Nope. Been tested, and my vegetarian diet from-scratch food is the best for my health overall. (Which, of course, is true for a lot of things, LOL, not just fibro!)

I'd say if you were eating red meat, the issue may be absorption, not itnake, so without testing, no real way to be sure. But if it helps, do let a doc know, in case it messes up any meds, etc. You'd be surprised what meds and vitamins can do to each other. My epilepsy med hates *everything*! If I didn't suck down milk all day, I'd never keep my calcium up, b/c milk's fine, but a supplement for calcium? Nope. *headdesk*

HI Leo, thank you for replying to my post. I shall definitely ask my doctor about your suggestion of malabsorption. I have been told to drink calcium supplement for my bone health but it increases my heart rate and causes palpitations, so I have been drinking milk and eating two slices of cheese each day. So if my arteries clog up, then it would be the cheese!

Maintaining a healthy diet and having a good sleep are very challenging. It is time consuming to read the back of food packagings to ensure that all the necessary nutrients are there, and having to surf on the web to find "healthy recipes" before cooking up some vegetarian meals I've never clapped my eyes on. Keeping myself healthy is a job in itself. It is very hard work to be a herbivore!

I shall definitely persuade my doctors to investigate my nutritional deficit problem. My brain is suffering from my dietary choices, So frustrating really!

Thank you so much Leo for the info. Once again, Leo has come to the rescue. Thanks heaps my friend!! (((((HUGS))))))

I'd venture to guess absorption is the issue too. I have malabsorption problems which seriously affects my iron levels. I take a multivitamin 3 times a day along with an iron supplement. Talk to your doctor.

HI Fantod, thank you so much for your advice. I shall definitely discuss my nutrition problems with my doctors. Thanks heaps for your help :)

You are welcome!

I would get your levels checked by your Dr. My neurologist asked my Dr to put me on b12 injections monthly because those of us with neurological issues require b12 levels to be more around 1000 not i think 300 to 500 like a *normal* person. Even with the shots mine is only just over 500 but my insurance wont pay for a second shot a month because i am not deficient anymore according to the *normal* levels. They do not take my other health issues into effect. Ugh. We tried the pills my body does not take in the b12 by pill form, for awhile i did the top dose (i forget what it was) by the dissolvable under the tongue version but it started making me throw up (i have a very strong gag reflex from 20 plus years of purging when i ate, its been over 3 years now) so its the shots. I also have to take the top prescription dose of D2 and numersus other supplements. I think its about 14 or so supplements. also one i take i had never heard of is D mannose becasue i am very prone to getting UTIs which i have only had one in teh past 6 months so im doing good on that now over all. I just had it a few weeks ago so hopefully i get at least 6 months ago. But i also catherize on average 4 times a day, so i am much more prone to them but i also am prone to them if i DONT catherize due to my bladder does not empty. I have these bladder issues due to my spinal stenosis doing damage, i was told about 6 weeks ago i could be paralyzed at any time now. I could wake up any day and not have any use of my legs anymore. I have not a ton of control over my bladder, If i get the urge to go i need to get to a bathroom right away or i can lose all control now. It was worse for awhile but instead of just myrebetriq i am also on vesicare with it now, they only do that in rare cases when you are losing control of your bladder, its our only option right now. I Do use bladder pads as well.

I would have your Dr check MULTIPLE vitamin and mineral levels BEFORE upping or adding anything. I have to take large doses of magenesium because i had almost none in me, i ended up in teh ER 4 years ago becasue i was sleeping about 21 hours a day and i had extreme pain in my legs where i could hardly walk at all, even worse than i am at now, it was very very low magenesium. Even after one dose i had some relief! Also i would have them check your thyroid but not just the one test, for me they do the T3 T4 and TSH because my thyroid level is only low on one of them.

HI Angela Jo, I really appreciate your sharing of your health problems. I hope that you feel much better soon, and that your doctor would fix that spinal stenosis problem, as most of your symptoms seem to derive from the nerve stenosis. Vitamin B12 injection is very cheap, so I am wondering why your insurance will not cover since B12 deficiency is a chronic problem.

I take B12 tablets even though the injection was offered, and I seem to respond to the tablet. After taking B12 supplement, I can see well enough to type this post because normally I cannot see to read. Luckily I don't have incontinence issue, as I have been advised to do the exercise instead. I do have thyroid issues, but so far my thyroid function is still working. My thyroid stopped working when I contracted COVID, but spontaneously improved when I recovered from the virus.

