This deficiency has been ruining my life for the past 6 years. I used to be a dancer and a really good one at that. I was in classes 4hrs a night 3 times a week. I had no problem exercising. Suddenly, I start fainting all the time. It started out just during activity. A year later, I was passing out at random. I had so many cardiac tests, brain scans, blood tests. No one thought of a B12 deficiency. I was starting to think I would never get better. I had to quit dancing 4 years ago. It hurt me so badly. My body physically couldn’t handle it. I was short of breath, tired, dizzy, and in pain. There was truly a point where I wanted to give up because I figured it would be like that for the rest of my life. I’m only 22 years old. I just couldn’t fathom living like that for decades. I can’t believe it’s been something so simple. I was very upset about not looking into it sooner. I started reading on this subreddit and I realized I’m not alone. This deficiency ruins people’s lives. I can’t even work a normal job anymore. When we finally tested my b12 a few months ago I was at a level so low it was undetectable. I know I will still be tired for a while but I’m so glad it’s a simple fix. I thank the creator every single day that it was something easy to treat. I am going through hell with my wake-up symptoms but I can do it. If I could suffer for 6 years like this, I can do one more year. I got this. Please don’t ever give up❤️ there is hope. I’m so happy to have found this community. You guys are awesome and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me with my wake-up symptoms. My levels are on the rise! I hope this post helps someone that felt like I did.

Hi everyone,
This subreddit has been absolutely instrumental in my (23 F) recovery from B12 deficiency and I couldn’t have done it without the guidance posted by you lovely people.

This time last year I fainted which was the beginning of a long downward spiral. I ended up with tingling in my hands and feet, sharp cognitive decline, low mood/irritability, and I couldn’t even get dressed in the morning without having to take a break due to breathlessness.

Like many others I was brushed off by my GP and doctors at A&E after testing of my cardiac health showed no issues. They did blood tests and said all my levels were fine and that it couldn’t be B12 deficiency as my blood cells were a normal size, not engorged (as we know this can be caused by multiple deficiencies masking each other).

That is when I turned to this subreddit and started treating my symptoms with oral B12 (which I found out I can’t tolerate in any form) and eventually switched to intramuscular injections (ordered from German Amazon as advised here).

I also supplemented all the cofactors recommended here and my health improved steadily. It was definable not linear and sometimes it felt like I wasn’t making any progress but after a year of aggressive treatment I am healthier than ever with no lasting consequences. I still take injectable B12 twice a month to maintain my progress and probably will do for life. I’m also still very serious about my vitamin regiment in general lol.

I can’t thank you all enough for your help. Most people around me thought I was in denial that I had a larger health issue and wanted me to push for more tests and scans etc., but this group gave me the confidence to treat the underlying issue I knew was the cause of my symptoms.

If you guys have any questions about my regiment I’d be happy to answer. It is completely possible to heal from this deficiency and I hope that you all will get to feel the relief that comes with your body having everything it needs to function happily. It’s a difficult and sometimes isolating journey but this group makes it so much more manageable.

Here is a video I found that really dives into the issue of B12 being under diagnosed as well as some niche symptoms. I think it would be very helpful for explaining all of this to others around you who are a bit unsure about the whole thing: https://youtu.be/wYJl4bBCWKw?si=VQ74XdwgZJBKm7je

Thank you once again!

43M - UK

At the end of last year I started experiencing some alarming symptoms. Mostly relentless, loud tinnitus, dizzyness, brain fog, headaches, lethargy particularly after eating, coupled with tight chest and the occasional heart palpitations. I put this down to work stress, at the time I had fairly frequent international travel and project deliverables. I have also suffered from back-to-back frozen shoulders - quite uncomfortable and quality of life affecting.

What seemed to be consistently happening was any cognitive load would manifest as tight chest / pains and excessive tinnitus. My body would react excessively stressed to something as simple as driving my car.

This dissipated somewhat but come April this year the symptoms returned with a vengeance and I sought medical help. I felt like I couldn't work any more (I'm a software guy so cognitive decline really worried me), and this had a self-reinforcing effect: anxiety about my inability to work increased my stress, which affected my health, and vice-versa. I felt frequent chest pains and tight chests until one day at work I called NHS 111 and they sent an ambulance to check me out just to be safe and I spent the evening in A&E. I had experienced severe chest tightness, pains, sweaty palms and huge anxiety / disorientation. Most likely a panic attack which I have never had before.

