Reply To: B-12 Deficiency

Recently diagnosed with CIDP and was admitted to Swedish Cherry Hill in Seattle, first a medical floor and treated with IV Steroids for 5 days which seemed to shock the immune system.  I was lucky enough to be admitted to their Intensive Rehab Unit 2/6/13 where I was switched to oral predisone (60mg) for a period of 3 weeks then 40 mg for 3 weeks, then was dropped to 20 mg.  All the while my improvements were exceptional from barely able to even sit up to totally mobile and independent in a walker and wheelchair.  I was even scheduled to go home and I crashed/relapsed not be able to stand to a walker.  They hooked me up to IVIG for 5 days of tranfusions which seemed to have limited positive effect.  At that point they followed up with the IV steroids for 3 days which almost immediately seemed to help, then back on oral at 60 mg predisone for 4 weeks and just last week down to 50mg.  The rehab almost had to start all over again but the progress back to independently mobile again was pleasently surprising, I’m home as of yesterday.

The point of my posting in this thread is that in a conversation with a new Neuro Doc I mentioned that I was a 15 colon cancer survivor, Lower 6 inches of my small and the first 8 inches of my large intestines were removed.  That is where most B complex vitamins are absorbed, especially B-12, a nerved nuritrement.  She quickly put me on what she termed “Loading Doses” of B-12.  And told me that I will get B-12 shots once a month for life.

My present CIDP treatment/maintenance plan now is maintaining the 50mg Predisone, and starting a ramping up doseage of Immuran until I am at a 200 mg level (month & a half).  Then start ramping the Predisone down slowly in increments of 10 possibly 5mg’s over a longer period of time.  Wish me luck.