Vitamin B12 and Fibromyalgia
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause or worsen Fibromyalgia symptoms. Fatigue, chronic pain and mental problems such as mood swings, poor memory and irritability are the key symptoms of deficiency in this vitamin. And yes Fibromyalgia has these identical symptoms. So could one of the causes of Fibromyalgia be a Vitamin B12 deficiency?
Vitamin B12 deficiency and Fibromyalgia
It is widely reported that as many as 40% of the Western world is
deficient in Vitamin B12. Many experts in the nutritional field believe
that Vitamin B12 deficiency is the cause or exacerbater of a wide range
of illnesses including the authors of the bestselling book Could it be B12? An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses. They list Fibromyalgia, Depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Restless legs syndrome, amongst others, as disorders with possible underlying B12 Deficiency
It is known that most people with Fibromyalgia and in particular women with Fibromyalgia are deficient in vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D and Magnesium being the key deficiencies that are responsible for many Fibromyalgia symptoms. Lack of the B vitamins and in particular Vitamin B12 may also contribute to Fibromyalgia symptoms of fatigue, weakness, depression and insomnia amongst others.
A study of women with both Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome revealed that most had little or no detectable Vitamin B12 in their cerebrospinal fluid even though their Vitamin B12 blood tests were all normal.
Testing for Vitamin B12 deficiency
Getting tested for Vitamin B12 deficiency can be difficult if you live in the UK and are under the care of a NHS GP. GPs do not generally test for Vitamin B12 deficiency unless it shows up on a full blood count that the patient has large red blood cells in a condition called Macrocytic Anaemia. But Macrocytic Anaemia may not be always present for some time, if at all.
Even if you can get your blood tested, problems with testing for a Vitamin B12 deficiency arise because serum blood levels of B12 may test normal but it doesn’t show if it is being absorbed in the way that it should.
Foods that contain Vitamin B12
Good food sources of Vitamin B12 are red meat, offal, tuna and salmon, milk, cheese and eggs. So if you are a vegan, vegetarian or choose to eat mainly plant based foods you may be especially deficient in Vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 supplements
Vitamin B12As Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin it is considered to be safe to take even high dose supplements as your body will only absorb what it needs and the rest is lost via your urine.
I have taken high strength Vitamin B12 1000µg daily without problems.