It may take a few weeks before your vitamin B12 levels and symptoms (such as extreme tiredness or lack of energy) start to improve. If you have hydroxocobalamin injections to boost your vitamin B12 levels at the start of treatment, the cyanocobalamin tablets may start to work within a few days.
So does vitamin B12 give you energy? While B12 doesn't directly provide energy, it does give the body the tools it needs to convert food molecules into energy. Getting the recommended daily amount of B12 can therefore help ensure that the body is able to make the energy it needs to do everything you need it to do.
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body's blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a blood condition that makes people tired and weak.
Vitamin B12 shots work right away and your body will begin to manufacture new red blood cells as early as 48 hours so you will feel the effect in two or three days. B12 injections work faster than oral supplements of B12 and therefore, are recommended for individuals who need quick improvement.
Thus if you're otherwise healthy but still continue to feel tired after taking a B-12 supplement, it could be a sign of a mild allergic reaction. If a rash, difficulty breathing or swelling coincides with taking your dose of B-12, get to the doctor right away.
People with vitamin B12 deficiency can have neurological symptoms and/or damage without anemia (lack of red blood cells). General physical symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can include: Feeling very tired or weak. Experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Muscle cramps and weakness
If a B12 deficiency is preventing the body from producing enough red blood cells to get oxygen to muscle tissues, you may experience associated symptoms, like sporadic muscle cramps or weakness [3].
The symptom of a vitamin B12 deficiency can feel so debilitating that people have described it as feeling as though they're dying. Common symptoms of a B12 deficiency include fatigue, heart palpitations, headaches, depression, and more.
If you're taking B12 supplements and you accidentally take more than one in a day, nothing bad is going to happen to you. "Since B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, there really is no such thing as too much," Gans says. "Your body will use what it wants and eliminate the rest."
Vitamin B12, for example, should definitely be taken in the morning. This is because it is important for energy metabolism, which may interrupt your sleep if taken at night.
Vitamin B12 is considered an important brain and nervous system micronutrient and is often used for anxiety. It helps to ensure normal function for your nerves, which can help combat physical symptoms of anxiety.
Vitamin B12 is essential for the production of red blood cells and DNA. It is also essential for the functioning of the nervous system. When your body does not receive enough vitamin B12 you may feel fatigued and tired all the time. It can also lead to weakness.
However, what is interesting is how B12 is beneficial in so many patients with fatigue, including those suffering with CFS, and this suggests that there is a common mechanism of chronic fatigue which B12 is effective at alleviating, regardless of the cause of the fatigue.
Diet. Some people can develop a vitamin B12 deficiency as a result of not getting enough vitamin B12 from their diet. A diet that includes meat, fish and dairy products usually provides enough vitamin B12, but people who do not regularly eat these foods can become deficient.
Vitamin B12 is most beneficial for circulation as it helps to keep nerve and blood cells working well. Without enough vitamin B12, the body may not be able to create enough red blood cells to transport oxygen around the body.
A severe vitamin B12 deficiency may damage nerves, causing tingling or loss of sensation in the hands and feet, muscle weakness, loss of reflexes, difficulty walking, confusion, and dementia. The diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is based on blood tests.
Brain Fog. A lack of B12 may lead to depression, confusion, memory problems, and dementia. It also can affect your balance.
Stress is known to deplete our levels of B vitamins, especially vitamin B12. Vegetarians, vegans and those on restricted diets can struggle to get enough vitamin B12 to meet their body's needs.
Very high daily doses of vitamin B12, ranging between 1000 and 2000 mcg, may effectively restore B12 levels within the body and positively impact depression symptoms. Even doses as low as 100 mcg are potent enough to positively impact cognition in adults with depressive symptoms.
However, vitamin B12 deficiency is known to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression, which can commonly be associated with insomnia [19].