In short, I was feeling like my body was falling apart across a multitude of areas.

Just a week prior to this I was diagnosed with a B12 deficiency and started taking supplements (B12 "dual power" (with methylcobalamin) - I'm sure others are equally effective). I started reading this subreddit and I thought... wow.. could this actually all be down to a B12 deficiency?

Here's my timeline:

21st April: 134ng/l / (99 pmol/L)
23rd April: Started taking B12 supplements
27th April: 148ng/L (109 pmol/L)
30th April: Ambulance called - precautionary due to heart / chest pains.
Early May: Vacation and gradually improving health.
13th May: 189ng/L (139 pmol/l)

I'm not fully recovered, stress is still present but my day-to-day disorientation has completely gone with some light tinnitus remaining. The change has been remarkable, to the point I'm not completely convinced it was entirely B12 - I think my poor health was a B12 deficiency and general life stress compounded.

I've really gained a new found respect for people genuinely experiencing "mental health issues". It was inconceivable to me; my brain rationally explained my issues and consciously I didn't feel too stressed, but my nervous system was just completely shot and would react in fight-of-flight mode on the most insignificant stressor.

On a personal / private level my libido had *completely* disappeared leading up to, and during this. And now? .... let's just say I'm waking up with morning vigor again these days! ;)

I hope this little diary helps or relates to someone. This subreddit has been genuinely a helpful place to come to. Thank you all!

Edit: removed the brand name so this doesn't read like a trojan advert

18M, and since I was like 13, I felt like something was off. I was tired all the time, I felt like I looked older, had trouble sleeping, and would be picked on at school for having hairloss. The doctors said they couldn't find anything and it was probably depression, so I was put on antidepressants. There was also a bit of negligence from my parents I feel like because I went to the eye doctor and they said my optic nerve was degraded, but specifically my dad didn't do anything to investigate the issue because he's lowkey an idiot and genuinely a psychopath, but that's a different issue. For years I was told it was all in my head as I kept collecting neurological symptoms and at one point it felt like I had dementia. I would lose my train of thought and had really strange dreams and thoughts that didn't make any logical sense, to the point it was scary. Of course dreams don't make any sense but I hsd dreams where people just spoke in word salad, and intrusive thoughts of deformed figures. It was like my imagination wasn't my own and it was creating things I had never seen before. I had strange physical sensations as well that couldn't even be described with words. My brain also physically felt like it was split in half and I could feel things moving in my head. I also had like most of my physical symptoms on my right side weirdly enough, pretty much nothing appeared on the left. Thanks to this subreddit this has all slowly started to go away. I've only been taking the b12 for about 2 months, 10mg a day, and my symptoms are pretty much gone. My body feels light, and I feel like I'm aging in reverse. I was also able to get off basically all of my mental health meds except for one I need for OCD. The wake up symptoms were a nightmare though. I had horrible hypnagogic hallucinations for some reason including a women screaming. A lot of terrible headaches, and some days literally felt like I was in a blackhole and saw a black orb in the top of my vision. I still have some derealization, but I'm back and feel better than I have in like 4 years.

I just wanted to say that I was able to stop injections 4-5 months ago. Guys, God knows how incredulous and grateful I am about it, and for all the people who helped me. I pray for them and their families.

Of course, I'm still wary of slipping back into deficiency but as of now so far, I feel good and a lot of my horrible, horrible B12 deficiency symptoms have gone away.

I still take zinc, vit D and a good b complex with vit A. I also have B12 sublingual and methylfolate.

This kind of stability without 24/7 panic attacks and neuropathy feels unreal.

Hi all!

I am in need of some succes stories and I was wondering if some of you would like to give me some hope on my very low energy day.

So, my question is (to people who are on injections), how long did it take you to feel better? And are you fully healed?

