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Don’t you wish you had a dime for every time a “chronic pain” specialist told you to just deal with it? Or that there was nothing more they could do for you? Before you subscribe to invasive surgery or a life of prescription opioids, try these essential pain management tips.

Always consult your doctor before trying any new pain management treatment, including natural supplements, OTC analgesics, and alternative therapies.

This article does not constitute medical advice, but rather suggestions that have helped many sufferers of chronic pain such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), pernicious anemia, or migraine.

#1- Take your vitamins and minerals!

Your number one plan of action for reducing chronic headaches, stiff joints, or aching muscles should be to make sure you’re getting the proper nutrients that your body needs in order to manage pain. Sometimes, painful tingling and numbness, stomach cramps, or reduced mobility could be a symptom of vitamin deficiency, such as low vitamin B12 or magnesium. Ask your doctor or natural health practitioner about dosage information.

Are you getting enough…

• Vitamin B12?
• Calcium?
• Vitamin D3?
• Folic acid?

Read this- Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Fibromyalgia Pain Types

#2- Try natural herbs and supplements!

In addition to getting your vitamin B12, you may also find relief by taking natural ingredients that improve your body’s response to inflammation and provide antioxidant benefits.

These may include:

• Boswellia,
• Alpha lipoic acid, and
• Glucosamine.

Boswellia, by Swanson- Get it on Amazon

#3- Get your protein!

Protein foods contain lots of amino acids that promote your body’s own natural pain relievers; endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, some of are also available as supplements. These help you sleep better while also promoting a sense of wellbeing.

In addition, animal-based protein foods are the only rich source of vitamin B12, which helps your body maintain healthy red blood cells while also sustaining normal neurological functioning.

#4- Rub out the pain!

Topical pain relief creams and ointments are a healthy addition to your chronic pain management plan. Try capsaicin, which is derived from cayenne peppers, and provides a soothing heat treatment for sore muscles.

Penetrex, Pain Relief Therapy- Available on Amazon

#5- Alternate hot and cold!

As a rule of thumb, cold packs are for quick, instant relief, while heat is for a more long-lasting healing effect. Heat relaxes muscles, and is especially helpful in conjunction with topical pain creams, for providing deep tissue relief. Cold provides on-the-spot treatment, and decreases inflammation. Both are instrumental for reducing sore muscles, headaches, and back pain.

#6- Stretch your limbs!

This is difficult advice to take, especially if you suffer from fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Still, it’s worth mentioning that chronic pain is a vicious cycle, and an important factor in treating it is maintaining mobility.

For this, the term “use it or lose it” really does apply. A sedentary lifestyle only increases pain, causing your muscles to waste away and tense up.

To do keep your tissues limber and prevent pain buildup, it’s important to take at least enough over-the-counter analgesics to allow you to get up from bed, stretch your legs, and walk down the street- even on the worst days. Do whatever it takes to maintain your mobility and proper alignment.

Your turn!

What natural preventive treatments do you use for chronic pain? Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

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Chronic Fatigue and House Work- Motivating Tips for Success

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Image(s) courtesy of Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some people are born with nystagmus– an annoying condition that makes your eyes jerk involuntarily, causing dizziness and reading problems. For others, nystagmus is acquired later in life.

What is nystagmus?

Nystagmus is an eye disorder that makes your eyes shake, jolt, or swerve repetitively. It occurs when your brain has poor control over eye movements, and makes it difficult to focus well on a picture, book, or fine print on a medicine bottle.

What causes nystagmus?

In most cases, nystagmus is congenital, appearing within the first few months of infancy.

Acquired nystagmus, however, can occur during childhood or later, in adults. There are many possible causes for sensory nystagmus, including brain trauma and a number of neurological disorders:

• Peripheral neuropathy
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Neurological side effect of anti-seizure medications, such as Dilantin and Phenobarbital
• Head injury
• Brain tumor
• Hyperventilation
• Metabolic disorders
• Alcoholism
• Nicotine
• Idiopathic- no known cause

Peripheral Neuropathy- What is it, exactly?

Nystagmus symptoms

There are several types of nystagmus that are classified according to different symptoms and eye movement behaviors.

