B-12 deficiency and how it can affect you ... a bit long...

[frugal-one]

Recently received a call about MIL. Told we had to come and take care of her. Her friend could not reach her so she stopped and found both doors to her place open at 11 am and she was sitting on her bed "talking to herself". The friend freaked and took her to the ER. The next day we met with her doc. MIL has Parkinsons. After researching I found that LevoDopa (Parkinson drug_Spell?) and Vitamin D have a tendency to deplete Vitamin B-12. A Vitamin B-12 deficiency can cause abnormal gait, bone loss, chronic fatigue, constipation, depression, digestive disorders, dizziness, drowsiness, eye disorders, headaches (migraines), irritability, memory loss, moodiness, neurological damage, palpitations, pernicious anemia, ringing in the ears, and spinal cord degeneration. ANYWAYS, MIL could barely walk (using walker), given a senility test (my words) where she was to have a score between 26 and 30. She got 14. She could not tell us what year it was! Yikes! So when we talked to the doc I asked her is she checked her B-12 level. SHE WAS PISSED that I questioned her. She said all of MIL symptoms were because of her Parkinsons and that she was tested last Oct and she had normal levels. I relayed to her that B-12 can stay in the system for 5 years and if depleted .... and not rectified... the symptoms will become permanent. The doc than informed me that medicare would not pay for the test. WTH I said then her regular insurance would pay for it and to test her. You guessed it..... She had a low B-12 score. We immediately got her sublingual tablets. Within a few days... her friend call us and asked what MIRACLE was provided. MIL is walking without her walker and has her brain back.

The thing that ticks me off is the doctor's reaction to a simple question. It turns out that many elderly people are low on B-12 and are thought to have dementia when in reality they just need a dose of B-12. In reading all I have .. both my DH and I are going to start taking B-12. If you take too much diarrhea results.

[Jemima]

So many medical conditions that are due to poor nutrition are misdiagnosed, another sad comment on the lack of nutritional knowledge displayed by most doctors. My favorite aunt had a similar episode because she was so afraid of having a stroke she had completely eliminated salt from her diet. She was fortunate to be examined by a knowledgable doctor or she might have ended up in a nursing home labeled as a dementia patient when there was nothing at all wrong with her mind other than being misinformed.

There are many prescription drugs that can cause depression, dizziness, and/or confusion: http://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-sup...ression.1.html A sodium deficiency can mimic psychosis, and strangely enough, many antidepressants can cause sodium deficiency. There are many dietary deficiencies that can mimic other diseases.

Good for you, speaking up and insisting on that test! BTW, be sure to take the full Vitamin B complex. Too much of one B Vitamin can cause deficiencies in the others.

[Suzanne]

Good for you, Frugal One! You've likely saved your MIL years of misery.

[Tussiemussies]

Thanks Frugal One and Jamima for
sharing your experiences. It is good
To know about how damaging these
deficiencies are.

My husband an I recently started taking
B-12 since he is vegetarian and I
Am almost close to vegan. It is equally
important for people on these types of diets to take
B-12 since very little is in the foods that are being eaten.

I wonder now if my MIL's diagnosis of
Dementia was really one of these deficiencies.

It is sad for me to think about the many
People who are misdiagnosed and living
In hard conditions because of it.

Thanks for your post. : ))

[susanne c.]

It isn't just older people. Anyone with neurological problems of any type should be on a B-12 supplement for nerve health. I have hereditary neuropathy and recommend that my biological children, now in their 20's, take it just in case, although only one of them shows symptoms of having inherited the condition.
Fascinating about the quick turn around for your MIL, and unfortunately not surprising about the doctor, although in my experience most neurologists push supplementing with B-12 right away, since it is such a cheap and easy thing to do.

[razz]

Not to generlize too much but for many docs, once you are old, there is little interest to investigating unless some is strongly advocating to it to be done. You provided a really important service for your MIL. Good for you!

[JaneV2.0]

Not to generlize too much but for many docs, once you are old, there is little interest to investigating unless some is strongly advocating to it to be done. You provided a really important service for your MIL. Good for you!

Razz beat me to it. I learned just how "honored" our old people are by the medical profession when my parents were in their final years. I'd rather ride out to sea on an ice floe than deal with that in my own decline.

Along with vitamin deficiencies (brought on by poor diet and/or sluggish digestion), depression, dehydration, and drug side effects can cause dementia in the elderly. But it's easier just to label and warehouse the old. Move along, GOMER.

[catherine]

OMG, GREAT story. And good for you for being your MILs advocate.

When my mother had a brain aneurysm and a stroke following surgery, she was disoriented (completely--like she saw General Omar Bradley and her dead mother walking the halls). When I called up her neurologist a couple of months later to ask her what her prognosis would be, because I had to make decisions about keeping her condo, etc., the neuro said brusquely "They usually stay that way." "They"--not my mother. And no explanation. I was 24 and young and had just given birth to my first baby, so I was overwhelmed and didn't push back.

So my mother stayed in a nursing home. She had one terrific friend who came and had lunch with her once a week, faithfully. She noticed that some days, my mother was completely incoherent, and other times, quite lucid. So she advised me to take her for neurological testing, which I did.

Well after interviewing my mother, the doctors at a really good rehab in New Haven, CT advised taking my mother off all meds (she was only 50 at the time). The result was like something out of the movie Awakenings. After 18 months of being warehoused and dismissed completely, she "came back" within a week. She was never fully able to live on her own, but she was able to enjoy her family and her grandchildren for almost 20 years, and frankly her soul seemed almost enlightened. She was so calm and peaceful for the rest of her life.

I am so grateful to that friend! Everyone needs a strong advocate.

[Jemima]

It isn't just old people who are being mistreated by the medical system. Doctors are so often misled by drug companies that everyone is in danger of having one or more dangerous drugs prescribed. Now that SSRI antidepressants have been shown to be nearly useless in treating depression, the drug companies are pushing them for other conditions such as the discomforts of menopause and pain relief. I read a comment on AARP's website from a mother whose small child was being dosed with an antidepressant that was enough to make anyone burst into outraged tears. Lipitor is being given to anyone who has the bad luck to have some risk factors for heart disease in their family history, never mind that this drug has only been proven effective in men who are over 35 and who have had a heart attack. Doctors tell their osteoporosis-prone patients to "take calcium", apparently unaware that one of the most common, cheap forms is calcium carbonate which can cause heart problems.

I'm 66 and, I suspect, because of having a very good Medicare advantage plan, doctors are paying far too much attention to me. I've been urged to make regular check-up appointments for everything from my teeth to my feet. The problem is that doctors don't know what they're doing any more.

Here's a really good book on the practice of medicine as we know it: The Last Well Person by Nortin M. Hadler, M.D. The basic message is that if you go to the doctor much you are asking for trouble.

[frugal-one]

Thanks Jemima... I have added that book to my list of books to read. It is sad that others have similar tales to report.