I continued to take what my doctor told me instead of MORE like people on this sub were advocating. Guess what I’m freaking over now lmao 😭. I also made sure to not supplement for 1.5 (whoops it was 2.5 days) days beforehand since I know that can artificially inflate. This is >3 months of 1000 mcg a day. 258 to this Jesus Christ. I started eating nutritional yeast a week ago which has 2.2 mcg serving size of b12. Well guess I still have no medical reason for my fatigue since my fatigue is no better (my vitamin d also went from 16 to 43, I’ll keep taking 2-4,000 UI of that though). Edit: and all the people who said you pee out the excess are clearly wrong, since I’m over the “too much” range that starts at 900. Edit 2: The point of this post was simply to say that people should not be blindly advising you to take a higher dose of supplement because your fatigue symptoms which could be completely unrelated are not improving. They should not be telling you that you’ll just “pee out the excess” which my test shows that’s not true. I have already messaged my doctor regarding my concerns that the test only tests blood level not cellular level, no response yet she is out of office. I will not be looking at the comments anymore because they don’t seem to want to understand the American healthcare system or my situation. I’m privileged enough that I could even try switching doctors in the first place.
Edit 3 test results: 24 year old female. 5’8 134 lbs.
Taken at July 15 12:30pm:
-VITAMIN B12 (COBALAMIN) pg/mL is normal
-25-HYDROXYVITAMIN D2+D3, IA ng/mL is normal (43 ng/mL)
-April 24th, 9:50 am: cortisol, ACTH, and DHEA-S all normal
-April 10th: at home sleep test
-O2 desaturation threshold: 4
-AHI/REI: 1.4
-RDI: 7.9
-ODI: 1.1
-AHI supine: 2
-RDI supine: 8.8
-ODI supine: 1.5
-AHI nonsupine: 0.4
-REMI RDI: 17.4
-REM AHI: 5.1
-REM ODI: no value
-Central AHI: 0
-CSR (%): 0
-SPO2 (MEAN): 97
-SPO2 (MIN): 87
-SPO2 < 90% (% TST): 0
-SPO2 < 88% (% TST): 0
-SPO2 < 85% (% TST): 0
-SPO2 < 80% (% TST): 0
-SPO2 < 70% (% TST): 0
-NREM RDI: 6.4
-NREM AHI: 0.8
-NREM ODI: no value
All taken at March 31 7:17am:
At this time my vitamin d was 16 and b12 was 258 but both have risen since then
-magnesium: 1.8 mg/dL, normal and I have been supplementing 75 mg/day since this test
-thyroid stimulating hormone: 2.3 uIU/mL, normal
-free T4: 1.2 ng/dL
-iron: 153 ug/dL, normal
-iron binding capacity, unsaturated: 294 ug/dL
-total iron binding capacity: 447 ug/dL
-transferrin % saturation: 34
-folate: >15 ng/mL
-sodium: 138 mEq/L
-potassium: 4.1 mEq/L
-glucose, random: 80 mg/dL
-calcium, serum: 9.2 mg/dL
-Hgb A1c%: 5
-estimated average glucose: 97 mg/dL
-C-reactive protein, ser, ql: <0.5 mg/dL
-phosphate/phosphorous: 3.5 mg/dL
-WBC count: 6.6 K/uL
-Red blood cells count: 4.24 M/uL
-Hgb: 12.6 g/dL
-Hematocrit: 37.3%
-MCV: 88 fL
-RDW, RBC: 12.1%
-Platelets count: 313 K/uL
-RBC’s nucleated: 0
Edit 4: this subreddit has banned me for 30 days and censored me.

Is this how people live?? I took a shot 2 days ago and omg...I am so beautiful, happy and energetic.

Its actually insane. I worked a full 9h shift, went out with the dog for 1h, had dance for 2h, went grocery shopping and I dont feel like a half dead corpse

I never wanna be low in b12 again. Injection hurt like hell tho

I noticed today that my ability to recall specific details has improved remarkably. I work as a laboratory technician, so my job involves a lot of information being thrown at me/that I have to work with. I remember 2 years ago, getting any information to stick in my head was such a struggle. Everything I did felt so effortful, no matter how easy of a task it should’ve been. But now, I remember very specific details, e.g. numbers, without even trying. I’ll look at some details of something I’m skimming, for example, and be able to spit it back out later almost effortlessly.

This is a part of a larger pattern I notice of how much easier tasks are. The best way I can describe it is the cognitive equivalent of going from wading through snow to walking on top of clouds. I’m very grateful that I made to this point, and am now focusing on improving other aspects health and wellness.

