Tag Archives: Vitamin B12 Deficiency

List of Medications that Trigger Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vitamin Deficiency Risk Factors, , ,

A common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency is long-term use of certain medications. Even if you don’t suffer from an autoimmune condition or have a family medical history for pernicious anemia, your risk for developing severe vitamin B12 deficiency are increased if you take any of the following medications regularly.

List of Medications that Trigger Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Listed are drugs prescribed often for conditions such as diabetes, depression, GERD, or frequent infections that can, over time, impair your ability to absorb vitamin B12 properly from the foods you eat.

Vitamin B12 malabsorption

If you take vitamin B complex and eat a diet rich in vitamin B12, such as beef, fish, and chicken, then you’re on the right track to good health. Still, there are many risk factors that can lead to vitamin B12 malabsorption, regardless of how well you take care of your body.

Vitamin B12 malabsorption is the inability to latch onto vitamin B12 molecules that enter your body and use them efficiently. Instead of being dispersed through your blood stream, essential vitamin B12 passes through your digestive system whole, unaffected. None of the important nutrients needed for good neurological health, energy, or red blood cell development reach their destination. As a result, over time, you experience symptoms of severe anemia caused by low levels of serum vitamin B12.

What causes vitamin B12 deficiency?

Vitamin B12 deficiency most often occurs with pernicious anemia, an autoimmune condition that attacks intrinsic factor, a digestive enzyme needed for vitamin B12 absorption. Pernicious anemia can also result from damage to the parietal cells of the stomach. Patients of gastrointestinal surgeries for weight loss or Crohn’s disease are at risk and must supplement with non-dietary vitamin B12.

If you follow a strict vegan diet, then you may be at risk for dietary vitamin B12 deficiency, as there are no rich natural sources of plant-based vitamin B12.

Medications that Trigger Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Please note: Don’t stop using any prescription medication without permission from your doctor. If you use any of the medications listed, then you should check your vitamin B12 levels regularly in order to prevent developing severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

The following prescription medications may trigger vitamin B12 deficiency:

  • Aminoglycosides
  • Cephalosporins
  • Chlorotrianisene
  • Chlortetracycline
  • Cholestyramine (Cholybar®, Questran®)
  • Cimetidine (Tagamet®)
  • Clofibrate (Atromid-S®)
  • Colchicine- (ColBenemid®)
  • Colestipol
  • Co-trimoxazole
  • Demeclocycline
  • Famotidine
  • Fluoroquinolones
  • Lansoprazole
  • Macrolides
  • Metformin
  • Methyldopa (Aldomet®)
  • Minocycline
  • Neomycin
  • Nizatidine
  • Omeprazole (Prilosec®)
  • Oral contraceptives
  • Oxytetracycline
  • Penicillins
  • Phenobarbital
  • Phenytoin
  • Potassium chloride
  • Ranitidine (Zantac®)
  • Sulfonamides
  • Tetracyclines
  • Trimethoprim- (TMP/SMX)
  • Valproic Acid (Depakene®)
  • Zidovudine

Did we miss any?

Are you currently taking any medications that you feel have directly led to vitamin B12 deficiency? Please comment below.

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Vitamin B12 Benefits the Whole Body

Vitamin B12 Benefits, , , , , , , ,

Vitamin B12 benefits: Vitamin B12 is amazing- it actually affect s your whole body, from your energy levels and metabolism to fertility and basic neurological functioning. Listed are some of the most awesome benefits of vitamin B12, and ways to make sure you’re getting enough.

Vitamin B12 Benefits the Whole Body

Sharp memory, cardiovascular regularity, nerve reflexes, and emotional wellbeing- believe it or not, these are all aspects of daily health that depend on your ability to maintain a steady supply of vitamin B12 in your blood stream.

Vitamin B12 benefits

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that you only get from eating animal-based foods, such as beef, chicken, seafood, eggs, and milk products. There are no rich sources of vitamin B12 in any plant foods. To get the most benefits, it’s important to eat plenty of meat and fish, while also supplementing with high-quality vitamin B12 in a digestible formula.

