Another weird symptom I have been having is odd tingling. I remember one night telling my hubby that I
felt like a human voodoo doll. I felt as
if someone was pricking me all over with a needle. It didn’t hurt but was uncomfortable. The prick would hit my head, then my arm,
then my foot then my back…and it lasted all day long. I also noticed my hips and legs would “go to
sleep” often, but chalked it up to the (uncomfortable) chair I use at my desk.
I also noticed “brain fog”.
I have had lots of trouble concentrating on my work as well as making stupid
little mistakes. Also, my husband was
getting annoyed with me as he said I was forgetting things often (conversations
we had or where I put things).
I also have been making little speech mistakes. I go to say a word but something different
comes out. (For example, I told my son to go “flush” his teeth one night
instead of “floss” his teeth. Another
morning, I told my daughter to “go brush your makeup” instead of “go brush your
hair”).
Another off moment was at the kids’ school. I went into the school office to deliver
something. I then returned to my van,
sat down in the driver’s seat, and I then realized I was not in my own van! I
had sat down in someone else’s min van -- oops! (My van is dark green and the
van I sat in was navy blue.) I laughed
all this off to peri-menopause or stress.
One incident in early February scared me most. While approaching a traffic light, I felt
very dizzy, and was sure I was going to faint.
Fortunately, the light turned red. I was able to put my vehicle into “park”
and gain composure before the light turned green. I immediately pulled into a Walgreens parking
lot to recover. For the next 20 minutes,
my feet tingled and itched (and by tingling, I mean painful. It felt like someone was poking my feet with
needles.) I immediately called my primary
care doctor’s office and made an appointment to see him the next day.
At that appointment, my primary care doctor and I discussed
my symptoms and debated if I should see an ENT or a Neurologist. The next day, I met with the Neurologist, and
two days later I had a Brain MRI and a blood test to check for B-12
deficiencies.
I talked to a handful of people about this. A close friend figured it was my allergies;
another said it was side effects from medication; and a third was thinking
anxiety & stress. But I confided in
my dad that I was afraid I had a brain tumor.
Well, I am happy to say my brain scan was normal. However, the real shocker is that my B-12 levels are low! All these weird symptoms are due to a vitamin deficiency! I feel so
relieved that there is an easy fix. I
can take B-12 supplements or injections. I’m sharing this personal story with you all
in hopes that it may help someone else down the road.