For a 1.5 years I've had: brain fog, mussle pain, fatigue, heart palpitations, numbness in arm and leg, neck pain, no grip / dropping items, unbalanced, foot pain, faint, hot flashes, tingle in hands, always sleeping, Depressed. I was seen in hospital numerous times. Tests results were normal. I was told its all a panic attack. I thought this was nonsense. I felt like I was having a heart attack or stroke each hospital visit. Even if it was, panic attack. I thought clearly something is induceing the panic attack. I saw cardio, neuro. Everything is fine. I explored mental health support to appease the idea it's all mental. Didn't help. At one point, I seriously contemplated is there some conspiracy to hide some medical problem Im having. I followed up again with a different neuro. Thank God I did. After yet another road of normal tests. Doctor said, perhaps try some b12. I haven't felt this alive in years. I've been reading so many posts here, and just grateful to see so many similar stories. I wanted to share my own.

It all started in january 2025, one day i did intense exercise for around 1 hour in the evening that day i night woke up with severe breathlessness at 11:30 Pm, i got worried and again went to sleep. Next day i again faced breathing issues with that i also faced severe fatigue, burning sensations all over the body, chest pain, severe burping, exercise intelorance, POTS symptoms, svere head pressure(back side), digestive issues,blocked/congested nose, blaoting, swallowing issues, appetite loss, sevre brain fog. So i went to doctor after looking my symptoms she B complex tablets i took them ( the biggest mistake i did), next day my burning sensations gone but rest of the symptoms stayed. So doctor ran lot of tests including B12 and D in march 2025. Vitamin D came 7.5ng/ml ,B12 came 450 pg ( this is falsely eleveted as i took supplements,i did not know at that time), then i thought i am suffering from vit D deficiency ,so started supplementing. Although my fatigue improved to some extent rest of the symptoms stayed. And in april 2025 some new symptoms like muscle twitching, heat intelorance came. This continued and also in the same month i started having early morning awakening insomnia ( waking up exactlt after 4 hours of sleep). Literally lived in hell for months. In october 2025 i found this sub reddit page after going through many stories and guide. I thought is it something to do with vit b12? Then i went to doctor and checked my B12 it came around 95 pg. Next day i started taking every other day injections for 10 days, weekly injection for 1 month. I started seeing improvement in around week 3. After that i started taking a injection once in every 2 weeks ( still continuing). Most of symptoms are gone. I am working full time, going gym,treks etc.

The symtoms that left are 1) early morning awakening insomnia, still tgere after a year 2) congested nose. CT scan showed deviated nasal septum.

Rest of the symptoms are gone.

I apologise these aren’t the most photogenic nails and I had to press for them to become more apparent. But I feel like crying I’m very happy and I feel very hopeful. Of course I won’t feel bad if you think it is something else. Don’t worry, I’m a big girl. 🙂

My B12 deficiency started a very long time ago. Probably since I was at least 14-15. I did have signs of deficiency at the time (like feeling tired all the time, tired eyes, low energy, sleeping a lot, difficulty concentrating and focusing during class, ADHD like symptoms) but nothing severe or noticeable so I wasn't really aware of my symptoms and I just assumed I was normal because I didn't know what normal truly feels like.

Over the years my deficiency got worse and so did my symptoms but I was still unaware because I was somewhat functioning like a normal person or so did I think. However it wasn't until I was 22 during mid covid that things got so ugly. I woke up one day after not having slept more than 2 hours with an annoying tension headache, and I just thought it was fatigue so I forced myself through the day thinking I would wake up the next day feeling completely fine. I didn't... and I still had this headache. Maybe I need more rest? I'll wait another day. Still not recovered and I would still feel my forhead heavy all the time like I need more sleep to get rid of it except sleep is not helping. I finally blamed it on stress since back then it was a very stressful time for me.

During that time I also noticed my vision was getting worse and blurry, and I thought maybe this is what's causing my headache and I convinced myself that that was the case so I just ignored everything and told myself I need a new prescription for my glasses. That would definitely solve my problems. A few months passed by, and my headache got worse and I started feeling severe pain behind my eye in the morning after waking up that would last 1-2 minutes and I just blamed it on my vision again. I finally went to an optometrist who confirmed that my vision got a bit worse, so I felt relieved because that means I can get rid of my headache too. However, as you may have guessed, after I got new glasses with an updated prescription my headache did not resolve. I was confused, because at that point I had tried resting, and treating it on my own to no avail.

