Vitamin B12 Deficiency? What’s Next?

This is a post I was working on prior to the big earthquake! Finally, today I got a chance to review it and post it!

I don’t know about other people, but when I am completely and utterly confused about things, I feel like a mental and physical paralysis sets in that leaves me incapable of doing anything. I haven’t posted anything on my blog since August (except for the earthquake update yesterday).  Not because I just haven’t had the time or thought about it, I just don’t even know what to say given all the things that have happened. So confusing! But, I will attempt to explain exactly what I am talking about and then catch up on all the fun family stuff.

So, back in March I had a running injury. Initially I was diagnosed with ITB syndrome, then later hamstring tendonitis and bursitis of the knee. I went to a couple of different physical therapist for treatment, but the one I ended up with had a specific plan to get me back to running. And we were on track (no pun intended) to do just that.  Everything was going great. I was doing treadmill work-outs and building up to running. Then, I was released to take the running outside onto the trails. I was so excited to be running at all!

But, my knees would hurt when I tried to run. My knees??? They have never been a problem. I blamed my shoes and got new running shoes.

I blamed too aggressive training so I backed down (I was walking and running). I blamed lack of strength and increased my strength training. Nothing was helping.  I couldn’t even do non-weight bearing squats without knee pain which was a recent change. What happened???

At the same time, I also noticed that I had all over body aches and pains and just felt fatigued. I thought maybe I had the flu or something viral going on and I would get better soon. Or maybe I got sick from cleaning mold from a windowsill in my old house that I am remodeling?? Who knows?

My doctor couldn’t figure it out. I had lots of labs done and they all came back pretty normal. All the inflammatory markers were within normal range. Liver function studies, everything seemed good. Which is great! I was happy to hear that. However, I did question an elevated MCV (mean corpuscle volume) and MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin) as well as an elevated basophil count on my CBC (complete blood count). Being that they were only slightly elevated my doctor said that he wasn’t concerned. He diagnosed me with a viral myositis, but I didn’t feel confident that was the right diagnosis. He put me on anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants and told me it should go away in a couple of weeks. It didn’t.

In fact, my symptoms got worse. I got to a point that I was having difficulty walking and at times when I would kneel down, the pain was so intense, I had difficulty standing up. Something was seriously wrong. I had to think of  other possibilities of why I was having these debilitating symptoms. What changed?

One thing did occur to me.  About a month before all of this started, Eating Animals, was playing at our local Beartooth Theatre .  I accepted an invitation from Sonja to see this documentary. Long story short, I could not continue to eat any beef, chicken, or pork after viewing this film. It was horrifying!!!

Instead, I ate more of a vegetarian diet. I am not that big of a meat eater to begin with so this really wasn’t that big of a change for me. What was a change was adding more beans and rice for added protein. I was still eating salmon and other seafood as well as some dairy at times. Being that I decreased my animal consumption, I also added a Vitamin B12 supplement that I would take when I remembered. I am not that big on taking pills either.

So, I began to think that my change in diet may have had some impact on my health. I was thinking more in terms of an intolerance to lectins, but when I would discuss it with Scott, you know, say it out loud,  it just didn’t seem like that could be the problem.  Real science here ha! Scott insisted that I go see someone with experience in the nutritional side of health.

My first experience with a naturopathic doctor did not go well. She listened to my entire story and was super nice and understanding, but her remedy was for me to go on the Whole 30 Elimination diet. Wait, did she really listen to my story. I’m not big on eating animals. And if you know anything about the Whole 30 diet, it is basically animals and vegetables with a little fruit for the most part. Her other option for me was to do The Elimination Diet .

Okay, I am in this office to get help  and I am very overwhelmed with what is happening to me. I don’t know what is wrong. I can barely walk. I am really concerned. And she wants me to read a book and figure out the diet she thinks I should go on!?! Way too much for me. But, I tried. And then I was even more confused. One book eliminates certain foods that the other thinks are okay to eat and vice versa. Which one is right?

I attempted a couple of days on the Elimination Diet. It didn’t go well.

Not really knowing what to do or how to help myself,  I returned to my normal diet (somewhat, it was hard) to see if there were any changes, and I did start to slightly improve. I wasn’t limping any longer, but when I would get up after sitting for too long, I was so stiff that it would take a few minutes to get going. Scott insisted that I find someone else that may be a little more insightful (his nice way of putting it ha ha).

So a co-worker (and runner I might add) gave me the name of another naturopathic doctor that she really liked. And so did I. She actually wanted to see all of those labs that I had done. She was a little concerned about those elevated MCVs and MCHs and explained how they can be elevated when a vitamin B12 deficiency exist. She was also concerned about a low vitamin D level (within normal range but on the low end).

So her plan:

• Daily sublingual B12n (1000 mcg) with folate (sublingual for better absorption)
• Loading doses of Vitamin D3-50 x 5 days then take weekly
• List of anti-inflammatory foods to focus on getting more of in my diet
• Stop drinking Coke

Simple things to try first although that last one may take some work. I love my cokes!  She said given the foods that I typically eat, the cokes are the most inflammatory. She also gave me a couple of recipes for anti-inflammatory drinks.

According to this Dr., I should feel better within a couple of weeks. And if I don’t, then other test will need to be done. So, I don’t know if this is the answer, but I will do what she says and see what happens. Fingers crossed!!

Physical Therapy Update:

My PT appointments were put on hold until the “myositis” was gone. Anyway, I finally made it in to an appointment this past week. Dr. Rogers put me through all the various tests to determine if I had any type of  injury and she concluded that I only had slight patellofemoral pain  and general issues with mechanics of movement. She wants me to start the strengthening exercises, but says I have a ways to go before I can start running. Apparently, I have lost a lot of strength doing a whole lot of nothing while trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Like I said, I get so overwhelmed that I don’t do anything!

This whole process has been very frustrating to say the least. There is so much more that I have done to try and help myself but this is the gist of what is happening. I am hoping that within the next two weeks, I do see more improvement and will be back to running early in the New Year.

Being that this post is a bit lengthy, I will do a separate post of the promised  family fun stuff that has been happening since August.