Some common symptoms of nystagmus include:

• Eyes are constantly in motion
• Oscillopsia– vertigo, dizziness, and poor balance from constant movement
• Eyes veer over to one side and then jerk the other way
• Eye movements occur from side to side, up and down, or rotate
• Eye movements may change according to the way you hold your head or which way you’re looking
• Nystagmus is sometimes triggered by stress, loss of sleep, or bright lights

Treating nystagmus

There is no known cure for nystagmus. Eyeglasses won’t stop your eyes from jerking involuntarily, although they will help improve any other vision problems which may exacerbate nystagmus.

In rare cases, surgery is recommended to correct nystagmus.

In addition to having your eyes checked, it’s important to address any other underlying health conditions which may be causing shaky vision.

In most cases, when acquired nystagmus is not caused by a tumor or head injury, it is often a symptom of nerve damage, which may result from MS, diabetes, alcoholic neuropathy, or peripheral neuropathy from vitamin B12 deficiency, including pernicious anemia.

In such cases, only treating the underlying health condition will eventually “cure” symptoms of dizziness, eye shaking, and the like.

Supplementing with extra vitamin B12 is a good suggestion, as blood tests for vitamin B12 deficiency are not always reliable, and may not show a true result.

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

I Can’t See Clearly with B12 Deficiency- Double Vision and other Eye Problems

Myokymia is not a Hawaiian Island- Eyelid Twitching and Eye Spasms

Sources:

Understanding Nystagmus

Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo in Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Downbeat nystagmus indicates cerebellar or brain-stem lesions in vitamin B12 deficiency

Image courtesy of hapinachu/flickr

Last year, Dr. Oz aired America’s B12 Deficiency, a highly informative and eye-opening program focusing on the increasing rate of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia in our society. Here is a review of part 3 of that show.

(Continued from America’s B12 Deficiency: Recap of Dr. Oz Show, Part 2)

Here is a review of part 3 of that show.

Dr. Oz begins this segment with a demonstration about vitamin B12, explaining that when you eat animal-based protein foods like meat and fish,  your body has to first separate the vitamin from the protein, which it does through an R-protein (trans-cobalamin) which occurs naturally in your saliva, which protects vitamin B12 from your stomach acids.

Vitamin B12 malabsorption

For young people, vitamin B12 digestion begins without a hitch, but for older individuals, a reduction in digestive enzymes makes it difficult, sometimes impossible, to separate the B12 from the protein and protect it from caustic elements in the stomach. As a result, vitamin B12 dissolves, instead of being absorbed.

For the demonstration, he shows how vitamin B12 in people aged 50 and over stays bound to transcobalamin, and resists separating and diffusing into the digestive system.

“Once the B12 breaks away, your body can absorb it. Otherwise, this will go right through your intestinal system, because this reflects your stomach, goes right out your poop. You’re just wasting money.”

Guest Kate Geagan pipes in, explaining that the best natural source of vitamin B12 is in seafood and meat, as evidenced by the low rate of vitamin B12 deficiency in countries such as Japan where people thrive on shrimp and other fish products. She points out that as a result of a shift towards vegan or low-fat dieting, many Americans may be experiencing a rising incidence of vitamin B12 malabsorption.

“…coupled with changes in stomach acid, changes in physiology as we age, we’re not absorbing effectively even what we are taking in.”

Alcoholism and B12

Regarding alcoholism and vitamin B12 deficiency, guest Dr. Katz explains that alcohol impairs the  gastrointestinal system, affects the liver and pancreas, and over time, excessive alcohol use also causes atrophy of the stomach, one of many causes of vitamin B12 malabsorption. Coupled with the fact that most alcoholics tend to eat a non-nutritious diet, the risk factor for malnutrition in people suffering from alcoholism is extremely high.

Says Dr. Oz to the audience, “There’s a  B12 deficiency, it is a big deal… but the good news, although it’s serious, it can be reversed…”

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

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Top Ten Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency a Real Illness?

Image courtesy of David Berkowitz/ Wikimedia

Last year, Dr. Oz aired America’s B12 Deficiency, a highly informative and eye-opening program focusing on the increasing rate of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia in our society.

Here is a recap of part 2 of that show.

(Continued from America’s B12 Deficiency: Recap of Dr. Oz Show, Part 1)

Dr. Oz continues this segment with question #4, “Have you noticed tingling or numbness in your hands, your feet?”

This is one of the most common neurological conditions of vitamin B12 deficiency, neuropathy from decreased levels of vitamin B12.

