[Paige]

Hi all!I have been diagnosed with FM and CFS for about a year now. Prior to the FM diagnosis I was diagnosed with a B12 deficiency. Prior to that I was diagnosed with IBS. The question is does one lead to the other? There is no known cause for my B12 problem, but the docs say I will have to have injections for the rest of my life. Just a few weeks off the shots (currently I get one every other week) and I become a blithering idiot with no memory, no cognitive thinking skills, tingling in my arms and legs and a burning sensation in my mouth. I don't know what symptoms come from what syndrome anymore...they all overlap into one another. Anybody else with this combo?

 

[DonnaDB]

Have you been tested for Crohn's disease? I also have Crohn's with IBS/FM/CFS and B12 deficiencies are almost always present with Crohn's. Have you had any biopsies done? Since FM/CFS MAY be associated with autoimmune disease and Crohn's is an autoimmune disease, they often run hand in hand. Just a thought that you may want to check into. Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[Mio]

Hi Paige,I have deficiency of both Vitamin B12 and folic acid. Last summer I found out that my deficiency of folic acid is chronic and that I have had it all my life. I notice that I don�t get so tired when I take my vitamins. I don�t know what connection there is between FM and deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid, I know that it�s not unusual to have it.../Mio

 

[Susan Purry]

Hi Paige. There is a link between IBS and FM or CFS. It's not that one leads to the other per se. It's that they often exist together in a patient. This may be because both illnesses involve the autonomic nervous system and the immune system (allergies and intolerances are often found in IBS as well as Fibromyalgia and CFS.)

 

[Paige]

Thanks for the info. I am a walking autoimmune system disaster. The doctors all want to believe that I am doing this to myself because I am depressed. I have a hypersenstive reaction to all living things (allergy shots only make me worse) and have neurological damage due to the B12 deficiency. The psychologist that did my neuro-psych testing said that I was depressed and my symptoms were caused by the depression. After 6 months he redid the tests and I still tested with moderate to severe damage but he said that I was improving because my depression was better. What an idiot! If you have a B12 deficiency do you know what your B12 level is?

 

[squrts]

i suspose you were making yourself depressed?im so tired of the guilt associated with these DDs.whatever is caused by what you did NOT do this to yourself!

 

[adorableblueeyedblonde]

Hey Paige, I had fibromyalgia about 17 years ago, and now I have ISB C, with bouts of D. I've been in pain almost all the time for the last year. Also, I'm getting some symtoms of fibromyalgia back..YUK..so I'm also going to an arthritist specialist..they say it's not uncommon to have both. The only symptoms I have of the fiber, is not sleeping, some cramping, and my fingers swell and hurt. So I go back and forth between these two sites. My IBS is my major problem. I think because I have both, my IBS is not quite the same as the norm. My report from the Mayo Clinic said my IBS did not meet the ROME criteria. Anyways you're not only. Good luck to you and hang in there.Love,Patty

 

[LoriAnn]

Chronic B12 deficency is also a symptom of Celiac disease as is IBS. Celiac disease is also an autoimmune disease. After a lifetime of being sick and treated like a nut case, they finally figured out that is what was wrong with me, (afer I helped them with the dianosis - thanks to the internet) I am 95% better since beginning treatment. Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth. Lori