  • Vitamin B12 protects the nervous system by sustaining myelin, a fatty layer that coats each individual nerve cell. The absence of sufficient vitamin B12 can lead to a breakdown in this crucial element, leading to destruction of nerve cells.
  • Vitamin B12 supports the production of healthy red blood cells needed to deliver oxygen throughout your body. Dizziness, brain fog and irritability from low oxygen can occur with vitamin B12 anemia.
  • Vitamin B12 boosts energy, as it helps your body digest carbohydrates and fat cells, producing usable energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
  • By controlling homocysteine levels in your blood, vitamin B12 benefits your cardiovascular health. Elevated homocysteine is linked with increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and even dementia.
  • Vitamin B12 benefits the whole body by promoting healthy cell growth, particularly with regard to the cell membrane.
  • In many studies, scientists found that elderly individuals with normal levels of vitamin B12 scored better in memory tests than senior citizens with vitamin B12 deficiency, and were less likely to suffer dementia prematurely. MRI results also showed more advanced brain loss in dementia patients with vitamin B12 deficiency than their peers who took vitamin B12 supplements.

 

Are you sure you’re getting enough B12?

With vitamin B12 deficiency, you may experience distressing signs of anemia- chronic fatigue, dizziness, depression, frequent painful numbness and tingling, plus more.

Unfortunately, many of us have difficulty maintaining a healthy level of vitamin B12, due to chronic conditions, lifestyle choices, or medications that interfere with your ability to digest vitamin B12 normally from foods.

If any of these apply to you, then you may not be reaping all the benefits of vitamin B12 needed for survival:

  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Vegan dieting
  • Prescription medications for diabetes or GERD (acid reflux)
  • Pernicious anemia in family history
  • Gastritis
  • Weight loss surgery (gastric bypass)

Get more B12 now

You can get the most B12 benefits for your buck when you use highly absorbable vitamin B12 that dissolves rapidly into your blood supply. For some, vitamin B12 injections, however painful, are sufficient. Still, many patients complain that they cannot get replenish their B12 levels to the max without using additional vitamin B12 supplementation.

Vitamin B12 Patch Box

 

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Can you think of any more vitamin B12 benefits not mentioned here? Have you noticed a difference in your energy levels since taking vitamin B12? Please feel free to comment below!

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Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Osteoporosis

Aging, , , , ,

Just in the news- scientists have discovered a connection between vitamin B12 deficiency and osteoporosis that may change the way doctors treat bone loss. To promote good bone health, the key may be in sustaining maximum levels of vitamin B12 in your blood supply.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Osteoporosis

Vitamin B12 deficiency and osteoporosis

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a form of anemia that occurs when your vitamin B12 levels in the blood drop to a dangerous low. In most people, B12 deficiency occurs from vitamin B12 malabsorption- the inability to digest vitamin B12 from foods such as meat, chicken, and fish.

For many people, this occurs as an autoimmune impairment, an improper response to intrinsic factor, a protein needed to completely break down and utilize vitamin B12.

Among the many ailments attributed to vitamin B12 deficiency caused by lack of intrinsic factor, increased risk for osteoporosis was the focus on a study led by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

“We were amazed to find a new system that controls bone mass through a protein expressed, of all the places, in the stomach.” – Dr Pablo Roman-Garcia, study author

Vitamin B12, the liver, and bone health

In the study, scientists found dramatic bone loss in mice born to mothers with vitamin B12, noting that low vitamin B12 levels accounted for nearly 70% less bone mass than healthy specimens.

While injecting vitamin B12 didn’t improve bone health, researchers did find that vitamin B12 supplements had a therapeutic effect on liver cells.  On closer inspection, they noticed that subjects with vitamin B12 deficiency were unable to produce taurine, a natural substance produced in the liver that promotes good bone cell production in preventing osteoporosis.

“While the importance of taurine is yet to be fully understood, this research shows that vitamin B12 plays a role in regulating taurine production and that taurine plays an important role in bone formation.” -Dr Vidya Velagapudi, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland.

Previous studies also confirm these findings, such as one that examined children in Turkey born to mothers with vitamin B12 deficiency where taurine deficiency was also present.

Also, scientists from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland saw positive results in bone cell production and taurine synthesis when vitamin B12 supplements were provided.

