Peripheral Neuropathy – more information
As I said in my last post, the peripheral nervous system includes sensory nerves that receive feeling. Keep in mind that not everyone experiences the same symptoms with any condition. When dealing with the nervous system even more so. Your nerves may react very differently then someone else, so you might have symptoms and not even realize what they really mean.
I want to take a minute to discuss something that happened to me. When my B12 deficiency was the most severe, my main symptoms had to do with my bladder and sensitive areas. To be more specific (hey, if it can help any of you I’m happy to embarrass myself) I thought I had urinary tract infections, bladder infections or some type of yeast infection.
I peed (is that a word?) in many a cup and wasted months going to my gynecologist, who kept telling me I was fine. And in those areas I was, it was actually a result of the nerve damage the B12 deficiency was causing. I’ve since been told that the nerves in that area (whether you are a man or woman) are very sensitive, and it’s not uncommon to feel the way I did. Had I gone right to my primary care physician, I may have gotten my blood work done and the B12 deficiency detected much sooner. Alright, I’m done with my little rant so lets move on to more facts.
Peripheral neuropathy usually starts in the longest nerves, the nerves that reach to your toes. This is why most people (myself included) who experience peripheral neuropathy start with tingling in their feet and it works it’s way up into your legs. Or it may begin in your hands and spread up into your arms. Peripheral neuropathy may also cause sharp and/or jabbing pain, a prickly sensation, extreme sensitivity to touch or light, lack of coordination, muscle weakness, bowel or bladder problems.
B vitamins, especially B12, are very important to the health of your nervous system. You should always seek medical advice if you are experiencing any unusual sensations in your hands or feet. The earlier a problem is diagnosed the better. Especially when it comes to dealing with your nervous system and nerve damage. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to preventing any further damage and possibly healing damage that has already taken place.
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My blood test came back saying my B12 level was below 150. This was Dec.2009 I’ve completed my weekly B12 shots and my B12 level is 480. I’ve started the once @month shot and I’m scheduled to see my Doctor this month. My hands and feet are numb. I feel better but like everyone I want to have a better control of this. I walk daily to offset the leg weakness, along with my appetite getting much better. At 55 years young I have so much to look forward to. I read the blogs and it helps me understand more. Thank you so much My support group is great and very understanding
Hi Casey,
Hope you have improved since the last posting in Feb 2010 here.
I have started now for approx. two months my intake of b12. I take it sublingual its a spray and I have found initially an enormous difference the first 2-3 weeks, since then ups & downs. Mind you, I have a few many other health concerns post surgery (if you want to read more about my situation I have posted in the “B12 Symptoms” and “B12 deficiency -what the numbers mean” )
It’s rather a huge relief to know what is going on after results show levels that nutritionally are low. It’s not in the mind, it really is the biochemistry in our body as well as our mind and body movements that all synchronise with a integrative manner. Hydration and nutrition are so key together with a positive attitude and being proactive..its quite empowering to take control of ones health.
I’m now in my late 30′s and look forward to maintaining nutritional intakes for the rest of my life because our foods are just not enough to sustain us unfortunately. Being optimistic about it is half the fun and getting on with enjoying life knowing I have it more under control than not knowing is liberating.
All the best with your wellness!
For the last 5 years I have been dealing with some MAJOR issues, (its actually been longer but the most noteable ones started 5 years ago). I went in because of a major kidney infection that I had when I was 19 (I had previous kidney infections and numerous bladder infections that go back to childhood so it was nothing new to me), honestly I had no idea anything was wrong as my tolerance to pain tolerance to these infections had diminished. I knew that I was going to the bathroom CONSTANTLY (twice an hour) but was told that “Girls just go more than guys” so I thought that it was normal… oh I was so wrong.
I was referred out to a urologist to determine why I had chronic bladder infections as well as kidney infections: my initial diagnosis was “urethral stenosis” (means my pee hole is too small to pass all my urine through in one sitting). I then faced 5 urethral dialations (w/out pain meds) which is literally the equivalent of sticking knitting needles up your pee hole to make your urethra larger! After the sixth time with no relief I told my doctor to figure it out some other way, as my body had enough! Here is the shining light… I noticed that I no longer could tolerate being around sick people as I ALWAYS caught what they had 10 fold (no joke I had strep throat twice in 3 months(which is not something adults usually get)), my mood had gone from really happy to on the brink of suicide in a split second, my appetite was gone, my resting heart rate was sitting at average 104 daily, I was dizzy 70% of the day, and my sensitivity in my nether region was gone. My ob/gyn gave me a pap smear one day, and had he not said “I am going to put my hand here” I would have never known he touched me, and “warming up the speculum” he could have frozen the thing and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Out of embarassment (cause I thought I would have known everything I needed to know about my body) I asked a couple of my closest girlfriends their sensitivity down there, and how much they go to the ladies room on average during a day… honestly their answers blew me away, I knew that I was not facing a very simple issue.
After doing my own research, symptom tracking, and some observation (regarding at what point I stop peeing) I learned that my kegal muscles were the issue, I would go, my kegals would clench and if I did scratched my back right above my right hip, they would loosen up and I could continue going… my bladder infections are a result of urinary retention, and post void residual. When I have a bladder infection, the infection never clears my system, as my bladder never really empties! I brought this up to my urologist (who was then testing me for cancer of my kidneys, ureters, and bladder) and to my suprise he looked at me like I had four heads, he was suprisingly apprehensive to explore this avenue, then mentioned to me that the only way to fix this was with a bladder pace maker (I got a snazzy pamphlet that turned on another light bulb in my head).
By this point I was exhausted from being sick all the time, I woke up every two hours at night to either go to the bathroom or just because my body decided that it was time for me to wake up momentarily, I started to develop cluster headaches aka suicide headaches (they make you want to do just that), my tolerance to excersize was gone (which is something I did everyday for an hour or two), my sensitivity to heat was unbearable, my body would “fall asleep” randomly and in the oddest parts of my body, my hands and feet now tingled at a constant rate, and more noteably I felt like I was getting early alzheimers. I would have a thought one moment and completely forget what I was thinking about, I can’t tell you how many times I got lost while I was driving simply because I had no idea where I had originally intended to go. I was willing to give this pace maker a try ONLY if I knew we weren’t just treating the symptoms, I wanted this to go away! This pace maker is placed in your back next to the sacral nerves to stimulate the nerve signals from the sacral nerves (where I had to scratch to get my kegals to release) to the brain (as the communication had been lost). When I was younger I suffered a back injury that caused me to have three herniated discs, one right above my sacrum, and the other two directly below, needless to say the coincidence lead me to my neurologist aka my guardian angel! He listened to me go on an on with the list of symptoms that I had and he not only made me feel like I had a real issue, but he confirmed that I was not losing my mind! He immediately ordered up 11 blood tests for me and TODAY, he told me its b12 deficient anemia! In three weeks, I got an answer for the last 5 years of hell! I don’t think a doctor has ever heard someone thank him as much for a diagnosis than I did, I literally had tears running down my cheeks! (now its just remembering everything else he said during that call).
Anyways I know this is a long story, but I just really REALLY want people to know that your body has its way of telling you things… even if they don’t seem to be a big deal, they really are! The only way to get your life back, is taking control of it and doing whatever it takes to figure this out. I start my b12 shots daily for 6 months (this week), after six months I will go back in for some more testing to make sure that my body is actually responding to them… and if not, at least we are on the right road for a change!!!!
I’m taking once @month shot now and I take B12 sublinguals. My level is about 1652. My feet,hands and legs have no change and I told the Doctor about that and she incresed my Neurotin. I feel my B12 level has changed but nothing else.