Angela Jo, you seem to have identical symptoms to mine 20 years ago when I had undergone acute flaring. I was bedridden and did not have the strength in my legs to walk. That episode led to a diagnosis and treatment. Perhaps you may like to see an immunologist to check for an underlying autoimmune disease.

Thankfully, my B12 level is in the normal range due to B12 supplement, and even though I feel much better from supplementation, I still feel a little unwell - enough to cause fatigue and requiring rest.

I shall have to consult my immunologist about the origin of my B12 deficiency. May be my guts are unwell that caused malabsorption of vitamins and minerals. Thank you for all of my fibro gals for your advice and for your care- you're the greatest!!

Hi Andromeda,
It's been a while since I've last been on this site. I take B12 in Methylcobalamin form which I put under my tongue and it absorbs through my tongue instead of going thru my stomach. The kind that you swallow is the Cyanocobalamin form (spelling?), and if you have absorption problems in your stomach, it may not be as effective.

I buy it from Costco. Not expensive. When I first took it, I noticed a difference in my energy and decrease in pain. However, over time, I don't notice a difference anymore. A friend said she experienced the same. But I keep taking it since it's not expensive and can't hurt.

HI Achybones, thank you so much for your advice. I've noted that our local supermarket stocks the sublingual B12, so I may give that a try. I am seeing my immune doctors in 2 weeks time, and I believe they will strongly "persuade" me to receive the B12 injection. I have had an ulcer bleed from last year after eating vinegar in a Greek salad, so medication absorption may be affected. I take many vitamins as well as B12 supplements, but since taking the B12 supplement, I can actually focus on my work and can write and read sentences. I just feel that a great injustice has been done to me. Had I taken the B12 supplements years ago, I would be able to see well enough to read, and had adequate mental clarity to compose sentences instead sitting for hours on end to correct a single sentence. In moments like that, I feel that my IQ has dropped down to 20. Gosh, fate has dealt a cruel blow but anyhow, I have the rest of my life left to change my destiny, so it's not too bad. I hope that your health will improve soon; I certainly can empathise with you on how bad it feels to be deficient in B12. :)

Adromeda,
Was it Plaquenil (hydroxycloroquine) that caused your eye problem?

Hi Achybones, I've thought it was Plaquenil that caused my vision to deteriorate because my eyes could not focus on the words for me to read. I experienced blurred vision for nearly 20 yrs since starting on the Plaquenil, and I could not see the words clearly enough to read. The only reason that I suspect Plaquenil because one time when I was fed up with my treatment, I went off all my prescription meds and found that my vision was restored. I was doing a tertiary course, but was virtually blind. I had massive headaches trying to read tiny fonts with blurred vision. The course at the time was paper based, so the reading materials were printed on books and not in digital form that I could magnify to read. It was a big struggle trying to do assessments with vision impairment, especially at night.

Last year, I went to a university centre for eye health to look at my retina, and the optometrist could not see any Plaquenil deposition on the retina. The optometrist thought it was age related degeneration of vision. This year and since I have started taking vitamin B12 supplements recently, my vision suddenly improves substantially and I can see well enough to read. I was suffering from vit B12 deficiency all these times and did not know it! My brain fog almost disappears, and I have less episodes of palpitations and less fatigue. Gosh, if I have received treatment all of these times, my life/career would have a different results. As such, we would eventually bow to the hands of fate no matter how hard we have fought against our destiny. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. Take care, :)

Andromeda,
I was offered Plaquenil for Sjogren’s by my rheumatologist. Luckily she warned me from the start that this med could cause eye damage and I was advised to get a baseline evaluation and regular monitoring by an ophthalmologist if I were to take this med. I did get a baseline evaluation and the ophthalmologist assured me that he would notice any eye changes before I would.

I eventually did not take the Plaquenil because my Sjogren’s symptoms were mild, and the doc said that it would likely bother my stomach since I have a sensitive stomach.

Since that rheumatologist retired, I had seen other rheumatologists for my fibro and Sjogren’s. It was amazing how many of them push the Plaquenil med on me. When I asked them about the eye problem, they just said not to worry about it! They did not even recommend a baseline eye checkup!

I am glad your eyes are getting better.

I'll cross my fingers that my eyes remain well, and that Plaquenil is not causing the visual impairment.