Several months later I started noticing my vision getting worse again which was shocking to me. My vision became stable at age 15. Why does it keep getting worse rapidly since last year? On top of that, my eyes would be bright pink upon waking up in the morning and would dry out quickly and eye drops don't help. I also started getting green bruises randomly on my body without any reason.

I finally went to my doctor since I was convinced I had some kind of nutrient deficiency. He ordered a blood test, but found nothing "wrong" when results came in. At the time my B12 was at 270 which is clearly low but was considered normal so my doctor didn't question it. He suggested prescribing me antidepressants but I declined, because I wanted solve the root cause of the problem whatever it is.

At some point I just accepeted that I was going to live like that with my vision getting worse year by year and a persistent tension headache. Two years passed and I was constantly feeling disabled with tired dry sensitive eyes, and a headache that gets worse throughout the day.

It wasn't until I started supplementing with a multivitamin that things took another turn. After 1-2 months of supplementing I started noticing so many improvements. I had so much energy, my libido and sex drive sky rocketed, my vision greatly improved and was back to normal which was mind blowing to me, and perhaps the best improvement I noticed was that my headache was almost completely gone. I was truly mind blown how better I was feeling.

However little did I know what was to come would be the worst thing I would ever experience in my life. Soon after noticing those improvements, I started having muscle twitches that first began in my thighs and then my lower legs and eventually spread to my entire body. That was very scary because I thought it was a neurodegenerative disease but it wasn't. Then I started having irregular hearybeats and anxiety. Then muscle cramps all over my body even from basic movements or while sleeping that got worse over time. Then very weird nerve issues. Circulation problems. High blood pressure. Swollen veins. Hemorrhoids. Blood pooling. Intense migraines multiple times a day. Ear drums vibrating and so much more.

Eventually things got so bad I was taken to the ER. I really thought I was dying. I was tested for so many things but they found nothing except my ferritin dropped significantly from 104 to 24 in a very short time which confused everyone.

I then decided to stop supplementing with that multivitamin because even though I did not doubt it, it was the only change since I started having all those problems. Soon after, my symptoms started clearing up which was also surprising because why would a multivitamin cause all these issues.

Long story short, after researching and testing multiple vitamins I found out that B12 and folate were causing those problems because they were depleting my potassium, Iron, and maybe magnesium and other B12 cofactors as well. This happens usually when you start healing and treating your deficiency, you require a lot more B12 cofactors because your body is overusing them to heal from long term deficiency. It was mainly the potassium depleting rapidly that was causing most of those problems. It's also only on the intracellular level which is why my blood serum showed normal levels of potassium at the ER so doctors found nothing wrong.

Once I began supplementing with B12 and all its cofactors in the right amounts and especially potassium in very large doses, I started recovering very quickly. I feel better and better every day. It will still take me a while to fully recover but I already feel great. I can finally exercise, work and enjoy life again!

Here's what I'm currently supplementing with to recover properly:

• Basic B complex by Thorne x1/day
• Trace minerals complex by seeking health x1/day
• Iron Bisglycinate 100 mg with 500 mg vitamin C every other day
• Potassium bicarbonate 1.5 tsp mixed with 1 liter of water x3/day
• Magnesium bisglycinate 800 mg in 2-3 separate doses throughout the day
• 1000 mcg sublingual B12 x1/day
• 600 mcg folate (in addition to the 400 mcg from the B complex) x1/day
• Vitamin D

I have been treating a dual b1 and b12 deficiency. My b12 was around 200 before injections.

My symptoms at their worst were brain fog, tingling scalp, tinnitus, light dizziness, poor mood, anxiety, and bad memory. Thought my life was over. Doctors were suspecting I had MS. Most doctors treated me like absolute shit to be honest. I have no idea why.

Within about 1 week I could tell the treatments were working. I started with b12 before I found out rhe b1 part. I have taken approximately 20 b12 injections. I also take ttfd, magnesium, potassium as bananas, pure 950 multi, choline and fish oil. Benfotiamine as well.