The next question he asks, “Has your tongue become inflamed, red?” illustrates another early sign of vitamin B12 deficiency that most people don’t link to malabsorption.

Reasons for vitamin B12 deficiency

According to guest Dr. Katz, medications are a significant cause of vitamin B12 malabsorption, ticking off common over-the-counter and prescription drugs such as aspirin, which may erode the stomach linings, in addition to protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) for GERD and metformin for diabetes, which inhibit production of intrinsic factor, a digestive enzyme required for vitamin B12 absorption.

“And by the way, we hasten to add here, we’re not telling you to stop taking medications if you need it, but just to recognize this could cause B12 deficiency.”

Additionally, adds Dr. Oz and Dr. Katz, excessive supplementation of folate may exacerbate and hide the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency, putting off your chances of diagnosing an existing depletion of vitamin B12 until levels become dangerously low, increasing your risk for early-onset dementia from old age and cognitive problems such as depression, fatigue, memory loss, and disorientation.

“…and the problem with that is, there is a point at which B12 deficiency is no longer fully reversible.

If you don’t find it within the first months to couple of years, and fix it, some of those effects on cognition can persist.”

Old age is another strong risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency, and guest Kate Geagan agrees that as you age, the cells in your stomach age as well, secreting fewer stomach acids needed to digest vitamin B12 and other important nutrients. As a result, elderly individuals have a harder time separating vitamin B12 from food proteins and absorbing it into the system.

“Statistically, we don’t have that capability to secrete the gastric juices you need to cleave that B12 from the protein so that then you can start the process of absorbing it.”

To be continued…

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

Top Ten Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency a Real Illness?

Image courtesy of David Berkowitz/ Wikimedia

Enter to win a free month of B12 Patch!

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Last year, Dr. Oz aired America’s B12 Deficiency, a highly informative and eye-opening program focusing on the increasing rate of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia in our society. Here is a recap of part 1 of that show.

“Are you exhausted? Are you forgetting things? Are you feeling depressed? You may just think it’s your age. But it might be something much more insidious. You could be suffering from a condition called vitamin B12 deficiency.”

These are the first questions that Dr. Oz asks his audience in this informative segment on vitamin B12 deficiency, a rising epidemic in the US that currently affects up to 40 percent of the population.

Enter the introduction, alarming, but rightfully so:

“There’s a stealth weapon protecting your body from disease and you don’t even know it: Vitamin B12, nature’s superhero of supplements.”

Vitamin B12 is needed for healthy red blood cells, which deliver oxygen to the brain. Symptoms resulting from low vitamin B12 levels may include depression, fatigue, and memory loss, and may even increase your risk for stroke and heart disease.

While vitamin B12 occurs naturally in protein foods such as beef, chicken, and fish, an increasing number of individuals must compensate for low vitamin B12 levels by supplementing with weekly vitamin B12 shots or sublingual B12 lozenges.

“Could you be suffering of a deficiency of the super vitamin you didn’t know you needed?”

25 Medications that Cause Vitamin B12 Deficiency

“Two-thirds of you have vitamin B12 deficiency”

Dr. Oz shocks his audience by informing them that an earlier selected portion of the audience received vitamin B12 blood tests, and that roughly two-thirds of the audience has been found vitamin B12 deficient.

He introduces director and cofounder of the Yale Prevention Research Center, David Katz, along with nutritionist Kate Geagan.

Dr. Katz  is not surprised by the blood test results, adding that “…the conservative estimates have B12 deficiency level about 15%, but as you mentioned earlier, up to 40%.”

“Why should we be concerned?”

Vitamins are essential for fundamental health. Vitamin B12 is necessary for plenty of red blood cells, and a deficiency could indicate pernicious anemia. Vitamin B12 protects the nervous system, insulating individual neurons from harm while also sustaining normal intercellular communication. Vitamin B12 also supports DNA synthesis, so naturally, a depletion in vitamin B12 can be disastrous for your basic physiological functioning.

…”without adequate levels of B12, we can’t make DNA…if you can’t make DNA, your cells can’t divide, you can’t replace worn out body parts, so it’s effects really ripple throughout all of human physiology.”

Adds Dr. Oz, in other words, vitamin B12 deficiency ages us- makes us feel older than we really are.

Why the rise in vitamin B12 deficiency?

Part of the reason we’re seeing escalating incidences of vitamin B12 deficiency is simply because Baby Boomers are getting older, resulting in a large group of individuals who are having difficulty digesting vitamin B12 naturally from the foods they eat.

