Fiver wrote:Hi pinkgothic. I'm just an occasional contributor here but I wanted to say that I'm very glad that fixing the B12 deficiency seems to have helped so much. I'm sure those symptoms were scary! Did your doctors just see your levels were low and add the supplement, or did they figure out what might have been causing the underlying problem? It's usually good to figure out the root cause, when it's possible. Anyway, welcome!
Unfortunately they only noticed the level was low and left it at that. I have a pretty good idea what the underlying cause is - my family has a history of irritable bowel syndrome, i.e. our bowels are
very picky eaters.
Of course, that's not as concrete a cause as I'd like, since it doesn't tell me what dials to twist and what buttons to punch, but I hope easing myself into Ketoflex will help (what with oils increasing absorption).
The symptoms were not nearly as scary as they 'should' have been. I didn't realise how bad I'd gotten until I got better! When I went to the neurologist, it was because I had really poor sleep quality and high sound sensitivity.
All the other associated problems - then-mild depression, light sensitivity, trouble concentrating, I didn't really identify as problems. I knew I had a
severe depression in 2017, but I thought I'd gotten completely out of that. The neurologist wanted me to see a psychologist, suspecting some kind of deep seated issues I needed to deal with. She was just dismissing me with
"so, just so you know, you don't need to worry about dementia" and
"your sleep is fine, most people don't need eight hours of sleep, much less nine, six is perfectly sufficient" when she paused and decided,
"actually, you know what? Go get tested for folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin D".
(Results were fine for folic and B6, less than HALF of the minimum value of B12, no vitamin D. So I take B12 and D3 supplements.)
That off-hand comment probably saved my sanity. Not a very heartening tale, unfortunately, but that's how things are. I reckon I'm too young that doctors think I'm anything other than an annoying hypochondriac.
In the first two weeks on vitamin B12 supplements, I noticed some really striking changes. At one point, my ears "popped" while two colleagues were having a conversation right next to me - that's only happened once! It was the same tonal shift you'd expect with ear-popping, without the physical sensation of ear-popping. I can't swear that was the moment I could start ignoring other people talking and concentrate on my work, but I like to think it was my auditory sense going
"OH! RIGHT! THIS is how that works!". I actually jolted when that happened.
I also had the distinct impression the lighting in the bathroom had been changed, when it hadn't. Same with my visual perception in general, though I couldn't tell you
what changed - it felt crisper, but any attempt I made at actually comparing it to how I used to see the world failed to turn up any differences. Probably another one of those attention/focus changes.
Beneficial for my relationship: I also no longer want to murder my primary for watching talk shows all the time. (Well, maybe a little. But I can bear it for a while.)
Most notably, no depression at all any more. I was previously trying to consciously train myself to hold onto as much optimism as I could (since I always found it beneficial in many ways) - now, on supplements, I can't save myself from optimism! My personality's returned. It's wonderful.
My memory (formation) seems to be completely back to normal, although I see not to the point that I mentioned it in my intro post. In 2017, in the midst of severe depression and at the cusp of my vitamin B12 deficiency (made worse by several attempts at vegetarian diets, always aborted for indistinct feelings of
"this is making me feel worse, not better"), I sometimes found myself making a decision and then five seconds later remembering only that I'd made a decision, not what it was. That was
really bad.
Memory recall is still a bit dodgy, but memory formation is back to normal. For example, I remember from yesterday that I wanted to look up a song with some specific lyrics I'd heard in a restaurant, but I've not actually done this yet because I keep forgetting to do it. I still remember the lyrics fine.
Anyway, I'm very much at the beginning of my journey. I need to assess what my exact risk profile is - and also shuffle as much information as possible to my mum, who's been suffering cognitive issues lately (she's 70). Vitamin B12 is also helping her, but not as much as me, so I appreciate any additional information I can find on this topic. I recommended the (German version of the) book
The End of Alzheimer's to her, but there's a real chance she can't parse it all even if she were fully willing, so the sooner I figure out what works for me, the sooner I can help her out! (We're very alike.) She's a remarkable woman and if I can improve her quality of life, I'll be very happy.
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Born 1984 | Diagnosis: Vitamin B12 deficiency, on supplements | Genetics: Unknown
Cognitive impairment: Minor trouble with words | Goals: Ketoflex 12/3 diet, genetic testing, getting a cognoscopy.
