Tingling hand and feet; worsening by folic acid and B12 supplements

Waverunner

Waverunner

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Hi all,

had some strange issues for several weeks now. I suffer from pretty bad food intolerances that seem to evolve over time.

Three to four weeks ago I started to have strong dizziness, tingling hand, and feet, increased fatigue, and nausea. These symptoms last for several days but get better then, but seldom vanish completely.

I thought that this might all be a circulation problem, however, when I took folic acid (low blood value) and B12 for three days, the tingling hand and feet issue started to get permanent for a few days. Since my hand and feet are very warm/hot during these flares I started to think that this might be an autoimmune issue and not a circulation problem.

All these symptoms are influenced by diet. E.g., when I eat lots of fruit (cherries, peaches, etc.), sushi and chocolate my symptoms worsen. They get especially bad when I drink (small) amounts of alcohol.

Does anyone have an idea of what this could be or has anyone ever had comparable symptoms?
 
Woof!

Woof!

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If you have the time to peruse a very long thread that discusses folic acid and B12 and the role B2 has in activating them, check out the thread "B2, I Love You." Interesting stuff.
 
C

Crux

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After having a host of odd symptoms for some years now, I've begun to realize that some are from calcium deficiency.

It may not show up in a blood test because the body will go to great lengths to keep calcium within normal blood serum range.

This may not be true for you, but since your symptoms are similar to mine, numbness, tingling, with food intolerances, calcium is one to consider.

( I don't take much b12 anymore....mild intolerance ? )

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321865

  • numbness and tingling in the hands, arms, feet, and legs, as well as around the mouth
 
Jyoti

Jyoti

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It is interesting for me to come upon this @Waverunner. I have often felt 'off' when taking B12 so I mostly avoid it, but recently re-introduced a B complex. I noticed in under a week that my feet (primarily) had ramped up their norma tingling/neuropathy business by a lot. What was an occasional occurrence was going on night and day and much more noticeably.

I stopped the B complex and within 24 hours the tingling had diminished down significantly. Really interested to read the thread on B2--thanks for pointing to that @Dr.Lynne.
 
Hufsamor

Hufsamor

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More than 8 years ago, I started on b12 and folate, and I had the same experience as you have. I had a genetic test done, at it showed decreased ability to use the folate and the b12. (No, it was more complicated than that…but I can’t quite remember..the b12 and the folate detoxed the body, but the body wasn’t able to get rid of the garbage? Something like that.) I don’t remember the details any more. But I found this comment from a very clever guy in nutritional medicine:

“Transulfuration pathway –You need to correct this first before using folate and B12. If you don’t do this first, they will just shunt down through transulfuration and cause more issues. Addressing transulfuration involves the following;
o Boosting glutathione, reducing ammonia, and supporting sulphur metabolism
o I know you are tempted to use B12 and folate, but now is not the time – especially for Methylfolate – you may do ok on small amounts of folinic acid, but only if magnesium stores are ok (which you have trouble absorbing).”

this was for me, based on my problems and my genes. I was kind of poisoning myself with those supplements. And it took, as far as I remember, more or less three months to get rid of the tingling again.
 
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Jyoti

Jyoti

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Hufsamor said:
I was kind of poisoning myself with those supplements.
Click to expand...
Interesting... That is absolutely the internal sense I get. And as I look through my shelves of supplements, there are an alarming number of half or unused bottles of B12 and Methylfolate, which I can only assume (given a vague memory and lack of documentation) I started and then stopped for these same reasons in the past.

I just muscle tested the B complex I was taking recently (which I should have done before I started taking it!) and it was a definite NO. I did it blind, so had no idea what I was testing, but the B complex went straight into the pile of 'please do not put more of this in me.'
 
L

lenora

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The numbness and tingling of feet and legs will bother me if I take Vit. B supplements. I'm supposed to give myself B-12 shots weekly, but have cut that way back. In my case, the B vitamins cause more problems than they help. Yours Lenora.
 
LINE

LINE

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Jyoti said:
Interesting... That is absolutely the internal sense I get. And as I look through my shelves of supplements, there are an alarming number of half or unused bottles of B12 and Methylfolate, which I can only assume (given a vague memory and lack of documentation) I started and then stopped for these same reasons in the past.

I just muscle tested the B complex I was taking recently (which I should have done before I started taking it!) and it was a definite NO. I did it blind, so had no idea what I was testing, but the B complex went straight into the pile of 'please do not put more of this in me.'
Click to expand...

Muscle testing (or in my case dowsing) is a big help.
 
