Vitamin B12: Tell-Tale Symptoms, Getting Tested, And Taking Supplements

What Symptoms Will You Have If You're Deficient In Vitamin B12?

A mild deficiency in B12 is actually unlikely to lead to symptoms. If you're at the stage where your deficiency has left you with anemia, you'll see some pretty significant but often hard-to-figure-out symptoms, which you may easily attribute to numerous other factors.

These symptoms are heavy, constant fatigue (the symptom that encouraged me to see a doctor), heart palpitations, shortness of breath, pale skin, bowel issues (both diarrhea and constipation), and a feeling of weakness and tingling in the extremities (again, I had both). A vitamin B12 deficiency can even lead to vision issues and cognitive symptoms like confusion, memory loss, and depression. You don't want those.

It's important to note that being a vegan or vegetarian isn't the only cause of a B12 defiency. Being a heavy drinker, certain immune system disorders (including lupus), atrophic gastritis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, having had a gastric bypass for weight loss (though you'd generally be prescribed supplements automatically), parasitic infections, and pernicious anemia (which messes with your ability to absorb B12) can all do it too. A B12 deficiency isn't just a vegan/vegetarian thing.

What Should You Do If You Think You Could Be Deficient?

Go to your doctor, who will order blood tests for you. If you're a vegetarian, you may want to ask your doctor for a blood homocystine test specifically, because that pseudovitamin B12 we mentioned earlier may give a false result if you eat lots of algae. 

We should also note that vegetarians and vegans aren't necessarily deficient, since quite a few foods (including breads and non-dairy milks like almond and soy) are fortified with vitamin B12 these days. However, if you aren't already taking a supplement or making sure you regularly get B12-fortified foods, you will probably want to go for a blood test anyway, even if you don't have symptoms. A vitamin B12 deficiency adversely affects your health, and you don't need to wait until you do have symptoms before taking action.

What If You Are Indeed Deficient?

Though the recommended daily intake varies from country to country, the recommended amount in the United States is 2.4 µg (micrograms) of vitamin B12 a day. If your blood test shows that you are deficient, your doctor will tell you to take a supplement. However, it's possible to get your recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 through fortified foods as well. The nutrition labels on those foods will tell you how much B12 can be found in these products. 

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In short, while a vitamin B12 deficiency may not have been on your radar, it's important to take this seriously. Your body will thank you. By the way, now that I have been taking supplements for a while, I feel much better. That fatigue and tingling in the extremities is gone, and I seem to be able to concentrate better than before. So, if in doubt, don't wait: get yourself checked out.