have another autoimmune disease?

Scientists have noted a high correlation between pernicious anemia and many other autoimmune disorders. When other diseases are a factor, pernicious anemia often occurs from drug interactions, comorbid symptoms, or a cyclical relationship with that disease.  Below are some conditions that may accompany pernicious anemia:

• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic fatigue
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Diabetes
• Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Celiac disease
• Gastritis
• Chronic heartburn
• Hypothyroidism

Leaky Gut Syndrome Symptoms and Causes

9. I’m only 20 years old.  Could someone my age have pernicious anemia?

Pernicious anemia can happen to somebody of any age group.  Because your body stores vitamin B12 in the liver for several years, you may not know that your body has stopped absorbing it until you start to feel the symptoms, by which time your B12 levels will have dropped severely.  If you suspect you have any of the symptoms of pernicious anemia, then do not hesitate to get a blood test.

10. Can pernicious anemia cause gastritis?

Gastritis- painful inflammation of the stomach lining- has many possible causes.  The most common are alcohol abuse, chronic vomiting, and overusing drugs such as aspirin. Untreated, chronic gastritis can cause blood loss, and may lead to stomach cancer.  Other causes of gastritis are:

• Pernicious anemia
• Stomach infection
• Bile reflux
• Viruses

11. Can pernicious anemia shorten your life?

When scientists first discovered vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, they deemed it a fatal disease, and thus named it “pernicious (malicious) anemia.”  Without B12, your body is unable to make sufficiency red blood cells.  Today, doctors are easily able to diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency through blood tests, administer treatment in the form of pure vitamin B12, and prevent further escalation of pernicious anemia.  Untreated, pernicious anemia can lead to life-threatening illnesses, such as heart attack, stroke, and cancer.

12. Can pernicious anemia cause stomach cancer?

Pernicious anemia may cause gastric polyps, increasing one’s risk for getting stomach cancer or gastric carcinoid tumors.

13. Are there any support groups for others with pernicious anemia?

There are many advocacy groups for pernicious anemia, and most of them are on Facebook.  Here are a few:

Pernicious Anaemia Society

Vitamin B12 Deficiency on Facebook

Pernicious Anemia Awareness on Facebook

Pernicious Anaemia – What do you know?…And what they don’t tell you! on Facebook

Last, but not least- Vitamin B12 Patch on Facebook

Read more about pernicious anemia and vitamin B12:

Painful Tingling in Hands and Feet- What’s Up with That?

Lupus and Vitamin B12 Deficiency- What’s the Connection?

Babies, B12, and Fertility- B12 Deficiency during Pregnancy

Sources:

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)- University of Maryland Medical Center

Gastritis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, and More

Pernicious Anemia- Medscape

Pernicious Anemia Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention on MedicineNet.com

Image credits, from top:

Danilo Rizzuti, digitalart, Salvatore Vuono

If you’re planning a pregnancy, you might want to check your B12 levels- numerous reports link vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy with miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, and other fertility problems.  B12 deficiency anemia- pernicious anemia- makes it harder for women to conceive, as well as for men to produce fertile sperm.

Medical research proves the fertility-B12 deficiency link

One of the most famous studies on fertility and B12 deficiency examined fourteen women of childbearing age who suffered vitamin B12 deficiency:

• All women who participated in the study suffered severe vitamin B12 deficiency anemia in addition to low fertility- Four had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive for two to eight years, and eleven experienced repeated miscarriages and spontaneous abortions.
• Dr. Michael Bennett, hematologist of the Ha’Emek Medical Center in Afula, Israel, implemented vitamin B12 supplementation to see if it would have any effect on their ability to conceive and have healthy pregnancies.
• If fetal loss were to continue despite elevating B12 levels, it would prove that infertility was unrelated to B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia symptoms.
• Instead, result showed that ten out of the fourteen test subjects conceived after starting rounds of vitamin B12 supplements.  Out of the ten women, six became pregnant after only three months of starting vitamin B12.  One, who had seven miscarriages before the B12 study, was finally able to conceive after starting her vitamin B12 regimen, and had three healthy babies.

Dr. Bennett explains the connection

• Bennett notes that B12 deficiency, combined with folate deficiency, led to thrombophilia (blood clotting) in seven of the women studied, thus increasing their risk for miscarriage.
• He believes that taking large amounts of folic acid, a nutrient prescribed to women of childbearing age, often masks B12 deficiency symptoms, making it harder to diagnose and treat.
• In his conclusion, Dr. Bennett attributes raised homocysteine levels, a symptom of vitamin B12 deficiency, with repeated fetal loss, and over time, ovulation disorder.

