Astounding Information about B12 Deficiency

I knew B12 was important, but I had no idea how many things low B12 can affect.  As they say in the video below, B12 is a horse, not a zebra.  In other words, B12 should be something our physicians routinely check.

http://youtu.be/BvEizypoyO0
Symptoms and Related Disorders
Memory Issues, mental confusion, "brain fog," short attention span
Nerve issues, Numbness, Tingling or "Pins and Needles" esp. in hands or feet, Gait problems, and urinary incontinence due to nerve damage
Muscle Issues: Weakness, Clumsiness
Pale or yellow skin

Mood Issues: Anger, Irritability, Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Thoughts of Suicide, Psychosis
Stomach and GI Disturbances, including food allergies
Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia
Sore mouth or tongue, including swollen tongue, possibly dark red
Visual Disturbances
Dizziness
Orthostatic Intolerances
Tachycardia
Edema
Elevated Homocysteine
Elevated MMA
Shortness of Breath
Migraines
Fatigue
Tremors
Dysplagia, including epithelial dysplagia which can result in a false positive pap smear for women
Neurological lesions
In children, repetitive gestures, possible regression in developmental areas, small head circumference, slow growth, failure to thrive,

Risk Factors include:
A diet low in meat and animal protein, esp. vegetarian or vegan
Celiac Disease
Use of acid-blockers (see here, if you have stomach acid issues)
Use of Birth Control
Use of Nitrous Oxide anesthesia (which inactivates B12)
Stomach Surgery
Pregnant and post-partum women (increases B12 needs), especially those women taking supplements high in folic acid - particularly women with post-partum depression

Those with low stomach acid (esp. the elderly)
Age over 50
Parasites
Pernicious Anemia
Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth
Peptic Ulcer
Transcobalamin Deficiency



Serum B12 labs are not always enough to rule out a deficiency because the lab is checking serum levels, not tissue levels of B12.  The video explains that the following labs might need to be done to rule out a B12 deficiency:

• Serum B12
• HoloTranscobalamin
• Homocysteine
• Methylmalonic Acid
• Unsaturated B12 Binding Capacity

http://b12awareness.org/2013/01/21/2013-b12-documentary-by-elissa-leonard-completed/

http://www.pernicious-anaemia-society.org/phpbb/

All rights reserved, copyright information Elissa Leonard 2011

Nutrition: a brief comparison of Paleo/Primal, GAPS and Nourishing Traditions (WAPF)

Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) "style" nutrition, like from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, is broadest, as it includes grains and dairy.  It focuses on traditional foods, including non-processed foods.  You can read more about it here: http://www.westonaprice.org.

Paleo or primal eating focuses on nutrition as our "caveman" ancestors would have eaten, particularly meats, fats and some berries and seeds.  It is very healing, as well, but doesn't focus on healing "the gut" in quite the same way that GAPS does. 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-book/the-primal-blueprint/
http://balancedbites.com/ 

GAPS is similar to Paleo, but GAPS is geared toward healing the body through focusing on certain foods and avoiding others. Think "nutrient dense."  There are various stages to the diet. A lot of people to the "full" GAPS diet, then move to the stricter healing stage of the "introduction" diet. It also incorporates an elimination diet of sorts. The "full" GAPS diet is less strict than Paleo, which really surprised me.

http://gapsdiet.com/
http://gapsandkids.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegapsdiet/

Also, this "cheat sheet" for GAPS is useful. 

Both GAPS and Paleo are to be consistent with Nourishing Traditions, but not all Nourishing Traditions food is consistent with GAPS and Paleo.

Book I Like

Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon

The Fertility Diet by Chavarro and Willet

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause: Balancing Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty by Dr. John Lee (There is also this version for Menopause.)

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer by Dr. John Lee and David Zava, Ph.D.

The NaPro Technology Revolution: Unleashing the Power in a Woman's Cycle by Dr. Thomas Hilgers

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

I started taking 5-HTP today.  WOW.  The black cloud has lifted! 

For the past few days, ever since I got some bad news that seemed to suck the cortisol right out of me, I have been very depressed.  (Remember, I have low cortisol all day, plus slightly above normal at midnight.) 

Leaving the house or making any sort of decisions was giving me anxiety.  Normal, everyday things have been extremely challenging.