Add to that the popularity of many prescription medications that interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, such as aspirins, acid reflux treatments, and diabetes drugs.

Also, as more people are being advised to follow a vegan diet, or a low-fat diet including foods that have little vitamin B12, more US citizens are finding their vitamin B12 levels diminishing, especially when compared to cultures that eat plenty of B12-rich seafood, such as Japan, where vitamin B12 deficiency rates are consistently lower than ours.

Detecting vitamin B12 deficiency

“…the blood test that you could get can be valuable to you, but equally important to me is the symptoms you have.”

To help establish if you may have vitamin B12 deficiency, Dr. Oz recommends asking yourself the following questions:

#1: Do you suffer from an overall lack of energy?

#2: Have you noticed any unusual mood changes?

#3: Do you have difficulty concentrating or remembering things?

To be continued…

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

Top Ten Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency a Real Illness?

Image courtesy of David Berkowitz/ Wikimedia

Want to stop feeling fatigued, out-of-focus and absentminded? The key is to energize your brain by feeding it nutrients you need for cognitive health, stamina, and neurological excellence. Here are 4 sure-fire ways to improve your mental skills, lift your mood, and increase productivity.

Spice it up!

For hundreds of years, traditional herbalists have been using turmeric to boost energy, maintain healthy circulation, and prevent age-related dementia. The secret is its active ingredient, curcumin, which benefits your brain in many ways:

• Curcumin promotes growth of new brain cells while also enhancing neurological integrity. By increasing brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), this famous mustard-yellow curry spice improves your learning curve, instills a sense of well-being, wards off depression, and energizes your brain cells.
• Curcumin also increases your level of serotonin and dopamine; neurotransmitters that make you feel good.
• Turmeric is also a powerful antioxidant that improves your brain’s response to inflammation.

Boost Energy Now! 20 Practical Tips for Fighting Fatigue

Fuel your brain!

Citicoline is gathering a lot of attention in the medical world for its ability to prevent dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. This powerful brain energizer is used to treat cognitive disorders, such as age-related memory loss, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), and other conditions resulting from poor circulation in the brain. A vital brain chemical, citicoline is produced naturally, but can also be supplemented in doses, as advised by your doctor.

Buy citicoline from our Amazon store!

Eat breakfast!

In a UK study of 1,386 school children between the ages of 6 and 16 years of age, scientists noted a strong correlation between cognitive skills and breakfast. In their research, participants who ate breakfast made fewer mistakes in a mental acuity test, and were able to remain attentive longer than others. On the other hand, students who failed to eat even a light breakfast that day made frequent errors, had difficulty concentrating, and exhibited flagging energy levels throughout the day.

Get your B12!

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that is vital for metabolic energy, cognitive integrity, and neurological functioning. Low levels of vitamin B12 strongly correlate with depression, fatigue, memory loss, and age-related dementia.

• Vitamin B12 helps to support myelin production, a fatty sheath that protects your nerve cells and enhances communication with the brain. Vitamin B12 deficiency often results in delayed nervous impulses, neuropathic pain in the hands and feet, and difficulty controlling arm and leg movements.
• Also, vitamin B12 maintains healthy red blood cell production. Without enough B12 in your system, reduced oxygen levels resulting from insufficient hemoglobin cause symptoms such as low energy, panting, brain fog, poor concentration, and memory problems.
• To treat vitamin B12 deficiency, make sure you’re getting between 1,000-5,000 micrograms of cobalamin per shot, or an equal amount in over-the-counter (OTC) vitamin B12 supplements. If necessary, it is perfectly safe to supplement with extra vitamin B12 while also receiving regular vitamin B12 shots.

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

Low Energy could mean Low B12- It’s Correlational

Will Vitamin B12 Boost Energy if I don’t have B12 Deficiency? YES!

Sources:

Breakfast is associated with enhanced cognitive function in schoolchildren. An internet based study.

Curcumin reverses corticosterone-induced depressive-like behavior and decrease in brain BDNF levels in rats.

Vitamin B: A Key to Energy

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As seen on Hypersweep.com!

Managing symptoms of memory loss can be overwhelming; fortunately, iTunes offers many health apps for the iPad that help, whether you suffer from memory loss caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, Alzheimer’s disease, or chronic pain comorbidities.