“Correcting this deficiency can rapidly lead to a normal pregnancy,” states Bennett.  “This study illustrates the importance of measuring B12 levels…in every patient investigated for infertility or recurrent (miscarriage).”

Report findings are available by The Journal of Reproductive Medicine.

Why does my body need B12?

Vitamin B12 benefits your body in many ways- it helps to produce red blood cells, promotes DNA synthesis, guards the nervous system’s myelin sheath, maintains cognitive functioning, lowers homocysteine levels, and supports metabolism.  Left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can cause illnesses such as pernicious (megaloblastic) anemia, brain atrophy, osteoporosis, heart attack, and stroke.

B12 Deficiency: Don’t Ignore the Symptoms

What symptoms are associated with vitamin B12 deficiency?

Since vitamin B12 interacts with so many different areas of the body, many seemingly unrelated symptoms indicate vitamin B12 deficiency.  Pernicious anemia masks itself as mental illness, diabetes, celiac disease, fibromyalgia, hypothyroid, and other chronic conditions.

Some common symptoms of B12 deficiency:

• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Memory loss
• Difficulty concentrating
• “Brain fog”
• Anxiety
• Paranoia
• Hallucinations
• Painful tingling, numbness or “prickly” sensations, mainly in the hands and feet
• Sore, swollen tongue
• Altered sense of taste
• Loss of balance while walking, running, or jumping
• Decreased fine motor skills
• Muscular feebleness
• Heart palpitations

Read more about B12 deficiency and pregnancy:

Pregnant Moms and Low B-12 Levels: Let ‘em Eat Steak!

Avoiding Vitamin B12 Deficiency while Breast Feeding

Are Vegans in France Responsible for Breast-fed Baby’s Death?

Sources:

Vitamin B12 deficiency, infertility and recurrent fetal loss- PubMed, NCBI

Lack Of Vitamin B12 Linked To Repeat Miscarriage

Vitamin B12 deficiency, infertility and miscarriage

Pernicious Anemia

Image credits, from top:

Stuart Miles, Ambro, photostock, winnond

If you feel tired all the time, then join the club- the vitamin B12 deficiency club, which is becoming the top cause of chronic fatigue allover.  Vitamin B12 is crucial for brain health, and if you don’t get enough, you run the risk of suffering the red blood cell disease pernicious anemia- one of many vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms.

Why am I so tired all the time?

Fatigue causes you to feel sluggish, slow, confused, and constantly in a “brain fog.” You’re exhausted before you even step out of bed, and all day at work.  On the drive home, you catch yourself several times nodding off at the wheel.  By the time you’re ready to pack it up and call it a day, you’re almost too tired to change into your pajamas, sorely tempted to climb into bed, clothes, shoes, and all.

The Vitamin B12 Patch for Energy

Why are you so tired all the time? Many conditions can cause chronic fatigue, and most of them begin with vitamin B12 deficiency.

What is vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is of the vitamin B complex vitamins, and occurs in foods like beef, poultry, fish, eggs, and milk.  Some of the best sources of vitamin B12 are organ meat, lean turkey, crabmeat, halibut, and yogurt.  Normally, sufficient amounts of B12 are stored in your liver, unless you are prone to vitamin B12 deficiency.

What is vitamin B12, and why is it so important?

What are the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency?

Tiredness is at the core of the most common symptoms of B12 deficiency:  depression, chronic fatigue, anxiety, short-term memory loss, disorientation, trouble concentrating or remembering words, painful numbness or tingling in hands and feet, loss of balance while walking, muscular feebleness, and insomnia.

Here are some illnesses and chronic conditions linked to vitamin B12 deficiency:

• Pernicious anemia

Vitamin B12 helps your body produce red blood cells needed to carry oxygen.  Without it, you would suffer a blood disease known as pernicious anemia.  Some symptoms of pernicious anemia are tiredness, lightheadedness, and inability to concentrate.

What are the Symptoms of Pernicious Anemia- B12 deficiency?

• Cancer

Vitamin B12 is necessary for a healthy metabolism, promotes healthy cell development, and DNA synthesis.  Becoming deficient in vitamin B-12 increases your risk for abnormal cell growth and cancer.

