Put your foot down and step, put your foot down and step...

Oh bugger! What a nuisance for you!

Good that you're feeling OK, though!

I'm glad you're taking it seriously! I have a version of the same thing. i don't feel or sound drunk (to me, anyway), but I do get this weird sensation of suddenly, for example, being too close to the ground - like I've become 5 inches shorter all at once. It's a disorientation.

Curious to hear what the doc says. I have had the feeling of being disconnected from my body before -- once while driving, which was weird. My hands were on the steering wheel but they were just kind of floating there and I felt all of a sudden very aware of the speed my body was traveling inside the car (as I were not inside the car but still going 45 mph). I chalked it up to a strange hangover or not enough sleep. I hope it's something simple like that for you.

I finally had my appointment this morning and I thought I would share the results with those of you that have experienced similar problems.

The first suspect is a vitamin B12 deficiency so we did a blood test for that. When I got home I read up on it and it really sounds spot on. (Could that explain my sudden interest in eggs?) (Also interestingly, I was at the pharmacy getting some stuff for Mo the other day and picked up a B vitamin/iron tonic for myself.)

The second suspect is a petit mal seizure of some kind for which she referred me to a neurologist.

We were able to rule out circulation, ear, and blood sugar problems.

Interesting! Thanks for updating us.

Hope that it's the B12 deficiency and that it's easily remedied.

(Isn't it cool how we get cravings for what we actually need? Part of why I avoid dieting.)

You're welcome and thank you. I hope it's just the vitamin thing too as it seems pretty easy to remedy.

It's interesting to read about it -- I would never have thought a vitamin deficiency could cause such a bizarre list of symptoms. My doctor was asking me a lot of questions without being specific and when I told her about waking up one morning with just my little finger numb she wen't "Ohhhhh...."

I hope littlek looks in on this thread again because she mentioned similar things happening to her and it is common among vegetarians.

my mother started getting monthly b12 shots at the end of last year, she was feeling really dragged down and was diagnosed with a deficiency, granted she's much older than you are, and was apparently very deficient, but the doctor told her not to expect to see a huge improvement before at least 6 months to a year

I can't remember if you're a vegetarian, Boom. That's embarrassing, I've sort of known you for almost forever.
If so, the b12 thing seems very likely. My old boss was an expert re b12 and pernicious anemia, which is an autoimmune disorder involving autoantibodies to intrinsic factor, if I remember my p's and q's. At least back then, most americans got plenty of B12 in their diets, but some didn't, including vegetarians, unless they take supplements.

Anyway, it sounds like you have a sharp doc.

Yikes djjd - a year? Dang. Is she doing better now.

Luckily I'm pretty healthy and haven't felt bad, just occassionally weird.

Osso, I'm so lucky having found this doctor. I like her better than any doctor I've ever had. She doesn't put ideas in your head but asks the right questions and best of all, she listens. Really listens.

I'm not a vegetarian but I don't eat that much meat just because cooking it is more of a hassle that cooking something else. I use meat in soups mostly and I eat a lot of soup. I would have never thought this might somehow be diet related so it will be interesting to find out if that's what it is.



I have no idea what this means!

glad you got us up to date boom.

I'm not thinking you have that autoimmune syndrome - at all. Just that in those studies the problem was usually not re people not eating things with b12, but re the ability to bind it, and as a generalization, people in the US back then usually ate enough food with b12. Now many more of us eat less, little, or no meat, so a deficiency from nutrition is likely more of a possibility.

Having chronic vitamin B deficiencies most of my adult life until menopause and finally hysterectomy, I'd also be looking into the early stage of peri-menupause; especially if there are any changes in your normal menstral cycle and flow. How old are you now, Boomer? I'm guessing that you are around 40.

As I aged the frequency and flow increased and the frequency of vitamin B and iron deficiencies also increased. Several times I had vitamin B booster shots until I found the correct combination of vitamin B complex supplements, iron and B-rich foods. Toward the end, even that didn't help and I became severely anemic.

I never had the symptoms you describe though. Maybe mine are different because my deficiency was in one of the other B vitamin sub types than yours. Mine would start out with the feeling of coming down with a cold and then evolve into emotional crying jitters with my tongue developing a white coating and the crease down the middle becoming more pronounced. Keeping track of the changes in appearance of my tongue helped me catch the deficiency quicker so I could temporarily increase the vitamin supplements. It got to the point that I would automatically increase the iron and vitamin B supplements during my periods and not wait for my tongue to show a need for them.

The vitamin B complex is closely associated with the nervous system. Your description of the symptoms makes sense. They seem to be of a neural nature. Vitamin B used to be thought of as just one component but over the year's they've determined there are many sub-types of the B vitamin, each with a similar but different role they play in the body's nervous system.

I'd like to keep an eye on this. I'm interested in hearing what your doctor determines and what the blood work confirms. I too hope that the cause is as simple as a vitamin deficiency. Not to alarm you, but please do follow up with the referral for the neural exam. My first boyfriend had petite mal seizures through his mid 30's and lived an entirely normal and active life until he was finally diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor about 6 years later.

I'm glad you have such a great doctor who is curious and listens.

Boomer- Just found this thread. If you are going to a neurologist, he may order an MRI. That can rule out many neurological problems.

I am happy that you have a good doc who LISTENS.

Thanks all for checking in on me!

The doc told me to wait a few days before calling the neurologist to make sure the paperwork is there and I don't get a "we'll call you when we get everything" reply.

I'm 48 Butrflynet so your theory makes a lot of sense. I'm going to do some reading. I think I'll also get a little calendar to track things on, that was smart.

I purchased this book, Before the Change By Ann Louise Gittleman, about 10 years ago and it helped me understand what was going in with my body. I found it on Google books so you won't have to purchase it. There are a lot of case studies, helpful info about the symptoms, and remedies.


Here's the chapter on Vitamins and Minerals as they relate to perimenopause symptoms. She specifically addresses the B vitamins. In case the link doesn't take you directly to the page, it starts on page 76.

she says she feels her energy levels increasing, it's odd the doctor has never advised her to take any supplements, they want to wait until the course of shots is done, and then check blood work and go from there