Helpful Links

More details on the study about vitamin B12 deficiency and osteoporosis can be found here: Pathway between gut and liver regulates bone mass

Watch the video on YouTube: Vitamin B12: A Bone Pathway

Vitamin B12- Essential for Chronic Pain Management

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Getting help for pernicious anemia

Getting Help for Pernicious Anemia

Pernicious Anemia (PA), , , , , , , ,

Pernicious anemia (PA) is a condition that occurs with vitamin B12 deficiency. Getting help for pernicious anemia requires intense supplementation of vitamin B12, in addition to treatment of any underlying causes that may interfere with your ability to absorb vitamin B12 from foods.

What is Pernicious Anemia?

Pernicious anemia is a condition that can occur as a result of an autoimmune dysfunction or gastritis (damage to the parietal cells of the stomach).  With pernicious anemia, your body is unable to digest satisfactory amounts of vitamin B12 from foods such as beef, chicken, fish, or dairy products. As a result, you begin to suffer the ill effects of severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12- Essential for Chronic Pain Management

One of the most devastating signs of pernicious anemia is your body’s inability to produce enough healthy, functional red blood cells, which are needed to deliver oxygen to your brain, organs, and tissues. Many of the ailments you experience with pernicious anemia (brain fog, fatigue, memory problems) are a natural result of insufficient oxygen in your blood supply.

Getting Help for Pernicious Anemia

First, visit your doctor regularly for blood tests, vitamin B12 supplements, and check-ups. Outside of your doctor’s office, getting help for pernicious anemia can be as simple as spending a few hours on the internet combing the various websites that provide the most up-to-date medical publications and advice for vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia.

Pernicious Anemia Support Groups

There are few support groups available for pernicious anemia- perhaps because it is no longer deemed a life-threatening illness, thanks to the modern invention of vitamin B12 supplementation. Listed are a few advocacy groups online that provide helpful information about pernicious anemia.

Pernicious Anemia on Facebook

Facebook has many advocacy and support group pages for pernicious anemia that can also be wonderful resources. Some of these groups are closed, so you will have to ask the administrator permission to join.

Read more about Pernicious Anemia

Pernicious Anemia Symptoms

Vitamin B12 deficiency blood testing is just one way of diagnosing pernicious anemia- and it’s not really the most accurate indicator, as the blood tests are designed only to catch lethally-low levels of vitamin B12, not medium-low levels that can still cause debilitating symptoms, such as nerve damage, memory loss, and immobility.

The best gauge for measuring vitamin B12 levels is the existence of symptoms that correlate strongly with pernicious anemia. That’s why it’s vitally important to recognize the signs and inform your doctor should they appear.

Typical symptoms of pernicious anemia include:

  • Constant fatigue
  • Long-time depression
  • Short-term memory loss
  • Slow speaking
  • Painful numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
  • Anxiety
  • Brain fog (confusion)
  • Poor attention levels
  • Poor problem-solving
  • Headaches
  • Muscle spasms
  • Partial paralysis
  • Weakness
  • Poor motor skills coordination
  • Poor balance
  • Electric shock sensations in the neck

We’d love your opinion!

Can you add to our list of support groups or advocacy associations that offer help for pernicious anemia?

If you suffer from pernicious anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency, have you found this helpful?

What is your favorite method for supplementing vitamin B12- injections or alternative forms of vitamin B12 that dissolve into the bloodstream?

 Vitamin B12- Because you just need Energy

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Vitamin B12- Essential for Chronic Pain Management

Chronic Pain, , , ,

According to chronic pain management experts, painful joints and muscle soreness could mean vitamin B12 deficiency. When vitamin B12 levels are down, symptoms similar to fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis become more common… and debilitating. Listed are some typical chronic pain symptoms that occur with vitamin B12 deficiency.

Muscle numbness, tingling, and spasms

If you get painful “pins and needles” sensations whenever you sit down, then you may need to up your vitamin B12 intake. Vitamin B12 is  important for healthy nerve cell.  When  vitamin B12 levels suffer, so does your nervous system.

Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) happens with vitamin B12 deficiency anemia (pernicious anemia) and multiple sclerosis (MS). That’s because both conditions involve destruction of myelin, a fatty layer that protects your nerve cells.

Symptoms include painful tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, burning sore tongue, and muscle twitches.