• Fibromyalgia

Scientists found that a high correlation exists between vitamin B12 deficiency and sufferers of fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disease that causes symptoms such as severe pain, skin sensitivity, sleep problems, and chronic fatigue.

Boost Energy and Beat Fatigue All Day Long- 8 Sure-Fire Tips

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

People with gastrointestinal disorders such as IBD- Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis- have extreme difficulty absorbing vitamin B12.  Symptoms such as sluggishness, diarrhea, and unexplainable exhaustion might be confused with IBD symptoms; in fact, vitamin B12 deficiency is a likely culprit that often is overlooked.

Celiac and B12- Celiac Disease and Vitamin B12 Deficiency

• Depression

Vitamin B12 supports cognitive functioning- low B12 levels are common among people suffering from severe psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, clinical depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD).  Tiredness is one of many complaints of people suffering from depression and anxiety.

Can Elevated Homocysteine (Low B12) cause Mental Illness?

• Heart disease

Vitamin B12 controls the amount of homocysteine in your blood.  High levels of plasma homocysteine are strongly associated with heart disease and stroke.  Some of the first symptoms of heart disease are heart palpitations, breathlessness, and fatigue- all of which are symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency.

Treatment for B12 deficiency

A blood test is necessary in order to diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency.  Not all doctors screen for low B12, so you will need to request a plasma vitamin B12 test.  If necessary, your doctor will prescribe B12 injections or sublingual B12.

Read more about vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms:

Is Vitamin B12 the Secret to the Fountain of Youth?

Why do my Arms and Legs often Fall Asleep? B12 and Paresthesia

Vitamin B12 Deficiency. Are you at Risk?

Sources:

Sluggish? Confused? Vitamin B12 May Be Low

How to Stop Feeling Tired All The Time

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Disney Wiki, striatic, Tambako the Jaguar

Good news for vitamin B12 users- you might have discovered the secret to the Fountain of Youth! Vitamin B-12 is the preferred anti-aging supplement of Jack Lindsley, who just celebrated his 100^th birthday.  Find out what makes this B vitamin one of the best anti-aging products in your pharmacy.

Here’s Your Brain on B12 Deficiency- Memory Loss and Aging

Do you know Jack?

Jack Lindsley is a 100-year-old D-day veteran who just celebrated his birthday. He has served in World War II, married the love of his life, and worked in the postal service for 28 years.  After his wife passed away in 1990, this retired firefighter dedicated his life to volunteer work.

Walk into the Doylestown, Pennsylvania hospital mailroom, and you’ll find Jack smiling and joking with other mailroom attendants while patiently sorting the mail.  “The most pleasant man to be around,” Jack Lindsley has an infectious personality and a talent for dispensing good old-fashioned advice…

Feed your Brain Something You’ll never Forget

So what’s his secret Fountain of Youth?

Jack eats plenty of foods high in B12.

“I do cooking to my liking.  Breakfast could be all three meals – I like bacon, eggs, and pancakes.” Meat, fish, cheese, and eggs- these are all food sources that are rich in vitamin B12.  Jack also likes cooking meatloaf- another dish high in vitamin B12.

As far as healthy living routines go, Jack swears by his old standbys- aspirin and vitamin B12 supplements every day.

What makes vitamin B12 the best anti-aging vitamin?

• Vitamin B12 is essential for a healthy metabolism. Abnormal cell growth is one of many vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms that could lead to cancer.
• Vitamin B12 is good for your heart. B12 lowers your homocysteine levels, thus decreasing your chances of suffering from a heart attack or stroke.
• Vitamin B12 supports cognitive functioning. Scientists discovered that vitamin B12 prevents brain atrophy, or loss of brain mass.  Older individuals who take extra doses of vitamin B12 are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease, and experience fewer symptoms of aging, such as short-term memory loss, paranoia, and confusion.
• Vitamin B12 prevents hair loss. By avoiding B12 deficiency, you reduce your chances of premature baldness and hair whitening.  Vitamin B12 also promotes skin elasticity, for fewer wrinkles.
• Vitamin boosts energy. Without sufficient levels of B12, you will feel increasingly fatigued, depressed, disoriented, and confused.  By taking daily vitamin B12 supplements, avoid getting vitamin B12 deficiency, and you protect your immune system, energy levels, and mental clarity.
• Vitamin B12 prevents osteoporosis. In a scientific study, elderly individuals who had the highest levels of vitamin B12 in their blood experienced significantly lower levels of bone loss than those who had the lowest levels of B12.

