What happens if your B12 is low for too long?

Author: Micheal Crist  |  Last update: Saturday, August 30, 2025

Complications of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia problems with the nervous system. temporary infertility. heart conditions. pregnancy complications and birth defects.

How long before B12 deficiency causes permanent damage?

Without adequate vitamin B12, you have fewer red blood cells carrying oxygen throughout your body. You can have pernicious anemia for several years before noticing changes in your body. Left untreated, pernicious anemia can cause serious medical issues, including irreversible damage to your nervous system.

How bad can low B12 make you feel?

Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause symptoms that affect your brain and nervous system (neurological symptoms), including: numbness. muscle weakness. psychological problems, which can range from mild depression or anxiety, to confusion and dementia.

What happens to people with low B12 levels long term?

A lack of vitamin B12 can cause neurological problems, which affect your nervous system, such as: vision problems. memory loss. pins and needles.

What happens if vitamin B12 deficiency is left untreated?

Vitamin B12–deficiency may cause serious complications, such as bleeding, infections, and problems with your brain or nerves that may be permanent. Babies born to mothers who have vitamin B12–deficiency may have developmental delays and birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.

How Long to Recover from Vitamin B12 Deficiency ❓

What is a dangerously low B12 level?

A serum B12 above 300 pg/mL is interpreted as normal. Patients with B12 levels between 200 and 300 pg/mL are considered borderline, and further enzymatic testing may be helpful in diagnosis. Patients with B12 levels below 200 pg/mL are considered deficient.

How long can a human go without B12?

Unlike most other vitamins, B12 is stored in substantial amounts, mainly in the liver, until it is needed by the body. If a person stops consuming the vitamin, the body's stores of this vitamin usually take about 3 to 5 years to exhaust.

What organ is affected by B12 deficiency?

If vitamin B12 deficiency is left untreated, it can cause lasting side effects that affect the nervous system and brain. More severe side effects of vitamin B12 deficiency include: Peripheral neuropathy. Degeneration of the spinal cord.

What is an alarming B12 level?

An abnormally high vitamin B12 status is anything over 900 pg/mL . This result may suggest liver or kidney problems, diabetes, or certain forms of leukemia. Low. Levels of vitamin B12 are low if they are below 200 pg/mL . This result suggests a vitamin B12 deficiency, pernicious anemia, or an overactive thyroid .

What are the facial signs of B12 deficiency?

The deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause specific skin manifestations, such as hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, angular stomatitis, and hair and nail changes [1].

What blocks B12 absorption?

Conditions affecting the stomach

Some stomach conditions or stomach operations can prevent the absorption of enough vitamin B12. For example, a gastrectomy, a surgical procedure where part of your stomach is removed, increases your risk of developing a vitamin B12 deficiency.

What cancers are linked to B12 deficiency?

Particularly, individuals with lung, stomach, colon, oesophageal, and pancreatic cancers are more prone to experiencing a deficiency in vitamin B12. This article will discuss different types of cancers causing vitamin B12 deficiency, associated symptoms, and available treatment options.

How do you know if B12 deficiency ruined your life?

Signs and symptoms

One primary symptom of B12 deficiency is fatigue – a level of tiredness or exhaustion so deep that it affects daily life activities. Other symptoms are neurological and may include tingling in the extremities, confusion, memory loss, depression and difficulty maintaining balance.

What foods should be avoided if you have B12 deficiency?

Avoid foods rich in fiber

Foods high in fiber, particularly soluble fiber, can interfere with the absorption of B12. Fiber binds with B12 and prevents its absorption in the small intestine.

What are the worst symptoms of B12 deficiency?

Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
  • mouth ulcers.
  • pins and needles (paraesthesia)
  • changes in the way that you walk and move around.
  • disturbed vision.
  • irritability.
  • depression.
  • changes in the way you think, feel and behave.
  • a decline in your mental abilities, such as memory, understanding and judgement (dementia)

What level of B12 requires injections?

Low B12 level (<150 pg/ml)

- If positive, i.e. diagnostic of PA, offer long-term IM Vitamin B12 injection 1mg every 3 months. - If negative, and still asymptomatic, offer 2-month trial of oral cyanocobalamin 50-150micrograms per day as an acute prescription.

What happens to your body when your B12 is extremely low?

Key points about vitamin B12 deficiency anemia

Without enough red blood cells, your tissues and organs don't get enough oxygen. Without enough oxygen, your body can't work as well. Symptoms include weak muscles, numbness, trouble walking, nausea, weight loss, irritability, fatigue, and increased heart rate.

What medications should not be taken with B12?

Possible interactions include:
  • Aminosalicylic acid (Paser). Taking this drug used to treat digestive problems might reduce your body's ability to absorb vitamin B-12.
  • Colchicine (Colcrys, Mitigare, Gloperba). ...
  • Metformin (Glumetza, Fortamet, others). ...
  • Proton pump inhibitors. ...
  • Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) supplements.

What does B12 acne look like?

High-dose vitamins B6 and B12 have also been linked to rosacea fulminans, a condition that looks like acne. Rosacea is marked by large red bumps and pustules that typically appear on the nose, chin, and/or cheeks.

Can you live with low B12?

Many of your symptoms can get better with treatment. But some may not. It depends on how serious the nerve damage is. If left untreated for a long time, B12 deficiency can lead to paralysis that doesn't go away.

What fruit gives B12?

These are apples, bananas, oranges, mangoes, strawberries, guava, avocado, pomegranate, kiwi, and blueberries. Apples- Apples rank first in the vitamin B12 fruits list. They are delicious fruits packed with nutrients.

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