B12 injections

Heather65

Hi all,
well went back to the docs (again) to have a chat about my poorly neck he said the mri didnt show any nerve pinching but was still concerned as im still getting pins and needles and numbness in my hands he says ive got cronic neck pain (no kidding ), so im off for another x-ray tomorrow at the hospital after my physio, im also starting B12 injections on friday every 3 days for two weeks to see if it will help with my sensations ,
He has also put me on amitripyline for the pain so now i need a bigger box for my meds ,so the saga goes on
Heather

mig

Hope the injections can help and you get some relief soon. Mig

julie47

Hi Heather

let's hope that the physio and the B12 injections help

take care, love Julie Pf x

earthspirit

hope you feel better soon BUT you know i am amazed at how quickly some people are sent for xrays. i seem to have a big struggle getting any.

im part of a research group at the the hospital centre and have had my hands and feet xrayed on an 18 million pound machine that does super duper pics of bones.

i also have never had any scans of anything just an mri of my neck years ago but nobody detected RA even tho they did pick up lots of previous damage and a severed main artery (from a very long ago accident where nobody diagnosed that either)

how do other people get on when asking for xrays or it is doctor/consultant suggested??

Heather65

Hi earthspirit,
yes i am lucky to have a very good doctor he suggested the x-ray and i was more than happy to have one ,i just dont give up i know something is wrong with my neck so i keep going to the docs so they know i wont just give up and go away ,ask for a x-ray you may just get one ,
I find that you have to keep on pushing ,
Heather

earthspirit

thanks heather. i think i have not been pushy enough with doctors my whole life, to the point where i was undx for all of it lol

stickywicket

earthspirit wrote:

how do other people get on when asking for xrays or it is doctor/consultant suggested??

I've never asked for X-rays but I did once ask not to have them or, to be precise, not to have quite so many. Useful as they can be, I don't think it's a good idea to radiate your body more than is necessary.

On the above occasion I went in for physio on my knees and an over-zealous registrar, who had clearly never seen a body like mine before, insisted on 23. It was less than 12 months after I'd bust a hip and had an MRI and CT scan on it, not to mention subsequent X-rays. I try to keep mine to a minimum.

earthspirit

stickywicket wrote:

earthspirit wrote:

how do other people get on when asking for xrays or it is doctor/consultant suggested??

I've never asked for X-rays but I did once ask not to have them or, to be precise, not to have quite so many. Useful as they can be, I don't think it's a good idea to radiate your body more than is necessary.

On the above occasion I went in for physio on my knees and an over-zealous registrar, who had clearly never seen a body like mine before, insisted on 23. It was less than 12 months after I'd bust a hip and had an MRI and CT scan on it, not to mention subsequent X-rays. I try to keep mine to a minimum.

i am seriously quite shocked at 23 xrays - that is like wow what on earth were they doing. like ive said on other posts my joints have hardly been looked at all and they just tell me apart from non ra shoulder damage and bent fingers, i dont have any damage. i have also mentioned a badly helaed froken rib lying on my lung - this causes no end of pain and trouble - when i went to have this xrayed it was down again as a chest xray and when i specifically said i wanted the break xrayed they said oh we dont do that with broken ribs. the whole point of me trying to get xray there was to see if anything could be done to operate on this rib. however on talking to doctor again, he said quite simple that it inoperable and if they even touch the surface of lung with scalpel i could bleed to death. i suppose it must be like having a bullet lodged in your body that they leave in forever as it would be too dangerous to remove.

i am really really amazed anybody wanted you to have that many xrays at once.

Heather65

Hi this is only my second xray so its not too bad , im hoping it will show something,
Heather low I

ambermollers

What does b12 do?

mig

Googled it,b12 injections are used when some-one has anemia.hope this helps.Mig

dreamdaisy

I think they use B12 injections quite often in the USA, when I've been anaemic I've only been offered iron tablets which can take an age to improve matters as well as causing constipation. I hope the B12 injections are a) faster to help and b) don't block your personal 'drain'. Good luck with them Heather, please let us know how you get on. DD

Heather65

HI,
Went for my first physio today and the physio was very nice ,he actualy sat and listened to me asked about my meds and how i was managing ,we are going to start with a few exercises and go from there ,im back again next week im going to give it a go and see what happens who knows it might help,
Heather

julie47

Hi Heather

so pleased your physio app went well and more to the point that they listened.

Good luck with next week and I hope your new programme helps.

Love juliepf x

resusjan

Hi,

I started B12 injections just before christmas. I have RA and the meds have caused a pernicious anaemia, hence the B12 injections.

They have helped enormously. B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage which can be irrepairable if not treated quickly. This includes pins and needles and loss of sensation. Since having the injections, my pins and needles have stopped. Like you, I had a loading dose every couple of days and now have the injections every 12 weeks. Towards the end of the 12 week period I can feel the pins and needles returning, but they subside as soon as I have the jab.

B12 deficiency can also cause psychological problems - namely, anxiety and depression. I was having regular panic attacks and anxiety before, these have also stopped.

I guess I'm trying to say ............hopefully, the B12 will significantly improve your symptoms.

Hope it all works out well,
Jan x

resusjan

dreamdaisy wrote:

I think they use B12 injections quite often in the USA, when I've been anaemic I've only been offered iron tablets which can take an age to improve matters as well as causing constipation. I hope the B12 injections are a) faster to help and b) don't block your personal 'drain'. Good luck with them Heather, please let us know how you get on. DD

Hi,

The B12 injections are used to specifically treat pernicious anaemia. Its slightly different to other types of anaemia in that the problem is a lack of something called "intrinsic factor" which is in your intestine and carries the B12 from normal dietary intake into the blood steam. Those with a lack of intrinsic factor cannot digest B12 from food stuffs which is why oral medications don't work. The injected form is given every 3 days for two weeks to load the system then every 12 weeks to keep levels therapeutic. They don't really start to have an effect till after the two week loading period and then symptoms improve.

Hope you don't think I'm being a smartarse, its just I have this myself and also recently had a patient admitted with a severe B12 deficiency who, unfortunately, had permanent nerve damage from not being treated soon enough. It totally freaked me out, he was only a young chap, so I read up on it and was surprised at the devastating effects this can have if not treated.

Luckily for me, my GP picked it up quickly and the treatment has worked well.

Good luck with it Heather

Heather65

Thanks all, i went for my first injection today was more painful than i expected but at least its out the way ,im back on monday for my next and to make more appointments ,
Heather

dreamdaisy

Thank you for the info resusjan, that was interesting. I had heard the term pernicious anaemia but never really understood what it meant - now I do and that's thanks to you. I like learning stuff! I hope yours is under control and as for that poor lad, well, that does not sound good.

Well done to you Heather65, at least you are on the way to getting this sorted out and that is a good thing. I'm sorry it hurt though, that's not nice. DD