Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 does a lot of things for your body. It helps make your DNA and your red blood cells, for example.

Since your body doesn't make vitamin B12, you have to get it from animal-based foods or from supplements. And you should do that on a regular basis, because your body doesn’t store vitamin B12 for a long time.


Causes:
-Inadequate intake
-Vegan
-Pernicious anaemia
-Gastrectomy
-Bacterial overgrowth
-Crohn’s disease -Terminal ileum resection
-Coeliac disease
-Tropical sprue
-HIV
-Metformin(Diabetes med)
-Proton pump inhibitor (gastritis med)
-Pancreatic deficiency

Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

If you have vitamin B12 deficiency, you could become anemic. A mild deficiency may cause no symptoms. But if untreated, it may lead to symptoms such as:

-Weakness, tiredness, or lightheadedness

-Heart palpitations and shortness of breath

-Pale skin

-A smooth tongue

-Constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or gas

-Nerve problems like numbness or tingling, muscle weakness, and problems walking

-Vision loss

-Mental problems like depression, memory loss, or behavioral changes

What are the complication of B12 deficiency?

Megaloblastosis can cause multi system effect notably cardiomyopathy and neurological disease examples such as subacute combined degeneration of cord, peripheral neuropathy and dementia.


Is there a risk in administering a blood transfusion in the setting of B12 deficiency?

In mixed anaemia with severe B12 deficiency,B12 should always be replaced before transfusion because transfusion can precipitate heart failure.