With its easy-to-use touch-screen features, the iPad has become one of the most fundamental tools for daily life management. This is especially true in the medical world, as patients can easily access information about illnesses, health information, and updated medical treatments.

If you suffer from frequent memory loss, then you can take advantage of many iTunes apps that can remind you to take your vitamins and medications, schedule a doctor’s visit, or keep track of important dates.

If memory loss is caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, then it helps to understand more about neurological symptoms that are associated with low vitamin B12 levels, or the positive effect that vitamin B12 supplementation has on Alzheimer’s disease.

Other iTunes apps that may help include brain games that enhance cognitive functioning skills, or e-book readers such as Kindle that are compatible with the iPad.

See the bottom of the page for our iPad 2 Giveaway!

Listed below are 10 iPad apps that benefit people with mild or severe memory loss:

1- Alzheimer’s Memory Pal by Linda Paulus- FREE

Designed by the daughter of an Alzheimer’s disease patient, the Alzheimer’s Memory Pal helps improve facial recognition and memory skills by using a “family tree” containing images of family, friends, and caregivers that you upload yourself.

2- Common Deficiencies, Symptoms & Remedies by Rebecca Indla- $0.99

Learn about common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, and other vitamin deficiencies, some of which may include brain fog, disorientation, or memory loss.

3- GenieMD by GenieMD, LLC- FREE

Keep track of your medications on your iPad. Receive custom reminders to take vitamin B12 supplements, track blood pressure, and get updated warnings about important drug interactions.

4- Kindle for iPad by AMZN Mobile LLC- FREE

Optimized for iTunes, e-book apps like Kindle or Nook are easy to use, and enhance the reading experience by mimicking “page-turning” and letting you choose font and color. You’ll never need to worry about losing your bookmark or keeping track of a large library. The Kindle app syncs with other hand-held devices.

5- Evernote by Evernote- FREE

One of the most important lessons in managing memory loss is to remember to always write it down! Consider the Evernote iPad app your home base for all important data. Store pictures, record voice memos, schedule your itinerary, make to-do lists, and jot down notes on-the-go.

6- 3D Brain by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory- FREE

Learn about the brain, including disorders that may be the cause of memory loss. Find out about ways that chronic illness, concussions, pernicious anemia, or neurological diseases can make you feel fatigued, restless, depressed, or forgetful.

7- Neurology Now® by Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins- FREE

The Neurology Now magazine gives you the latest updates in treatments and research for neurological disorders such as peripheral neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

8- Pill Monitor Free Medication Reminders and Logs by Maxwell Software- FREE

Another helpful app designed specifically for keeping track of medications, vitamins, and minerals, especially when memory loss is an issue.

9- Chain Of Thought, the free association word chain game by Jay Bacal- FREE

Sharpen your memory skills by playing this free association word game.

10- Secret Password Keeper by Universal Studio- $0.99

You’ll never forget your password when you use this clever app, which allows you to create a screen lock based on various themes, such as fingerprint scan, voice security, or traditional unlock.

Enter to win a free iPad!

Through February 10, 2013, enter the B12 Patch  iPad 2 Giveaway! Locate the “Vote and Win” tab at the top left-hand corner of our blog page, or submit your entry at the B12 Patch Facebook iPad Giveaway page.

Image(s) courtesy of stockimages/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Vitamin B12 is a lot easier to get than people realize- if you take the following medications, you may be susceptible to severe vitamin B12 deficiency, even if you include plenty of B12-rich foods in your diet.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) occurs naturally in many foods that most people eat every day; lean beef, poultry, organ meats, fish, shellfish, eggs, and dairy products all contain generous amounts of vitamin B12- enough to avoid becoming deficient.

However, there are certain medications that may interfere with your ability to extract vitamin B12 from the foods you eat, eventually resulting in a severe drop in vitamin B12 levels.

What is vitamin B12, and why is it so important?

