# Healing and Wellbeing > General Health >  >  Vitamin B12 deficiency

## Anxiety Space

Are you getting enough vitamin B12? Some people don’t, but that deficiency can cause anxiety.

Symptoms can include:

Depression and anxietyDiarrhea or constipationFatigue, lack of energy, or light-headedness when standing up or with exertionLoss of appetitePale skinProblems concentratingShortness of breath, mostly during exerciseSwollen, red tongue or bleeding gumsConfusion or change in mental status (dementia) in severe casesLoss of balanceNumbness and tingling of hands and feet

See more here, here, and here.

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## IllusionOfHappiness

I have a B12 deficiency. Iron, too. I take those womens' daily multivitamins. They probably don't take care of the whole problem, but they do give me more energy.

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## Member11

> I have a B12 deficiency. Iron, too. I take those womens' daily multivitamins. They probably don't take care of the whole problem, but they do give me more energy.



I have b12 deficiency too, and from what I found, the multivitamins don't actually have enough in them to boost levels, especially b12. If you had a blood test come back with low b12 or something else, it might be worth looking at the high strength supplements where it is just boosting one thing, instead of using a multivitamin.

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## nothing

I've read that the sublingual B12 supplements are absorbed better than pills, but neither does a thing for my anxiety.

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## L

A friend of mine had to have injections for this - pill supplements are usually not enough as it cannot be absorbed

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## IllusionOfHappiness

> I have b12 deficiency too, and from what I found, the multivitamins don't actually have enough in them to boost levels, especially b12. If you had a blood test come back with low b12 or something else, it might be worth looking at the high strength supplements where it is just boosting one thing, instead of using a multivitamin.



I have heard mixed things about multivitamins vs. just a B12 supplement. I did take B-complex vitamins for a while, but they didn't seem to do anything. It was super cheap brand though, and I've been told that the cheap ones are a lot less effective somehow (???). Any time I've stopped taking the multivitamins, on the 3rd or 4th day of taking them again my energy is always boosted. I actually have trouble sleeping while I'm on them, so for me they definitely do something. During the day I still seem sluggish, but I don't know if that's just depression or what.  ::

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## Member11

> I did take B-complex vitamins for a while, but they didn't seem to do anything. It was super cheap brand though, and I've been told that the cheap ones are a lot less effective somehow (???). Any time I've stopped taking the multivitamins, on the 3rd or 4th day of taking them again my energy is always boosted. I actually have trouble sleeping while I'm on them, so for me they definitely do something. During the day I still seem sluggish, but I don't know if that's just depression or what.



The B-complex ones are similar to the multivitamins in terms of how much b12 is in them, which is not a whole lot. But if you are getting a energy boost from them it might be worth looking into the high strength ones. I've went from none to the B-complex ones to the high strength ones, and each time I've seen some improvement to my energy levels, it hasn't fixed my underlying condition of course, but it does help me to function.

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## IllusionOfHappiness

> The B-complex ones are similar to the multivitamins in terms of how much b12 is in them, which is not a whole lot. But if you are getting a energy boost from them it might be worth looking into the high strength ones. I've went from none to the B-complex ones to the high strength ones, and each time I've seen some improvement to my energy levels, it hasn't fixed my underlying condition of course, but it does help me to function.



I'll definitely keep your pointers in mind. It's worth looking into something that could possibly do a better job than just a multivitamin.

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## Ironman

Wow - this is something even I may need t look into.  All the running I do may not be helping.  I take multivitamins, too.

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## nothing

It's not b12, but another b vitamin, folate, is apparently not absorbed well by a certain % of the population in the form of folic acid. There's another form, L-methylfolate, that the pharmaceutical industry is trying to have regulated, that is easier for some people to absorb. They want to sell it as a prescription drug (surprise, surprise), but it's still available for now in capsules that aren't the 'medical food' Deplin™.

That being said, I've been taking it for two months now and it hasn't helped me a bit; I guess I was absorbing the folic acid just fine...

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## merc

How do you find out whether or  not you are vitamin B deficient? I took pre-natal vitamins that are supposed to help with spina bifida yet I have a child with spina bifida: however,  hers is a rare form of spina bifida. I was involved in a study where I got to spit in a test tube and so did my daughter to see if we carry a gene that is associated with inability to absorb folate properly which is associated with SB. Unfortunately this study was just to help researchers learn more not give me an answer such as If I carry this gene.

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## merc

I've also had on occasion tested extremely low for iron. Once I had iron levels so low they couldn't believe that I was up and walking around. The only symptom I had was that I would get so hungry and just stuff myself and I had  so little energy.

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## L

> How do you find out whether or  not you are vitamin B deficient?



Needs to be requested on a blood test

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## Misssy

Yah good reminder to take your daily vitamins   ::):

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## Harpuia

Strange enough my B12 levels are high.  But that might be because of my current situation.

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## nothing

> Strange enough my B12 levels are high.  But that might be because of my current situation.



It's not that strange, I'm sure my B12 levels are through the roof with all the vitamins/supplements I take, yet I feel worse than ever. B12 deficiency isn't the reason most people feel anxious, sometimes it may be a contributing factor, but most people won't feel any relief whatsoever by supplementing. Couldn't hurt, but probably won't help.

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