Are you taking too many vitamin substitutes?

I don't take vitamin supplements, there's no need. I have an absorption problem. I'm low on B12 and ferritin stores. A year of supplements from the Doctors and levels didn't rise. A ferritin infusion and B12 injections saw my levels raise slightly.

I'm not absorbing the B12 and the ferritin though food either. So I need the 3 monthly injections and infusions.

I know people are trying to be helpful but I really wish they'd listen when I say we shouldn't take supplements without our Doctors knowledge, we should get enough through a well balanced diet.

Living in Dubai I'm constantly told that as I don't spend much time in the sun as it's too hot, I should take a Vitamin D supplement. I however don't have low levels of Vitamin D and I should also take calcium supplements. Calcium and vitamin D supplements can protect against cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

However taking calcium can impair iron absorption, which I mentioned I'm already not getting enough of and there are side affects from too many vitamins. People think that because they can purchase vitamin tablets off the shelf, for as little as 99p for Vitamin tablets, that they are harmless and I should follow their lead if I want to improve my health.

The health issues I have due to low ferritin stores and low B12 are as follows:

• dizziness
• headache
• itching
• confusion
• lethagy
• chronic fatigue
• bone pain
• numbness
• breathlessness 

I also have:

• elevated platelet count
• high white blood cell count

Therefore I do not wish to add the following symptoms to my ever growing list by overdosing on supplements, that my stomach won't absorb anyway.

Side effects of too much Vitamin D

• Elevated Blood Levels. 
• Elevated Blood Calcium Levels.
• Nausea, Vomiting and Poor Appetite. 
• Stomach Pain, Constipation or Diarrhea. 
• Bone Loss. 
• Kidney Failure.

Side effects of too much B12

• restenosis (reoccurrence of narrowing of a blood vessel) after stent placement.
• high blood pressure immediately after injecting vitamin B-12.
• dizziness.
• headache.
• cold symptoms, such as coughing or runny nose (nasopharyngitis)
• anxiety.
• rash.
• itchy or burning skin.

Side effects of too much Calcium

• Excessive thirst and frequent urination. ... 
• Stomach pain and digestive problems. ... 
• Bone pain and muscle weakness. ... 
• Confusion, lethargy, and fatigue. ... 
• Anxiety and depression. ... 
• High blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms.

Side effects of too much Iron

• chronic fatigue.
• joint pain.
• abdominal pain.
• liver disease (cirrhosis, liver cancer)
• diabetes mellitus.
• irregular heart rhythm.
• heart attack or heart failure.
• skin colour changes (bronze, ashen-gray green)

Getting the right vitamins from your diet.

For me I'm focusing only on B12 and Iron, I've pretty much cut out bread, crisps, sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks out of my diet due to recent dental surgery. Dairy products can reduce your ability to absorb Iron, but as I have an absorption problem, it won't make much difference. I can't eat nuts due to my teeth either and fortunately I love all the foods on the lists. I don't drink a lot of alcohol during the week, but I do have a latte everyday and I can't believe that just cutting that out altogether would solve my problems and everything I eat and drink is in moderation.

B12

• Beef, liver, and chicken.
• Fish and shellfish such as trout, salmon, tuna fish, and clams.
• Fortified breakfast cereal.
• Low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
• Eggs.

Iron

• Include dairy products in your diet every day. 
• Learn to love leafy green vegetables. 
• Eat more fish. 
• Replace the meat in some meals with tofu or tempeh. 
• Snack on calcium-rich nuts like Brazil nuts or almonds. 
• Reduce your intake of caffeine, soft drinks and alcohol.

I'm sick of being sick

The thing is apart from random pain in my thigh and hip bones and a general feeling of lethargy, I’m not actually sick, however my blood test results over the past 16 months are telling the doctors otherwise and they keep calling me back in for more tests including a bone marrow biopsy in May to rule out cancer.

Finally my white blood cell count has stabalised, it’s still elevated but with no baseline to measure it by, it could just be my normal level.

Since February this year I’ve been taking iron tablets and yet my levels are still dropping, I’ve also been receiving monthly Vit B12 injections and daily tablets yet my levels are not rising either.

I went to the Doctors in June 2017 with a migraine that had lasted 9 days and pain behind my left eye. I’ve suffered with migraines since I was a baby. Every 18-24 months I get one so bad I need medical assistance to sort it out. I have 2-3 migraines every month and I am a chronic migraine sufferer as it impairs my ability to function for 2-3 days each time. I have aura’s, sight is blurry, I can smell burning toast and my cognitive ability is affected. I take medication at this point but most times it doesn’t work.

I also have chronic pain in my neck and nerve damage that affects my fine motor movements, I live in constant pain, it also makes my migraines worse. This was a direct result of an assault 22 years ago. Usually when the migraines get worse it’s due to my neck and I get help and support with that also.

But after the last big migraine, I developed a chesty cough and started getting random shooting pains throughout my body, mainly in my legs and hips. I didn’t go back to the doctors, I put it down to stress after my father died in the July and on my return to Dubai in November I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, that cleared up but I still had a cough which turned out to be reflux and has settled down with over the counter medication.

I spent 3 months under the care of an oncologist this year, that was frightening, after the bone marrow biopsy she referred me to a different GP to test for coeliac disease (border line) and I’m now under the care of a gastroenterologist for further tests to find out why my body just refuses to absorb iron and B12.

As I live with chronic pain it makes it difficult for me to identify when I’m ill outside of this. 4 weeks ago I twisted my ankle, I casually mentioned it to the doctor last week, I’ve torn the tendons and it’ll take a further 6+ weeks to heal and is now heavily strapped. 

But apart from the migraines, the neck pain, the torn tendons, feeling tired all the time (not lacking the will to do anything) and the random bone pains, I’m actually feeling ok, until the doctor calls me back in as there are concerns with the results of my latest blood tests and we explore an other avenue to try and get to the bottom of it.

I’ve got a new symptom now, excessive salvia that I’m constantly sucking from the inside of my cheeks, but my tongue feels dry as does the roof of my mouth and the skin is peeling on my feet. My husband is sick of me being sick, but not half as much as I am.