Does he eat foods that are fortified with B12, on a regular basis? Many non dairy milks, processed meat substitutes, nutritional yeast....Or does he take any B12 supplements either by itself, or as a multi vitamin?
Tendonitis is more common with age, and usually a result of straining a joint--I'm now suffering from shoulder and bicep tendonitis myself, which started about 3 months ago. very painful, and my movement was very limited. I've gone to physical therapy, and continue to do specific exercises daily. It's gotten a lot better, but still a ways to go
Deficiency can manifest in many ways, usually neurological. The best test is testing MMA levels, which is rather new
New Vitamin B12 Test | NutritionFacts.org
Who should get tested for vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency, and which is the best test to use: serum B12, methylmalonic acid (MMA), or holotranscobalamin levels?nutritionfacts.org
Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Vitamin B12 deficiency is a lack of vitamin B12 in your blood. It happens if you aren't eating enough vitamin B12 or if you have trouble absorbing it.my.clevelandclinic.org
Has he been vegan for health? I would think the doctor would have suggested B12 supplements. I will say, B12 is stored in fatty tissues and deficiency can take years to surface, if, one had good levels to begin with.
Either way, he really should be taking a B12 supplement. While there is debate on how much, taking 1000 mcg daily is optimal for those over 65, and excess is p'd out
Nutrition & Diet Vitamin B12
- Thread starter zki
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Thanks. He does not take any supplements and he absolutely does not eat any animal, dairy products, fortified cereals or milks. His B12 level was fine 8 months into veganism but he has not had any blood tests in over a year. Hopefully he will decide to go soon. He was very healthy up to now but suddenly he got tendinitis on both shoulders and he is also getting pains in other body parts and this has been going on for the last 3 weeks without much improvement. I was simply wondering if anyone had any such symptoms because of B12 depletion.
He's whole foods, plant based, for health? If his doctor knows this I'm shocked they wouldn't have told him supplementing B12 was necessary!
Again, it's not exactly the usual symptom, but regardless, he needs to supplement!
Tendonitis can take months to fully heal--as I said I'm 3 months in, and while pain is less and movement increasing, I'm still a ways from normal. I can't pin any specific action, but my work is strenuous, and I increased weight when it occurred
Has his cognition changed? That's usually the first thing noticed in B12 deficiency
No his cognition hasn't changed. It is for health that he turned vegan and it has done him a lot of good. Like I said 3 weeks ago he was in perfect health and then boom everything started declining starting with the elbows. No his doctor didn't bring up any of the B12 deficiency in vegans and especially at his age. Thanks for your answer but I have read in several places that the first sign of B12 depletion is tendinitis this is why I asked if anyone has experienced this. I guess I will patiently wait for him to go for his blood work. If his B12 is sufficient I guess it's purely physical and he will have to forego ultrasound and whatever it takes to find out what's going on. And then again it might go away just as it came, I sure hope so for his sake. Thanks again.
Again, B12 is not found in plant foods and he should be supplementing
Could you link where you've found tendonitis as a sign of deficiency? I can't come across that as a symptom, just muscle weakness
I mostly read it in French and it states that tendinitis is the first symptom of B12 deficiency. You may want to throw this in a translator.
Manque de vitamine B12 & Douleurs articulaires : Quel lien ?.
There is also an NCBI study on the subject : Low serum vitamin B12 levels are associated with degenerative rotator cuff tear - PMC
Here I translated this part from the link above for you :
In conclusion, vitamin B12 plays an essential role in maintaining joint health by contributing to the formation and repair of cartilage and reducing inflammation. Joint pain may be one of the first symptoms to appear in cases of vitamin B12 deficiency.
also, as you are a fellow Canadian, you both should be supplementing with D3 K2 and you also should take the B12 as even non-vegans can be low in it IMO
Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
There are so many reasons for joint pain, inflammation, injury... My first experience with joint pain turned out to be a vit D deficiency, and that was first diagnosed as arthritis until I asked for the additional test!
Is he now supplementing? And Emma is quite correct about vitamin D. I had been taking D2 when I discovered how low I was, I then switched to D3, which can sourced from plants now, and after a few months found relief
Everybody should be supplementing Vitamin B12, not just vegans.
You never know if you might have an intrinsic factor deficiency, which means you can not fully process the Vitamin B12 in your food, leading to a deficiency. I learned that the hard way after being vegan for some years without specifically supplementing, a test revealed I was very low on B12.
You never know if you might have an intrinsic factor deficiency, which means you can not fully process the Vitamin B12 in your food, leading to a deficiency. I learned that the hard way after being vegan for some years without specifically supplementing, a test revealed I was very low on B12.
No he is not supplementing with anything right now, he believes that plants contain everything his system needs to function and indeed everything was honky dory until about a month ago. He is trying to get an urgent appointment with his physician to see what gives. He has pain in different parts of his body and especially the shoulders and not getting any better. I can't believe that everything became so painful so suddenly. To follow ......
I find it ironic that he believes plants will provide bioavailable B12, while trusting doctors
I do eat some fortified foods, but have long supplemented B12, D3, and algae DHA. It's quite harmful to believe you'll get B12 just from plants, even if picked from soil with manure and not washed! It's just too easy to prevent what could turn into irreversible neurological damage
D3 is also hard to get up north, and also quite responsible for joint and bone pain--I know that from experience!
I hear you. I only hope that the blood work will show some vitamin deficiency so he can start supplementing to perhaps save him from more damage to his health. But he is his own man I can only suggest and show him some research, the rest is up to him. *sigh*.
And no he doesn't really believe in traditionals doctors, but he has to go through one to get a prescription for blood tests. This is the way it works in Canada.
He went plant based on his volition. Thanks for your wishe but indeed pain can be the motivator as he's already trying to get a doctor's appt. He has had it spending sleepless nights and unable to do his usual exercises.