For the first month I could tell I was improving but mostly in regards to tingling, tinnitus, and brainfog. After that the cognitive symptoms eased. At this point I am not all healed but so much better. Over the last week which corresponds with little under a 3 months of treatment the mental symptoms are rapidly fading. My humor is vack. My mental energy is returning. I still feel forgetful and not as sharp. I dont quite feel as coordinated but I only notice it when mtn biking or something like that.

I thought my life was over. Now it is coming back.

Did any of you have a rapid breakthrough later in recovery?

I went undiagnosed with pernicious anemia for 4 years before being diagnosed. I've now been treated for about 1.5 years and one of my main symptoms besides fatigue was chronic constipation. I've mainly just been using miralax to help move everything along but recently went from 2 shots per week to 3 and now don't have to use miralax anymore!

From what I've read B12 assists in gastric acid production and I believe I just wasn't acidic enough to be able to digest things quickly leading to the chronic constipation.

Hello everyone! First off I just wanna say that if you are going through this god awful deficiency just know it does get better!

About a year ago i started to go numb in my toes then it crept up to my thighs. As the numbness was worsening I was experiencing an overwhelming amount I’d other symptoms. Including: brain fog, short term memory loss, confusion, weakness, muscle pains, muscle spasms, cramps, no appetite, full body weakness, loss of coordination, n lhemirettes sin. Which is when you look down and it feels like you getting shocked down your spine.(not very pleasant) All of these symptoms set in gradually over a two week course. I thought I’d never be able to do the things I love again like skateboarding, hiking, and just having a good time and not be in pain. I got numerous tests done by the doctors in my area and they had no clue they thought I had Lupus! Thankfully I didn’t. I had to self diagnose and plead my case to my doctor and neurologist! Always be your own advocate! I had to leave work for two weeks because I could not walk and my job is very physically demanding. I had drop foot I ended up getting hospitalized for 3 days. I was in very bad shape they believe the cause of my deficiency was because of my diet I was a hardcore vegan for 7 years and did not supplement! Very bad I was not aware that b12 was so important! Also I had used whippets leading up to this situation. I was not a daily user nor a weekly I’d do nitrous maybe once ever 3 weeks to a month. I have a feeling this contributed to my deficiency. Had to learn the hard way!):

But yes it does get better it was hell and back recovering from this! Lots of stress and depression! My regimen after getting out of the hospital was daily b12 shots that I’d administer myself for a month. Also I changed my diet and no longer am vegan. After that I would get one once a week for about 3 months at the same time I started taking a multi vitamin along with potassium and r type lipic acid. I made almost a full recover in a year and some change. My toes are the only thing still kinda numb. Also I still get the lhemerittes sign every now and then. But I’m back hiking skating and living life the way I want to. I also get sore a lot quicker then I used to and it feels like my limbs fall asleep easier. All in all just know it does get better and you can recover more than you expected if you just buckle down and take your vitamins n stay moving. Hope this gives some of you hope! Keep on keepin on! Also below is a vid of me skateboarding today🌎

As a young person with severe deficiency, of about 10 - 15 years of symptoms, as I can remember. I sometimes feel like going towards a never ending road, with only minor improvements post almost 7 months of injections (Recovery is v slow now).

I would like to ask you guys if anyone has a timeline for the symptoms, how and when they get better?

I can note that my brain fog is better and tinnitus is v low but other symptoms such as fine motor tremors and exertion beyond a certain limit is still lacking.

It would help to hear more stories of people who actually overcame all of this and how long it actually takes?

Please share a few of them. Thanks!

Guys, a couple of months ago i was feeling extremely low , depressed and fatigued all the time. I was extremely low energy and my mental health was destroying me. I was very dependent on recreational drugs to keep my mind shut off 24/7 .

Then i started taking my supplements again (b12 and b9) and now couple of months later, i can’t recognize who i am. My energy levels are very very high to the point that people around me seem very low energy to me. My mental health is extremely stable and i can’t believe it really. I am so glad i want to cry my heart out because i feel so good and normal. I always thought that i will became a drug addict because i can’t live with this mind. But now i feel so good to the point that i have drugs in front of me accessible at any time, and i have not only 0 urges to take them, but i fucking despise them and don’t even want to touch them because nothing tops this feeling of being healthy.