Vitamin B12 malabsorption may occur if you currently take the following pharmaceutical drugs:

Medications that cause vitamin B12 deficiency

1. Cholestyramine (Cholybar®, Questran®) – used to lower high cholesterol levels in the blood.
2. Cimetidine (Tagamet®) – used to treat and prevent stomach ulcers.
3. Clofibrate (Atromid-S®) – impairs absorption of vitamin B12 –
4. Colchicine– (ColBenemid®) – used to prevent or treat attacks of gout (also called gouty arthritis)
5. Co-trimoxazole– It reduces bacteria that cause infections of the urinary tract, lungs (pneumonia), ears, and intestines.
6. Demeclocycline– an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.
7. Famotidine– a histamine blocker used to treat and prevent ulcers.
8. Fluoroquinolones– antimicrobials used to kill bacteria in pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and diarrhea.
9. Lansoprazole– used to prevent stomach ulcers and to treat other conditions in which the stomach produces too much acid.
10. Macrolides– antibiotics used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections.
11. Metformin– type 2 diabetes drug, known to cause vitamin B12 deficiency.
12. Methyldopa (Aldomet®) – reduces vitamin B12 levels, leading to a vitamin B12 deficiency.
13. Minocycline– antibiotic used to help treat periodontal disease, acne, and inflammatory arthritis.
14. Neomycin– antibiotic, antibacterial used topically to treat skin infections, wounds, and burns. Neomycin impairs vitamin B12 absorption and has been shown to decrease vitamin B12 levels.
15. Nizatidine– used to treat and prevent stomach ulcers, intestinal ulcers, and acid reflux.
16. Omeprazole (Prilosec®) -used for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
17. Oral contraceptives– oral contraceptives with high estrogen content leads to decreased levels of vitamin B12.
18. Phenobarbital (Donnatal®, Solfoton®) -barbiturate, anticonvulsant that results in decreased levels of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, in addition to elevated homocysteine levels. (Vitamin B12, Homocysteine, and your Heart)
19. Phenytoin– an antiepileptic drug.
20. Potassium chloride– used for dehydration, can be deadly in its concentrated form.
21. Ranitidine (Zantac®) H2-receptor, heartburn medication used to suppress production of stomach acids that are necessary for digesting vitamin B12.
22. Sulfonamides– antibiotics used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections.
23. Tetracyclines (Achromycin®, Sumycin®, Tetra-C®, Tetracyn®, Tetralyn®, Tetram®, Tropicycline®) – antibiotics prescribed for acne.
24. Trimethoprim– (TMP/SMX) is used to treat urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and “travelers’ diarrhea.”
25. Valproic Acid (Depakene®) – anticonvulsant used for migraine headache prevention.

Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency

Because the decline is so gradual, people usually don’t realize that they’re not getting enough vitamin B12 until they begin experiencing the warning symptoms- which often arrive only when depletion is severe.

Warning signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

• Constant fatigue
• Sluggish thinking (brain fog)
• Depression
• Confusion
• Difficulty concentrating
• Memory loss
• Painful tingling, burning, and numbness in hands and feet
• Poor coordination
• Muscle twitches and spasms
• Eye problems
• Tinnitus (ear ringing)

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

Top Ten Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency a Real Illness?

Sources:

Vitamin B12

Image(s) courtesy of dream designs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If your arms and legs keep falling asleep on a regular basis, then you may be suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency. Here are some facts about “pins and needles” caused by paresthesia, and what you can do for relief.

Tingling, painful numbness

It’s aggravating when your legs fall asleep from sitting in an uncomfortable position for too long. For several seconds that seem to stretch for eternity, your experience sharp tingling sensations that begin in your feet and spread to the rest of your legs, causing excruciating burning pain, anxiety, and severe numbness.

When these symptoms occur often, you may be suffering from chronic paresthesia, a condition that results from a temporary glitch in communication between your brain and nerve cells in your legs.

Paresthesia is not just limited to your legs and feet falling asleep; it can also occur in your fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and even your tongue!

Once you start flexing your legs (waking them up), the pain eventually decreases, as your brain receives confirmation of electrochemical impulses coming from your peripheral nerves.

Painful Tingling in Hands and Feet- What’s Up with That?

Vitamin B12 and your nerves

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential nutrient for many important biological functions, and one of the first clues that you’re not getting enough vitamin B12 in your diet is its impact on your peripheral nerves, the section of your nervous system that controls muscle coordination, reflexes, metabolism, and various organs.

Vitamin B12 benefits your neurons by maintaining myelin, a fatty substance that coats your individual nerve cells. The myelin sheath does double-duty by protecting your nervous system from harm while also enhancing intercellular communication between your neurons.

Neuropathy

When there is a deterioration of myelin, resulting symptoms may include painful numbness, tingling in the extremities, and difficulty controlling arm and leg movements- all symptoms you may experience when your arms and legs keep “falling asleep.”