Slower reflexes

Another sign of vitamin B12 deficiency from nerve damage is slow nerve reflexes. You may have difficulty walking in a straight line, controlling arm movements, or sitting up straight.

Pain and feebleness

Sore muscles, weak joints, and constant fatigue are symptoms associated with vitamin B12 deficiency , and they worsen chronic pain for people diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, or other autoimmune disorders.

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes low oxygen from poor red blood cell production, which in turn causes crushing fatigue, dizziness, and muscle pain.

Comorbid pain conditions

Many people with chronic pain also suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency. This makes it difficult to  diagnose and treat low B12, as people (and sometimes doctors) assume that all pain symptoms are part of their chronic condition, when, really, they are suffering from a combination of chronic pain and comorbid vitamin B12 anemia.

Chronic pain illnesses that are often comorbid with vitamin B12 deficiency include:

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Migraines
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Lupus
  • Complex regional pain syndrome

To find out if chronic pain is related to low vitamin B12, try taking large doses of highly-digestible vitamin B12 supplements. Many pain patients are surprised to find out that much of their suffering can be reduced just by replenishing vitamin B12 in their blood supply.

More signs of low B12

In addition to chronic pain and fatigue, other signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Memory problems
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Brain fog
  • Dizziness, vertigo
  • Tinnitus (ear ringing)
  • Heart palpitations

Chronic pain management

Vitamin B12 should be a regular part of your chronic pain management, especially if you’re a risk factor for autoimmune disorders- a common cause of pernicious anemia.

Vitamin B12 Patch for chronic pain management

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Maxasorb Vitamin B12 Cream for chronic pain management

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Vitamin B12- Because you just need Energy

Boost energy!, , , , , , , , , , ,

Experiencing an energy crisis? You may just need more vitamin B12. Fatigue, muscle weakness, and mental brain fog are all symptoms of a hidden vitamin B12 deficiency, which can be easily treated with regular supplementation of vitamin B12 (cobalamin).

Untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can worsen, resulting in severe pernicious anemia, causing irreversible nerve damage. To catch it early, it’s important to recognize the symptoms, such as loss of energy, difficulty thinking straight, and arms or legs always “falling asleep.”

Vitamin B12 deficiency is epidemic

It’s normal to get the blah’s every now and then, but if it seems like your life has been one endless cycle of tiredness, depression, and allover yucky feelings, then you may be a candidate for vitamin B12 deficiency. In fact, vitamin B12 anemia often slips past the radar, as people often assume that if they eat healthy, then they are immune to vitamin deficiency.

Not so- read more to learn why.

Signs of Vitamin B12 deficiency

Your body needs vitamin B12 for energy, good metabolism, cognitive health, nerve cell protection, and red blood cell production.

When your vitamin B12 levels dip to an unhealthy low, you may experience some of the following telltale symptoms- many of which can be misdiagnosed as chronic depression, adrenaline disorders, or multiple sclerosis (MS).

Signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

  • Constant overbearing tiredness, despite sleeping well
  • Loss of mental clarity (brain fog)
  • Confusion
  • Memory problems
  • Dizziness
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Paranoia
  • Unusual aggression
  • Painful tingling and numbness in the hands and feet
  • Weakness in the muscles
  • Muscle spasms and pain
  • Difficulty controlling arm and leg movements
  • Constantly dropping things
  • Frequent falling

How did this happen?

First, it’s important to understand that even if you eat lots of foods containing vitamin B12, such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy products, you still run the risk of becoming deficient in this essential nutrient.

The absolute richest sources of vitamin B12 are organ meats and shellfish.  Eat any fried liver or stewed clams lately? I didn’t think so.

Secondly, there are a host of medical conditions that can interfere with  vitamin B12 absorption– your ability to digest vitamin B12 properly from the protein foods that you do eat, and many of these medical scenarios are becoming more commonplace.

They include:

  • Bariatric surgery
  • Medications for diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, and depression
  • Autoimmune illnesses, such as Crohn’s disease, celiac, lupus, and chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Gastritis from GERD, fibromyalgia, migraine, or colitis
  • Old age

Finally, if you follow a strict vegan diet, then you will not replenish vitamin B12 stores without constant supplementation. There are no rich dietary sources of vitamin B12 that are plant-based. Zilch.