Waverunner

Waverunner

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@Jyoti Same here, over the last 10 years I had many supplements on my shelf that I had to throw away because they caused issues, same for B12. I went through the methylation protocol a decade ago but it didn't help. B6 and other B vitamins seem to make it worse, especially since most supplements contain high amounts of these vitamins. Would be nice to have some low-dose supplements as well.

What I noticed yesterday is that when I drink coffee, the tingling also gets worse. My feet are warm during these flares. Normally, coffee causes vasoconstriction, so I don't understand how my feet get warmer.

Anyways, @Dr.Lynne I bought some B2 and Niacin yesterday. Will try it tomorrow.
 
Woof!

Woof!

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One other thing, especially since a diuretic like coffee makes symptoms worse for you: no matter what else is going on, you may also be dehydrated! Try drinking a lot more clear, well-filtered water (or water + cumin, cinnamon and turmeric if you want a more tea/coffee :mug: variation on the theme) through a straw throughout the day. Plus less soda, tea or coffee.

Drinking through a straw is important because when you drink smaller amounts of water more frequently, your body will retain hydration a lot longer.

In medicine, we have a saying..."If it is polluted, dilute it!"
(Not that this applies in your case, since we're not talking about infection or toxicity...I just like the saying!)
:):):)
 
Jyoti

Jyoti

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Dr.Lynne said:
Drinking through a straw is important because when you drink smaller amounts of water more frequently, your body will retain hydration a lot longer.
Click to expand...
I am sure this is generally correct, but I have been told by two dysautonomia specialists that it is critical to chug water --1/2 a liter in one quick go if possible--to quickly increase blood volume. So I suppose that if your goal is overall hydration @Dr.Lynne's suggestion is an excellent one--good to know! But if you have POTS or another autonomic dysfunction that may involve hypovolemia, it may be better to drink a lot at once a few times a day. Worth checking out, anyway.
 
Waverunner

Waverunner

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1,079
@Dr.Lynne and @Jyoti Thx, regarding the water issue, I drink enough high-quality water. Where I live tap water is very good and thoroughly tested. It has no chlorine whatsoever. And at work, it is a welcome task for me to refill my glass of water. I also heard that drinking half a liter at once is a good way to increase blood volume.

I just don't get this overall dizziness issue. Had a bad day yesterday with dizziness. Didn't even want to go to have lunch with friends, felt like passing out but during lunch I suddenly felt a lot better. On other occasions, it is exactly the opposite, foods made everything a lot worse because blood gets drawn to the stomach for digestion. Now it made everything better like it has nothing to do with blood pressure or volume. I often have episodes where I feel that foods can make my overall condition a lot better or worse. However, this effect can hardly be repeated by eating the same food again the next day or so. It's like there has to be a longer break or like some chemistry has to charge up again for this effect to recure.

@Learner1 B6 and magnesium don't help, I rather feel like they make it worse.

Interesting, however, that when I took the B12 and folic acid once last Monday, my resting heart rate decreased from 72 bpm to 68 bpm over 4 days, which is a good thing. I noticed the tingling issue on Tuesday again. It has subsided now.

Really weird. I wish we were further ahead with testing what our bodies are doing with foods, vitamins, minerals, etc..
 
M

marcjf

Senior Member
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141
LINE said:
Read about Alpha Lipoic Acid or rLipoic Acid.

https://www.neuropathytreatmentgrou...-lipoic-acid-in-the-treating-of-nerve-damage/
Click to expand...

I can vouch for Alpha-Lipoic-Acid, even though it does not attack the root of the problem.

I have a similar issue, but not caused by food intolerance. Every time I try to exercise I get that risk, if I cross over an invisible limit, my body starts acting weird, I will notice a certain mild discomfort in certain muscles. Hours later I start getting weird symptoms, most of them affecting my feet, like tingling, nerve pain, even some small visible vascular rashes.

High-dose Alpha Lipoic Acid (600mg 3x/day) helps me to quickly recover from those episodes. This is commonly used by diabetic people as well to treat their own neuropathy. However, it is not a fix for the actual problem, that I am still trying to work on.
I am pretty convinced that mine is triggered by vascular issues. Lack of microvascular blood flow will cause that, and that can be triggered by vascular inflammation.

I also heard of a dysautonomia that has been treating her Long Covid patients pretty much with high-dose ALA (same 3x 600mg/day) and Famotidine (2x 40mg/day). I have not explored the use of such a high dose of Famotidine yet, and I would be wary of digestive side-effects. However, this anti-histamine is commonly used by MCAS folks. It is the only H2 antihistamine that is sold OTC, as far as I know.
 
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