CFS and Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Brain and nerves
1

My question is does anyone know if there is a connection betwee CFS and Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

2

Hi! All I know is that my B12 immunizations help to alleviate my symptoms of CFS.

3

Thanks for that Dawn

I have a 40 year old stepdaughter who's had ME since high school and she finds it very hard to co with two under sixes

4

By the latest CFS research low b12 levels is one of some 40 biomarkers for CFS

5

As Patrick says its ONE of the markers. Its one possible issue that causes it - that doesn't mean B12 injections or supplements will work for you and hey presto, CFS improves. But its worth getting your levels checked with a blood test.

6

Thanks for that Phil. Sadly my stepdaughter has a needle phobia and shies away from being tested.  What's worrying me now is that her five year old son has just been diagnosed with Autism and if his Mum was B12 Deficient during the pregnancy he too may have been born deficient.

7

You can get B12 tablets which dissolve under your tongue (I've been trying them awhile) as clearly injections would be out of the question. Excess B12 is ejected by the body in urine so as I understand it there's no side effects to taking it for a couple of months and seeing if it starts to help. If the B12 levels are actually ok, she wouldn't "overdose" on it, as it were.

8

Thanks Phil, that's a good suggestion.

9

This is an interesting question Clive. I had low B12 and iron, then when supplements seemed to have improved the levels in my blood, the fatigue didn't go away, and I was diagnosed with CFS. I am still getting b12 shots, currently every two months, but I am still not sure how much the B12 deficiency is adding to the fatigue. I do know the last two or three weeks before the jabs are much tougher, and I take sublingual B12, which helps. Other people over on the Pernicious Anaemia and other forums say much more frequent injections are needed to reduce or get rid of their symptoms, and many end up self-injecting.

I know that won't help your step-daughter, but there are nasal sprays and patches as well as tablets, so maybe she could try some or all and see if there is any improvement. It can take a while for B12 levels to improve though, and symptoms can get a bit worse while the body is healing, so she might need to persist until she feels better.

10

Thanks Jeanp for the suggestions.

I'm an "expert" on B12 as I've had Pernicious Anaemia for 45 years and in learning about that condition have come across others such as CFS that may have been misdiagnosed.

I'm tryning to "educate" my stepdaughter's Mum to see the possibility that B12 Deficiency might be the reason for her CFS and the "knock on" effect it may have to explain her five year old son's autism.

As you can imagine, "kid gloves"  nedd to be worn.