B12 deficiency tingling Metformin

[Ian-J]

Hi all,

I have been diagnosed type 2 nearly 3 months and have been on Metformin right from the start. The docs say I have had Type 2 less than 2 years.

I notice that my feet and fingers tingle mostly constantly but it does go up an down. I only ever noticed the tingling after I was diagnosed and had started taking Metformin.
I've read that Metformin can cause vitamin B12 deficiency and that a side-effect of B12 deficiency is tingling & numbness.

I've got the doc for my first 3 month HbA1c test soon......the big one that will tell if my diet changes and Metformin are working (very sure it is!).....so will mention to the doc then.......but in the meantime I was thinking of taking Vitamin B12 supplements to see if it has any effect.

Ideas?

Ian.

 

[Brunneria]

From the reading I have done, Metformin usually only causes B12 deficiency in a minority of patients, after years of use.

Tingling like this could also be because of neuropathy - which is much more common in diabetics than B12 deficiency.
People can get neuropathy very early into a diagnosis, because sometimes they have been undiagnosed for some time, with raised blood glucose during that time. It is the raised blood glucose that causes that causes the neuropathy.

Have you got a home blood glucose meter? Most doctors say that Type 2 diabetics don't need to test at home, but many of us on the forum disagree with that, and buy our own.

If you had a meter, you would be able to monitor your blood glucose and see how high it is, and whether your tingling sensations happen at periods of high blood glucose. Some forumites report that they can reduce or eliminate the tingling by keeping their blood glucose down to normal (non-diabetic) levels.

On the other hand, if your tingling is caused by B12 deficiency, the sooner you get treatment the better. Usually if B12 is low enough to cause the kind of symptoms you are talking about, then a prescription of B12 injections is advised.

Obviously, none of us here can give you a diagnosis, and you really need to go back to your doctor for a proper investigation into your symptoms. If it is B12, you would need a blood test, and if neuropathy I believe you would need a referral to a consultant for further testing.

 

[helga_t75]

I had very tingly feet and hands and was waking up in the night with arm cramps. I was also getting sores/cracks in the corner of my mouth which is also a sign of B12 deficiency.

I started taking a B complex sub-lingual supplement as well as quite a big dose of magnesium every day (and a sub-lingual vitamin D as I'm in Ireland) and the tingling is much better, I don't get sores on my mouth and my energy levels and mood are also much much better. I have been on metformin for 4 years but suspect I have been deficient a long time.

B12 deficiency is fairly common amongst people with diabetes (and they are not sure which comes first, the diabetes or the deficiency... and metformin has also been shown to interfere with B12 absorbsion further), and most people are magnesium deficient because of our depleted soils due to industrial farming practices and processing, and the basic fact that our food is just not as nutritious or nutrient dense as it used to be.

 

[Ian-J]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies.

I never noticed any constant tingling before I was diagnosed......and the doc did suspect I was a new diabetic because he thought blood tests for something completely different a couple years before hand had not revealed anything with my blood sugar. I do worry though that the doc was being a bit quick to diagnose this and maybe I have been diabetic a long time. Without trailing through the docs notes who knows!
I have mentioned to the doc & nurses about my tingling.......but I think they just want to get my first HbA1c review tests done.

I do have a meter and use it quite a bit. My levels are below 8 now most of the time, down at 5 or 6 well after meals etc. I watch what I eat and don't believe I am spiking very high at all. I am expecting/hoping my HbA1c to plummet from 100. I don't use the meter so much now as the readings are always quite low now.
PS. When I first got diagnosed at the doc I was over 20.

If I get up and walk about the tingling subsides a bit.
Sit in the wrong kind of chair and I'll get pins & needles in my feet.
When I wake in the morning the tingling is only very very slight.

Ian.

 

[Brunneria]

If I get up and walk about the tingling subsides a bit.
Sit in the wrong kind of chair and I'll get pins & needles in my feet.
When I wake in the morning the tingling is only very very slight.

Ian.

That is interesting. Worth asking about the possibility of trapped nerves as well as the other investigations, too.

I had pins and needles in my hand and arm, turned out to be a trapped nerve, which went away with a single trip to the chiropractor. Thank heavens.

I get it back sometimes, but only when I am carrying a lot of tension in my shoulders, and I do a few exercises and the feeling goes away.

 

[Ian-J]

On the other hand, if your tingling is caused by B12 deficiency, the sooner you get treatment the better. Usually if B12 is low enough to cause the kind of symptoms you are talking about, then a prescription of B12 injections is advised.

The wife is popping in past the chemist today to see if she can pick up B12 supplements........worth a try I expect.

Ian.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Your levels were very high when you were diagnosed, so my suggestion is neuropathy. You can ask your doctor to add a B12 test in with your HbA1c to put your mind at rest.

As for the historical tests you had, and your more recent ones, you can ask for print outs. No need to trawl through your GP's notes. If you ask for these there is no reason why you shouldn't be given them. Also, if you are in England you may find your test results are on-line. (all surgeries were asked to have these on-line by last April. Some surgeries are a bit behind) So that is something else you can ask, and ask how to register for access to these. Test results are important, and as you will be having regular tests from now on it is very useful to be able to look back and compare. It isn't just glucose results that are important, it is all the other markers we are tested for, cholesterol, lipids, kidney and liver functions are also very important. With a bit of luck all these should be on one or maybe 2 pages of print.

 

[Ian-J]

Your levels were very high when you were diagnosed, so my suggestion is neuropathy.

Yep, I know........was just looking for a smoking gun elsewhere I guess.

Am a bit scared for the future if I'm honest.........I.E. if the tingling etc stays at the level it's at then fine, but if it's to get worse then......!
I don't much about diabetes related neuropathy......I.E. can it be reversed, will it get worse even if the glucose levels are kept well under control etc etc.

Born worrier!

Ian.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yep, I know........was just looking for a smoking gun elsewhere I guess.

Am a bit scared for the future if I'm honest.........I.E. if the tingling etc stays at the level it's at then fine, but if it's to get worse then......!
I don't much about diabetes related neuropathy......I.E. can it be reversed, will it get worse even if the glucose levels are kept well under control etc etc.

Born worrier!

Ian.

There are a lot of people on this forum whose neuropathy disappeared once their glucose levels became well controlled. Try not to worry, and of course it may be B12 deficiency or some other unconnected reason. I have it in my feet - tingling, burning etc. It was brought on, not by diabetes, but by chemotherapy that I had 4 years ago, long before I was diabetic. Mine is a lot better than it was, and very certainly no worse. It doesn't affect my daily living at all and I never think about it. I was told at the time it might go eventually, but might not. I've never had very high glucose levels.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/diabetes-neuropathy.html