Vitamin B12 Deficiency: 7 warning signs and symptoms you shouldn't ignore
A drop in vitamin B12 levels may cause tiredness, numbness, and emotional changes that shouldn't be neglected.
If your body is low in Vitamin B12, you might feel exhausted even after a proper sleep.
Vitamin B12 deficiency may harm your optic nerve and impair your eyesight.
Vitamin B12 is essential for nerve protection. Without it, you could feel pins-and-needless sensation in your feet or hands.
B12 is involved in brain function, and deficiency can influence your mood.
B12 deficiency can lead to reduction of red blood cells, which may impact your skin complexion, making it appear slight yellowish.
Swollen red tongue and soreness in the mouth can be associated with low B12 levels.
Deficiency in B12 can decrease oxygen flow, resulting in frequent dizziness or feeling of weakness.
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India.com
2 days ago
- India.com
Vitamin B12 Deficiency: 7 warning signs and symptoms you shouldn't ignore
A drop in vitamin B12 levels may cause tiredness, numbness, and emotional changes that shouldn't be neglected. If your body is low in Vitamin B12, you might feel exhausted even after a proper sleep. Vitamin B12 deficiency may harm your optic nerve and impair your eyesight. Vitamin B12 is essential for nerve protection. Without it, you could feel pins-and-needless sensation in your feet or hands. B12 is involved in brain function, and deficiency can influence your mood. B12 deficiency can lead to reduction of red blood cells, which may impact your skin complexion, making it appear slight yellowish. Swollen red tongue and soreness in the mouth can be associated with low B12 levels. Deficiency in B12 can decrease oxygen flow, resulting in frequent dizziness or feeling of weakness.
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
My painful restless legs are stopping me from relaxing & nothing seems to work – I'm desperate for help
WE are often drawn to supplements to 'fix our health'. But, unless we are deficient in certain nutrients, then lifestyle changes are more likely to bring about noticeable changes. Most of us should get all the nutrients we need from eating a balanced diet. But we sometimes need a little extra help. For example, vegetarians and especially vegans should consider supplementing with vitamin B12, and possibly calcium, iron and zinc. Irritable bowel syndrome patients might find a probiotic is helpful to alleviate symptoms, and people with sleep issues may want to try magnesium. The only supplement the NHS recommends for all adults is vitamin D, which our bodies create in response to sufficient sunlight. The advice is to take it between October and April, but some people are advised to take it all year round, including people who have dark skin and those who are not often outdoors, for example, if they are in a care home. Here's a selection of what readers have asked this week. Q) AS soon as I relax in bed, I get a crawling sensation under my skin in my legs. Lately, it seems to be getting worse, affecting my arms. I am an 82-year-old lady and have suffered from restless legs syndrome for many years. My GP first prescribed pramipexole, which didn't help, then ropinirole, which doesn't work on its own, so I have to take co-codamol. Cardiologist explains when chest pains aren't a heart attack I worry I will have to take these for the rest of my life. My doctor won't increase the ropinirole because of the side-effects. I've been told there is nothing else that can be done. I have tried exercising, a warm bath, a massage, but nothing helps. A) Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterised by an irresistible urge to move the limbs accompanied by uncomfortable sensations. While it most commonly affects only the legs, the arms are occasionally affected, too. Symptoms tend to be worse at night and this often affects sleep. It's not understood why people get it and there's no known cure unless it's linked to an underlying, reversible condition. Iron deficiency or low iron levels can cause it, so it's worth your GP checking these if they haven't already. It can also be caused by certain medications, including some anti-nausea drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics and antihistamines – so again, if you take any other meds, it's worth checking if there could be a link. Ropinirole used to be recommended as a first-line treatment, but the guidelines have changed and now gabapentin (and similar drugs) are advised. Some people are unable to take this due to potential interactions. Some people have side-effects, especially older adults. So your GP might have opted away from this, but it is worth asking them. You can always download the NICE guidelines yourself or attach the link in an e-consult request for them to consider. Just search 'NICE' and 'restless legs syndrome' and you'll reach the right webpage. It may also help if you reduce caffeine and alcohol, don't smoke, sleep well and be physically active. To relieve an attack, relaxation, stretching, walking or massage can help. RLS-UK ( has useful advice and resources. My doctor said it was pointless having an X-ray, but I have had corticosteroid injections, which did nothing to ease the pain. 3 I am a 63-year-old type 2 diabetic, and I have also been having physiotherapy, which has noticeably improved my range of movement. My physiotherapist is not entirely convinced that it IS a frozen shoulder, though, and has suggested it could potentially be a form of arthritis or another condition. He has written to my doctor recommending that X-rays be carried out. I have started experiencing upper back pain, too. I am unsure whether this is connected. How do I approach my doctor on this? A) Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) is a condition that causes pain, stiffness and reduced range of movement of the shoulder