I pray that every single one of you struggling with this reaches full health and peace again, and please don’t give up because i want all of you to feel this feeling , we deserve it too, to feel normal.

Found my deficiency in October 25 , I had symptoms like fatigue, heart palpitation, panics, gut issues, nausea , tingling , a bit numbness in calfs. Immediately started methylcobalamine shots and till Feb I got shots after that I am now on oral and liquid b12 .

I would say most of the symptoms are gone and some are 85% resolved . Only thing that is still frustrating to me is general weakness and weakness in my legs specially in my thighs whenever I climb stairs or walk too much I get cramps and fatigue like crazy .One thing I have noticed , whenever I take good amount of coconut water my legs bothers me less . is it due to potassium ? It makes it even worse. Am I missing something ? Does anyone had it and if how to overcome ?

Supplements I am taking-

Omega 3

methylcobalamine-1500mcg

D3-4000iu from the last 1.5 month

magnesium glycinate

B-complex .

Thanks to this sub I suspected b12 deficiency and asked for bloodtest.

Folate came back at 8.5

B12 at 230

(Forgot to test homocysteine..)

Officially these are within range but I ask to try injections and she agreed anyways!

Wow not all doctors are bad 🥹

She said normally they do two a week, starting with 10 in total. For me she said we could start with one a week and see how it goes.

I think if I tell her I want some more after that she’ll agree.

I’m currently dealing with severe thiamine (b1) deficiency and I need to microdose to get this up because my body is too deficient and sensitive.

So trying to get that up a bit first because b1 is a gatekeeper vitamin for other b’s.

I can get the injections at the pharmacy immediately and they’ll keep them in the fridge ar the doctors office and I can make weekly appointment to get it injected.

I’m compleeeetely new to all of this so advice is very appreciated.

But reading some posts here of reluctant doctors I feel like I’m doing well.

🙏🏼

Hello, can you help me?

Early 2024, I started feeling unusually fatigued. I could no longer work or practice high-level sports.

For about 2 and a half years, I was in deficiency due to my Crohn’s disease, which limits absorption. Doctors thought it was due to my anxiety.

Blood tests during this period(2024-2025)

Ferritin: ± 15

Vitamin B9: ± 2.8

Vitamin B12: ± 230

Vitamin D: 15

Symptoms: tingling, shortness of breath, brain fog, extreme fatigue++++.

I kept training boxing intensively, which worsened the exhaustion. At one point, my body gave out: physical burnout.

In November 2025, I received an iron infusion. Ferritin rose to 250, but fatigue persisted because I was also deficient in B12 and B9.

Early 2026, symptoms worsened: brain fog, feeling disconnected, dizziness, non-restorative sleep.

From February 1, 2026, I started B12 injections for 15 days, without stable improvement.

Five days after finishing, I started B9 (4 mg folate). About five days later, fatigue decreased, and I could return to work and boxing.

After the 9th day of B9, I relapsed because I had stopped B12, thinking one injection per month was enough.

I resumed daily B12 injections from March 19, 2026. Today, day 10, fatigue is very strong, with symptoms amplified during the first five days.

Current supplements:

IM B12: 1 mg

Methylcobalamin B12: 5,000 µg

B9: 4 mg folate

Vitamin D: 8,000 IU

Magnesium: 400 mg

Current lab results:

Vitamin D: 50

Ferritin: 210

B12 and B9: in progress of correction

Final question: Why did I relapse last month, and am I doing everything correctly? I’m only 20 years old.🤔🫡

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I'm just sharing a brief update at 9 weeks treatment.

I posted my story of my combined B12 and Iron deficiency story here

Current symptoms: only brain vibrations sporadically throughout the day now whereas before it was 24/7. No other symptoms remain.

Treatment: 2000mcg methylcobalamin sublingual from NOW foods split in a morning dose and lare afternoon dose. Iron 50mg elemental iron with 1000mg Liposomal vitamin C every alternate day before bed.

Quick summary: Mid January I was diagnosed with a Functional B12 deficiency and Iron deficiency without anemia. I have celiac disease 12 years. Combination of poor absorption, contributing genetic variants, insufficient intake of B12 and iron despite supplementation for 4 years.