Read more about vitamin B12 and symptoms of aging:

Vitamin B12 and your Bones- Osteoporosis from B12 Deficiency

Bilingual Alzheimer’s Patients Fare Better Than Most

FDA Approves Brain Scan to Detect Alzheimer’s Disease

Sources:

Hospital volunteer celebrates 100th birthday

Closing out his first century, and still volunteering in Bucks

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LadyDayDream, ciccioetneo, maxintosh

So you’re sitting at your desk, and suddenly your legs fall asleep.  You try to shake it off, but that annoying numbness and tingling sensation just doesn’t want to leave without a fight.  Paresthesia, a neuropathic ailment often associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, causes “pins and needles,” numbness, and painful burning in your hands, arms, feet, and legs.

What are the symptoms of paresthesia?

Paresthesia causes numbness and tingling sensations, primarily in your hands, arms, feet, and legs.  People who experience paresthesia say they feel like their legs or arms are “falling asleep.” Others describe it as a burning pain in one or more limbs, “pins and needles,” or severe itching.

Is paresthesia serious?

Sometimes, paresthesia happens as a response to hyperventilating, anxiety, or just putting too much pressure on one nerve for too long.  Other times, paresthesia occurs as part of a chronic condition, and the only way to put an end to the constant numbness and prickling sensations is to find out what is causing your symptoms, and the best way to treat it.

What causes your arms or legs to “fall asleep?”

Many chronic conditions, illnesses, or drug interactions can cause neuropathic pain symptoms such as paresthesia.

• B12 deficiency: Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet are usually the first symptoms noticed by sufferers of vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia.  Vitamin B12 protects the myelin sheath, the fatty layer that protects your peripheral nerves.  Left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency causes damage to the nervous system, resulting in peripheral neuropathy.  In addition to limbs falling asleep, other symptoms of B12 deficiency are loss of fine motor control, trouble walking, fatigue, memory loss, “brain fog,” depression, disorientation, anxiety, insomnia, stomach upset, breathlessness, loss of appetite, and hallucinations.  Vitamin B12 Deficiency. Are you at Risk?

• Nerve damage: Other types of nerve damage result from Lyme disease and frostbite.
• Elderly individuals suffer from paresthesia caused by vitamin deficiency, in addition to poor circulation in the arms and legs, or peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
• Arthritis: Various types of arthritis cause neuropathic pain symptoms similar to paresthesia, in addition to carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Autoimmune diseases: Lupus, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS) sometimes cause chronic paresthesia.
• Migraines: If you get migraine attacks, then you might also experience frequent pins and needles, or legs falling asleep.
• Seizures and stroke are correlated with paresthesia.
• Shingles: symptoms include numbness, tingling, and burning sensations in the skin.
• Drugs: Drug interactions that may cause paresthesia symptoms are beta-blockers, beta-alanines, anticonvulsants, narcotics, opiates, and Lomotil. Also read: Brain Drain Medications- Drugs that Drain the B12 out of you

How do you get rid of numbness and tingling?

The quicker you get your blood flowing to your extremities, the sooner you will start to feel relief.  As soon as you feel your arms or legs starting to fall asleep or feel tingly, do one or all of the following:

• 1- Pump your arms.
• 2- Clench and unclench your fists.
• 3- Kick your legs.
• 4- Walk it off.
• 5- Stand up, holding onto a chair or wall for support.  Put all your weight on the foot that is falling asleep, rise up on your tiptoes, and then lower to the ball of your foot.  Repeat the movement, pumping up and down, without resting the heel on the floor, until pain goes away.
• 6- Massage hands, arms, legs, or feet gently.

These are helpful tips for temporarily relieving paresthesia. However, if you experience numbness, tingling, burning, or other painful symptoms frequently, then it is crucial to visit a doctor.  A blood test will determine if you have vitamin B12 deficiency, or one of many other likely conditions.

Read more about vitamin B12:

Vitamin B12 Deficiency. Are you at Risk?

Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Sources:

Paresthesia

Numbness and tingling: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

What makes your arms, legs and feet fall asleep?

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Alex Holzknecht, Teleyinex, Zabowski, Josiah Mackenzie, healingdream