joint. The symptoms are caused by the formation of adhesive or scar tissue in the joint. Studies indicate that people with diabetes may be two to four times more likely to develop frozen shoulder. Diagnosis is clinical, meaning it is based on the symptoms and examination findings rather than X-rays or scans. The main diagnostic test is whether you can do passive external rotation of the shoulder. This means that the doctor supports the patient's arm in a bent position (imagine holding a kettle) and tries to move the arm to the side. Inability to do this movement is highly suggestive of frozen shoulder. If an X-ray is obtained, it should demonstrate a normal shoulder joint. Most patients get physiotherapy, which can be supplemented by steroid joint injections. It usually resolves on its own over a year or two, although some individuals may experience longer recovery times. Physios see frozen shoulder quite frequently, so if yours is experienced and believes that other causes should be considered, then your GP is likely to take that advice. Rotator cuff injuries, bursitis, osteoarthritis and shoulder impingement are examples of conditions that can be mistaken for frozen shoulder due to overlapping symptoms. 'My body has become my enemy' Q) I AM a 63-year-old female who has always been healthy and active until having a mobility issue with my right leg for the last 13 years. It has led to foot drop. It is easy to trip and fall. It was suggested I must have had a one-off viral attack which damaged an area of my spinal cord. 3 I am so angry and frustrated. This has taken a huge toll on me mentally, and my body has responded by going into overdrive. I am overwhelmed with tiredness, but cannot sleep, and have no appetite. I am unable to relax. My body has become my enemy. Please could you advise, before I collapse? A) It sounds like the 'fight or flight' part of your nervous system may be in overdrive and also that you have a lot of negative thoughts and emotions surrounding what has happened to your body. This statement, 'my body has become my enemy', is a clue that you are most likely to benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which is available on the NHS. CBT could help you rebuild the relationship with your body. Please don't delay – self-refer on the NHS talking therapies webpage, or explore insurance or private options if these are available to you. Regarding the foot drop, in addition to physio and orthotics (which help prevent tripping and dragging of the toes), you should ask about whether electrical nerve stimulation would be an option for you. A device sends small electrical impulses to stimulate nerves that lift the foot and is sometimes used if the foot drop is caused by damage to the brain or spinal cord (eg from stroke or MS – multiple sclerosis). Research is ongoing into using stem cells or nerve growth factors to regenerate damaged nerves that cause foot drop. See if any trials are recruiting by asking your specialist team, exploring the NIHR Be Part of Research webpage, or by visiting
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Unruly act, emotional assault, says IMA on health minister's outburst
Panaji: The Indian Medical Association's Goa branch on Saturday said it was 'deeply disturbed' and 'profoundly disappointed' by a video in which health minister Vishwajit Rane is seen yelling at a doctor in front of a camera crew before ordering his suspension. The IMA called it an 'emotional assault on the doctor', and urged authorities to immediately rescind the suspension and reinstate him. The association strongly condemned the 'unacceptable' and 'unruly act' by the health minister. It stood firmly with the victimised doctor, and stated that Rane's actions were 'deeply regrettable and unacceptable'. 'It not only bypasses due process and natural justice, but also disregards the professional dignity and morale of the entire medical community,' the association stated. 'We strongly condemn this arbitrary and high-handed behaviour that has humiliated and victimised a dedicated medical professional in full view of the public and media,' said IMA-Goa state president, Dr Dattaram Dessai, in a press note. 'IMA Goa firmly believes that any grievance, no matter how serious, should be addressed through a fair, transparent, and structured inquiry,' the association stated. 'Proceeding to suspend a senior doctor from the emergency department without giving him an opportunity to present his side of the facts, besides publicly berating him in tone and manner, amounts to an emotional assault on the duty doctors.' The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA doctors association), in a letter to the chief minister copied to the Prime Minister, Union health minister, IMA, National Human Rights Commission and National Medical Council, has threatened a nationwide agitation including mass protests, in solidarity with GMC doctors if no immediate public apology comes from the health minister. The federation also expressed 'deep anguish and unflinching condemnation' at the doctor being publicly humiliated and verbally assaulted for exercising his clinical judgement in declining a non-emergent B 12 injection requested by an acquaintance of the minister. 'No doctor should be expected to violate medical norms under pressure from political figures or VIP acquaintances,' it said. The Indian Radiological and Imaging Association's Goa chapter also 'strongly condemned' Rane and his 'uncalled-for, abusive, and condescending behaviour' towards the doctor. The association said that the incident creates a precedent to normalise hostility towards medical professionals. 'It is absolutely unacceptable that a chief medical officer on duty is subjected to verbal abuse and public humiliation in the presence of media, civilians, patients and hospital staff, with no admission of statement from the doctor,' it said.