I'd been hearing about 5-HTP, talked with a friend about it, and took 100 mg today.  An hour later, I left like the sense of doom was lifting.  Two hours later, I feel like it's gone. 

The thought of going to the grocery store isn't sending me into a tailspin! 

I'm not yelling at my kids even though they're throwing things at the ceiling! 

I'm planning to take another 100 mg tonight before bed - 200 mg each day. 

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/5htp_myth.htm

Bio-Identical Progesterone for Post Partum Depression

Dr. Hilgers prescribed me bio-identical progesterone to treat my post-partum depression after the birth of my second daughter and after my miscarriage.  It was a night-and-day difference!

http://www.naprotechnology.com/depression.htm

There's Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm happy.  Even though I'm hitting a few road blocks along the way, I am getting better.  Read on!

I've been on NDT since January 18 and I started CT3M (with my NDT) Mar 28.  I've hit a few roadblocks:

1. I just found out my iron is low. 

    I was surprised.  I should have checked this much earlier in the process, but I didn't and I wasted time
    that I could have spent feeling better.  It was a dumb, basic mistake. 

    Do not be like me and think you are immune and can skip over "steps." 

2.  I need to swap T3 for my NDT for my Circadian dose, then use NDT for my daytime doses.

     I'm waaaaiting for the T3 to come in the mail.  When it does, I'll start with 12.5 mcg 90 minutes before I
     rise.  I'll basically be starting CT3M all over again.  Then I'll add 1/2 grain NDT somewhere around 1
     PM. 

Progesterone: an old post

This was a post I wrote a while ago for my health/food blog.  I wrote it before I realized the bigger picture of connecting thyroid and adrenal functions to the progesterone problem which leads into post-partum depression.  Still, it contains some important information, not the least of which is the way I came to realize all of this.  

 

The miracle of all-natural progesterone support - Part I: Post-Partum Depression

I've never had problems with miscarriage, but with both my daughters' births, but especially my second-born daughter's, I felt awful.

I was outrageously angry and short-tempered all of the time.  And at the end of every day, I felt like I had the flu - I couldn't stand for anyone to touch me, my muscles and skin ached so badly.  My progesterone was certainly low - not low enough that I was ever in danger of miscarrying my baby, but low enough that I did not feel well.  As a result, I also suffered adrenal fatigue, which lasted months after my baby was born. 

After my daughter was born, my progesterone levels dropped.  This is normal, so it normally wouldn't be a concern, but because my progesterone was already low, the drop brought on a serious battle with severe post-partum depression (PPD). 

Dr. Thomas Hilgers of Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, NE maintains that it is progesterone deficiency is the cause of Post-Partum Depression which occurs in 15-20% of women who have given birth full-term, suffered a miscarriage or a tubal pregnancy or an abortion (see physician comments in In Their Own Words: Women Healed, ed. Jean Blair Packard).

The solution?  All-natural, bio-identical progesterone support.      

Thankfully, my Napro Practitioner saw the warning signs and encouraged me to contact Dr. Hilgers regarding natural progesterone support.  Within HOURS of taking my first dose of this all-natural, bio-identical progesterone, I felt like a completely different person.  I can't even begin to describe this to you other than to liken it to walking out of a pitch black closet into the sunshine. 

My family, especially my husband, was shocked at the difference.  I had gone from:

• Guilt, especially "mommy-guilt"
• Feeling inadequate in taking care of my preschooler and my baby
• Low or no energy
• Becoming easily frustrated
• An inability to handle normal, daily stress
• Social withdrawal
• Anger
• "Foggy thinking" paired with difficulty in conversation and writing
• Suicidal thoughts
• Sadness
• Hopelessness
• Low self-esteem
• Overwhelmed
• Lack of appetite at some times, extreme hunger other times
• Inability to be comforted
• Exhaustion/Fatigue - different from the normal post-partum tiredness
• Emptiness
• Decreased sex drive

to completely well in hours.  The same day I took my first dose, I cleaned the entire house, organized a few rooms, cooked dinner, cleaned the entire kitchen, and played with my girls without yelling - all in the same day! 

Suzanne Temple is a blogger and a NaproTechnology Practitioner.  She graciously shared an email of mine on her blog last year. 

You can read more of what Dr. Hilgers has to say about natural progesterone support during post-partum depression here.