| Author: KadaJ54 19 Jun 2012 Member Level: Bronze Points : 2 Voting Score: 0 |
dear friend,
Leg numbness is mainly due to long time sitting in a same place or standing and is also due nerve weakness and also due to pressure on the spinal nerves and pressure on peripheral nerves and it cannot be solved by just referring some advice go to the doctor who is good in the specified weakness and cure yourself all the best.
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| Author: R. Gautham Shenoy 30 Jun 2012 Member Level: Gold Points : 3 (Rs 2) Voting Score: 0 |
Dear Friend,
Numbness is an abnormal situation where some of our body parts lack physical feeling. In simpler words it is a situation where people loose the sense of touch for a short period of time in a particular part. This situation is commonly seen in all age groups particularly in limbs(i.e Hands and legs).
Causes
Numbness is caused due to different disorders,diseases and ailments. Some of the common causes of numbness are
1. Sitting for a long time with out any movement.
2. Diabetes.
3. Deficiency of vitamin B12.
4. Under active thyroid.
5. Iron deficiency.
6. Alcohol addiction.
7. Obesity etc.,
As you have approached with your problem to the doctor, he being an experienced one, checked your B-12 levels and asked you to take Methyl-cobalt or Methylcobalamin which is used to increase the B-12 level in body and also for the treatment for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which is a nervous disease. It is very difficult to find the underlying cause of numbness. So the exact cause can be known by the complete health check up.
I suggest, If your numbness has not yet reduced, you to once again meet your doctor and go through a complete medical checkup and find the exact underlying cause. If this is untreated properly it may lead to paralysis.
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| Author: Dr.Nikhil Ratna 01 Jul 2012 Member Level: Gold Points : 2 Voting Score: 0 |
Hi Gautham, what you wrote regarding Amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is wrong as far as I know. I think you have mistaken this for subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord one of the serious preventable spinal lesion.
ALS is caused by faulty genes most of the times and not related to vitamin B12 deficiency. You might be knowing the famous personality Stephen Hawkings an astro physicist who is suffering ALS.
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| Author: Dr.Nikhil Ratna 01 Jul 2012 Member Level: Gold Points : 3 (Rs 2) Voting Score: 0 |
Dear friend (question author), Is it while you keep the limbs still or under pressure that you are experiencing these symptoms?
If it is with pressure then it is pressure neurpraxia (due to ischemia) which is transient and will recover in minutes. It is common in thinner people and I do suffer it.
More ever what you are experiencing is not mere numbness, it is called tingling sensation (a kind of parasthesia.
It might be true that you have vitamin deficiency and also experiencing pressure neuropraxia. If you really have cobalamin deficiency, you might be concurrently suffering pernicious anemia (megaloblastic picture).
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| Author: [Anonymous] 01 Jul 2012 Member Level: Platinum Points : 2 Voting Score: 0 |
Dr.Nikhil Ratna,
Please refer to your first sentence " Is it while you keep the limbs still or under pressure that you are experiencing these symptoms?" Well, I experience this when I keep the limbs still for some time say around 10-15 mins.
Referring to the last sentence of your response " If you really have cobalamin deficiency, you might be concurrently suffering pernicious anemia (megaloblastic picture)." I would like to ask that what is "pernicious anemia (megaloblastic picture)." ?
Moreover, could you please tell about the remedy (like what can be taken in food or as a multi vitamin for increasing the b-12 level) and treatment for this problem and what can happen if the B-12 level further decreases? Is it life threatening or can it lead to paralysis as suggested by another member?
An early response will be highly appreciated.
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| Author: Dr.Nikhil Ratna 01 Jul 2012 Member Level: Gold Points : 4 (Rs 3) Voting Score: 0 |
Hi, Firstly do not panic. Due to unhealthy life styles (especially food habits) Vitamin deficiencies are quite common these days. You can get over this by proper medication and improved food habits.
As you said it is not due to pressure over the limb, it might be due to methylcobalamine deficiency.
Coming to deficiency, it may be due to dietary(extrinsic) or protein (called intrinsic factor which is secreted in stomach useful in absorption of dietaryB12). In either scenarios it takes years to develop the symptoms. So cause in your case should be evaluated.
Treatment part for your deficiency is by calculating the deficiency and supplementing it to the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) in oral or parenteral (injection shots). Injections are recommended if it is intrinsic factor deficiency but oral dose in excess is also effective in the same case because some of the B12 is also absorbed without the intrinsic factor involvement.
Coming to pernicious anemia, It is decreased hemoglobin levels due to faulty RBCs called megaloblasts. The mechanism involved is out of scope here.
Coming to the severe form of it "the subacute degeneration of the spinal cord" is the severe form of the deficiency and it takes many years to develop.
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| Author: Dr.Nikhil Ratna 01 Jul 2012 Member Level: Gold Points : 2 Voting Score: 0 |
I need your profile to interpret your case. Please get back with : your age, addictions, food habits, past history, serum VitB12 levels, Hb levels, peripheral smear reports and any other significant reports.
My advice to you
1)If you are a non-vegetarian, please consume animal liver and drink milk regularly
2)Never ever get exposed to nitrous oxide gas, as it inactivates the vitamin by reacting with cobalt at the centre. So you can not tolerate it with the given decreased levels.
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| Author: Tuk tuk 03 Jul 2012 Member Level: Silver Points : 2 Voting Score: 0 |
The reason behind numbness is not sitting for a long time in the same position..it is only an added factor behind the actual cause.Basically the reason is lack of proper sleep,inadequate intake of fruits and other components of diet.In addition,you may,rather must take regularly a tablet of vitamin B-complex on priority basis and believe me,it actually works.
Hope my advice benefits you.
Regards
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