These symptoms may indicate peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage caused as a result of decreased myelin.

Illnesses that cause myelin corrosion (demyelination) include multiple sclerosis and pernicious anemia, a common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency.

What are the Symptoms of Pernicious Anemia- B12 deficiency?

Treatment for paresthesia

It’s easy to find out if your legs and arms are falling asleep from vitamin B12 deficiency. Ask your doctor for a blood screening for vitamin B12 levels. A deficiency in vitamin B12 means that you will have to supplement with synthetic vitamin B12 until your stores return to normal.

However, oftentimes vitamin B12 blood tests are inaccurate; therefore, it’s important to recognize symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, and confide with your doctor.

Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

• Painful tingling in the arms and legs (falling asleep)
• Numbness in the arms and legs
• Electric shock-like sensations
• Sore, burning tongue
• Difficulty walking
• Slow reflexes
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Constant fatigue
• Headaches
• Vision problems
• Memory loss
• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Dizziness
• Tinnitus (ear ringing)
• Stomach pain

Your turn!

Do you have any questions or suggestions?  Please leave your comments below.

Share with your friends!

If you found this article helpful, then please share with your friends, family, and coworkers by email, Facebook, or Google+.

Like this? Read more:

Myokymia is not a Hawaiian Island- Eyelid Twitching and Eye Spasms

Tired of being Tired all the Time…It’s Tiring!

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Enter from Super-Sweeps, or our Facebook page.

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What makes your arms, legs and feet fall asleep?

Paresthesia

Image(s) courtesy of marin/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Although old age is one of the highest risk factors for vitamin B12 deficiency, you don’t need to surrender yourself to symptoms like fatigue, memory loss, or painful numbness in your golden years.  By taking necessary precautions, many individuals over the age of 65 are able to prevent developing a deficiency in this vital nutrient, vitamin B12.

What is vitamin B12 deficiency?

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a necessary nutrient that your body uses to produce plenty of healthy red blood cells, synthesize DNA, and maintain nervous system integrity. When your body does not get enough vitamin B12, the result is a severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

B12 deficiency makes you feel constantly tired, forgetful, disoriented, and depressed, in addition to causing unusual symptoms like painful tingling in the hands and feet, and “electric shock” sensations.

Over time, untreated vitamin B12 deficiency may cause debilitating nerve damage, increased risk for heart disease and stroke, or death.

B12 deficiency does not discriminate

It’s a common myth that only senior citizens need to worry about getting vitamin B12 deficiency. While it’s true that your ability to digest vitamin B12 from foods such as beef, chicken, and fish diminishes with age, there are nevertheless many other risk factors for vitamin B12 malabsorption to consider.

In addition to old age, other risk factors for developing severe vitamin B12 deficiency include:

• Vegan dieting
• Autoimmune disorders (celiac disease, lupus)
• Family history for pernicious anemia
• Gastrointestinal disorder (Crohn’s disease, IBS)
• Migraines
• Fibromyalgia
• Bariatric surgery (gastric bypass)
• Ileectomy (removal of the ileum)
• Protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) for GERD
• Metformin medication for diabetes
• Alcoholism

What are the Symptoms of Pernicious Anemia- B12 deficiency?

Vitamin B12 deficiency in old age

Elderly individuals are at risk for developing vitamin B12 deficiency because they produce fewer digestive enzymes required to absorb vitamin B12 naturally from food.

As a result, many senior citizens suffer fatigue, confusion, memory loss, anxiety, and depression, as a result of an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency that is too often overlooked.

Especially when Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia have already been diagnosed, many physicians fail to realize that dementia symptoms may be exacerbated by undiagnosed vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia.

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B12 and brain health

Many oft-cited scientific studies have shown that supplementation of vitamin B12 can delay the advancement of dementia in old age, and extend cognitive health dramatically.

Patients diagnosed with dementia who maintained healthy levels of serum vitamin B12 scored far better on mental acuity tests than elderly individuals who suffered from vitamin B12 deficiency. MRI reports reflected these findings, as dementia patients with normal vitamin B12 levels have fuller brain mass than their peers with vitamin B12 deficiency.

Doctors advise routine supplementation of vitamin B12 for boosting brain health, delaying age-related dementia, and maintaining energy.

Your turn!

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