How Metformin depletes vitamin B12, and vitamin B1

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How Metformin depletes vitamin B12, and vitamin B1

Metformin depletes vitamin B12, and vitamin B1. Deficiency of vitamin B12 can result in tingling of the hand, numbness of the feet.

Metformin is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. It works by reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver and improving the body's response to insulin. (Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels).

Risk factors to metformin's effect on Vitamin B12 and B1 includes:

-Taking higher doses
-Taking the medication for longer duration
-One who is already predisposed to vitamin B12 and/or B1 deficiency by virtue of diet or lifestyle.

Once you're taking metformin and you start noticing tingling sensation in your hands and feet, there's a chance your vitamin B12 and B1 stores are low and it's bad. Very bad.

Let me tell you why it's bad:

First, let me officially introduce you to vitamin B12 and the role it plays in the body.

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is an essential water-soluble vitamin that plays a crucial role in various bodily functions.
It is a member of the B-vitamin family and is required for the production of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, and the proper functioning of the nervous system. Vitamin B12 plays a major role in providing cofactors that are required to form myelin.

Let visit the land of myelin. In the body, there's something known as the "myelin sheet". Myelin is an insulating layer, or sheath that forms around nerves, including those in the brain and spinal cord. It is made up of protein and fatty substances.
This myelin sheath allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells.

Once there's problems with the myelin sheets (eg the myelin sheet is damaged), nerves do not conduct electrical impulses normally. Meaning, there can be numbness, vision loss, etc., as the electrical impulses which are like the messages cannot be transmitted anymore due to damage to the myelin sheet.
(Now that you know what myelin sheet is, we can move ahead, this information has a role to play in what we would later learn.)

The signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency includes:

Loss of skin sensation, loss of awareness and balance (proprioception), abnormal reflexes, diminished vibratory sensation, loss of vision, etc. These all can be easily mistaken for those of  diabetic neuropathy.

To remedy the situation, you have to look at 4 things:

1. Your diet.
2. Your lifestyle.
3. Supplementation of vitamin B12 and B1.
4. Seeing your healthcare.

-In your diet, you have to start eating foods which are rich in vitamins especially vitamin B12 and vitamin B1.
Example, whole eggs, meat eg pork, fish, beef, turkey, goat, etc, are rich sources of vitamin B1 and B12. Other sources vitamin B1 and B12 include: legumes.

-In the lifestyle, it's important to cut off alcohol consumption. When you're already dealing with diabetes, you don't need alcohol in your system. Cut it off. It's also important to exercise, lose weight if you're overweight, stay active, and stay hydrated daily.

-Supplementation of vitamin B1 and B12 is very important especially when you're not only dealing with diabetes but also using metformin.

Vitamin B12 supplementation, alone or in combination with other substances, has been demonstrated to improve multiple aspects of diabetic neuropathy (I explained why earlier on).

-Finally, if you don't get better (i.e, you still feel the numbness, the tingling) after following (1)-(3), see your healthcare provider immediately. Your healthcare provider may need to switch your medication to another one or tamper the dose, the duration or frequency

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