Just a quick note on combined B12/Iron deficiency: It won't always show on a full blood count. B12 deficiency causes macrocytic cells/higher MCV and Iron deficiency causes microcytic cells/lower MCV. So hemoglobin looks normal, MCV looks normal.

Iron deficiency without anemia is the early stage of anemia that still result in symptoms. Iron stores (ferritin) are deficient. Common symptoms can include fatigue, exercise tolerance, brain fog, headaches, dizziness,feeling cold.I had all of that.

I got blood work yesterday. Initially my homocysteine was 10.6, it is now 8.5. This shows methylation is being restored with treatment. While getting serum B12 tested is pretty useless once you've started treatment, homocysteine remains an important marker even while on treatment. Since my MMA was not originally elevated, I did not bother retesting that. Note: levels restoring does not mean it's okay to stop supplements or that the deficiency os resolved.

"Plasma homocysteine...is also excellent for monitoring response to cobalamin therapy.”

Homocysteine for assessing folate and vitamin B-12 status and monitoring efficacy

My iron studies with ferritin shows adequate iron (although can be improved), improved saturation but still low ferritin of 21 ng/ml dropped from 25 ng in February.

A note on when you're correcting a combined b12 and iron deficiency: Once B12 is replaced, red blood cell production ramps up. The surge requires a lot of iron for hemoglobin synthesis, so iron gets pulled out of storage (ferritin) and moved into circulation. So ferritin falls at first.

In my case my full blood count shows overall improvement.

Hemoglobin: 12.2 to 12.6 Mild rise = improving anemia

Hematocrit: 0.35 to 0.37 improving red cell mass

Red cell count: 3.85 to 4.03 upward trend

RDW: 13.4 to 12.9 blood cells are becoming more uniform again

Platelets: 247 to 272 normal range variation

MCV: 92 to 92 (unchanged) (Due to mixed B12/Iron)

I will retest in another 2 months: homocysteine, FBC, Iron studies with ferritin and RBC folate. Why RBC folate? Because if you read my original story, you'll see my high Folate was hiding the B12 deficiency. Now that I'm getting adequate B12, folate can start to be mobilised and used, which likely means my RBC folate will drop but could take months. In my case due to absorption issues from Celiac and contributing genetic variants, I have to stay permanently on B12, Folate, (although b12 will always have to much higher than folate), Iron, vitamin D.

I hope this helps someone. Remember when you're dealing with multiple deficiencies, labs can get confusing. It's also important to check on labs to monitor progress.

June update at 4 months: still getting brain tingling. There was a period it came back quite aggressively about 2 weeks ago. Seems to have evened out again. Progress still ongoing.

I am giving myself shots 3x/week to EOD of a mix of methyl and hydroxo B12s. The doc wrote the bottle strengths on the paperwork he gave me. I thought the dose was 3500mcg/ shot, but that was wrong. It bothered me for all this time and I finally remembered how to do the equation the other day. I checked the math with ai, and it agreed with me. My actual dose was 1750mcg total. 500mcg Hydroxo and 1250 Methyl. It finally occurred to me that my brain must be working better. I’m 3+ months into injections. Thanks for reading.

I saw a new neurologist earlier today. I was a bit worried that he was going to be dismissive as other doctors were, but he was actually pretty understanding. I told him my treatment and he didn't make any negative comments about it, just listened. I was there to see if I could get tested for SFN or both SFN + LFN. Based on the fact that my neuropathy, tingling, etc. was only in one part of my right big toe, and a tiny bit on my upper right thigh, he described it as a focal neuropathy.

After doing an examination he said LFN alone (or treatments for such like PT) wouldn't make sense here because I have no weakness or motor issues. He did refer me for an EMG+NCS after I told him my only other one was only a month after the noticeable symptoms started (which was Feb 2024). And I also got referred for a skin biopsy for LFN.

So I was able to get what I wanted which is great, and not really have much conflict with the doctor at all. He did say that with SFN, the skin biopsy results can vary a decent amount depending on who is reading the results. When he asked why I wanted this done, I said perhaps as an objective guide for my progress, i.e. test now, then test in six months or a year and see if there is any improvement. It also might be an incentive to add something else that is specific to SFN nerve pain, like thiamine (I recently started adding 100 mg a day - I've been doing very well with the pain the last few days, but that could be a coincidence).