How can I boost Vitamin B12?

If you’re low in vitamin B12 despite eating healthy, then you will need to add it to your blood supply in a non-dietary form. There are many products on the market that boost energy and contain high doses of vitamin B12 without the need for painful B12 injections.

Get more B12!

Vitamin B12 Patch Box

The Vitamin B12 Patch is a topical B12 patch that was developed by leading scientists… Read more

 

Maxasorb Vitamin B12 Cream

Maxasorb™ B-12 Serum by Vita Sciences is a highly absorbable Vitamin B-12 Cream containing a superior form of B12 (methylcobalamin) for maximum effectiveness.  Read more

 

Nervex Neuropathy Support Cream

Nervex™ Neuropathy Pain Relieving Cream by Vita Sciences is a highly effective, clinically tested , deep penetrating cream. Read more

 

 

Vitamin B12 for Tinnitus- There is Hope

Help for Tinnitus, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new study on the cause of tinnitus leads sufferers to hope that vitamin B12 may be an essential key in reversing frustrating ear ringing and phantom sounds caused by noise-induced tinnitus. Here are the results of the study, which focused on damaged nerve cells of the inner ears.

Tinnitus cure on the horizon

We know that exposure to dangerously loud noise decibels is a frequent cause of tinnitus. Now, researchers from University of Leicester’s Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology understand more about the kind of nerve cell damage that occurs when people listen to loud music or work in a noisy environment, and how it may be treated by promoting the myelin sheath, which is supported by vitamin B12.

This is great news for people who have been suffering from chronic tinnitus for years, as there are currently no conventional drugs or treatments available to cure tinnitus symptoms.

Vitamin B12 and myelin

Your nerve cells are coated with myelin, a fatty substance that shields them from harm and enhances intercellular communication. According to this study, noise exposure may damage the myelin which surrounds the nerve cells of your cochlea (inner ear), leading to tinnitus that occurs when the dorsal cochlear nucleus sends mixed signals to the brain.

So, by building myelin, researchers hope to possibly repair the ear’s nerve cells, encourage healthy nerve signals to the brain, and ultimately reverse tinnitus symptoms.

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient for your entire nervous system, as it helps to support continuous myelin production while also maintaining many other crucial mechanisms of your brain’s network of nerve cells.

In fact, one of the most devastating symptoms of pernicious anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency is a general breakdown of the nervous system due to demyelination- loss of the precious myelin layer. In addition to tinnitus, other signs of nerve damage caused by loss of myelin include immobility (loss of motor control), delayed nervous reactions, autonomous impairment (i.e. digestive problems), and cognitive problems (brain fog, memory loss).

For nerve cell health, doctors recommend vitamin B12 supplementation.

Vitamin B12 is the basis of all supplementation for nervous system integrity, as it is the best proven method to promote myelin production.

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a condition that results from nerve damage of the inner ears. Symptoms include a variety of disturbing noises that are heard only by the sufferer; constant ear ringing, whooshing sounds, buzzing, clicking or whistling are just a few of the types of phantom sounds that occur with tinnitus.

In most cases, tinnitus happens as a result of acoustic overexposure to very loud noises, such as music, machinery, explosions, or constant hammering. Over time, nerve damage to the ears becomes more pronounced, leading to incessant ringing in one or both ears. Tinnitus can last more months or years, and may come and go in phases.

Help for tinnitus

If you suffer from constant tinnitus, then the first step is to boost your intake of vitamin B12 through supplementation. Even if you don’t have vitamin B12 deficiency, you may benefit greatly from the extra vitamin B12. Many people who take mega-doses of vitamin B12 regularly report feeling more energetic and mentally focused.

If you have tinnitus caused by ear damage, then continued use of vitamin B12 supplements will provide the best possible support for myelin production needed to sustain healthy nerve cells.

Related products

Tinnifree, Vita Science’s hearing support formula

Vitamin B12 Patch, containing 1000 mcg. of vitamin B12

Maxasorb, vitamin B12 cream

Sources

Could there be a drug to avoid tinnitus?               

Mechanisms contributing to central excitability changes during hearing loss

Research into hearing loss after exposure to loud noises could lead to the first drug treatments to prevent the development of tinnitus.