Anyone notice a link between vitamin B12 and dry eyes? (Vitamin deficiencies)

[CarlyS123]

Hi, for 3 years I have had dry eyes that popped up out of the blue and its really affected my life. I also have had other symptoms such as tiredness and brain fog etc and have been with several different hospital departments trying to get to the bottom of this and recently I was diagnosed with Pernicious anemia, which is the inability to absorb vitamin B12 and causes a B12 deficiency. I have vaguely read about other people with a vitamin b12 deficiency having dry eyes but I haven't heard many success stories. I am being treated for my deficiency and so far it hasn't made a different but I've heard treatment for this deficiency can take a while.
Has anyone else here had a b12 deficiency or any kind of vitamin deficiency that has helped their dry eyes when treated?
Thanks

[mkt89]

reply

Hi, for 3 years I have had dry eyes that popped up out of the blue and its really affected my life. I also have had other symptoms such as tiredness and brain fog etc and have been with several different hospital departments trying to get to the bottom of this and recently I was diagnosed with Pernicious anemia, which is the inability to absorb vitamin B12 and causes a B12 deficiency. I have vaguely read about other people with a vitamin b12 deficiency having dry eyes but I haven't heard many success stories. I am being treated for my deficiency and so far it hasn't made a different but I've heard treatment for this deficiency can take a while.
Has anyone else here had a b12 deficiency or any kind of vitamin deficiency that has helped their dry eyes when treated?
Thanks

I'm suffering with vit b 12 deficiency and feel fatigue very often. I have severe dry eye problem too. Have you shown any improvement with dry eye or energy levels?

[CarlyS123]

I've had my b12 injections for a while now and it has definitely improved my energy levels but has done nothing for the dry eyes. I know one person on this site had dry eyes which improved with the injections but there is no official link. Do you know the cause of your vitb12 deficiency? That cause could also be causing your dry eyes. They think I have an absorption problem and that other deficiencies are causingy dry eyes but they're not sure which ones yet.

[mkt89]

I've had my b12 injections for a while now and it has definitely improved my energy levels but has done nothing for the dry eyes. I know one person on this site had dry eyes which improved with the injections but there is no official link. Do you know the cause of your vitb12 deficiency? That cause could also be causing your dry eyes. They think I have an absorption problem and that other deficiencies are causingy dry eyes but they're not sure which ones yet.

I've noticed that my energy levels have drastically come down since six months. I just got my vitb12 and vitd test done few days ago. My b12 levels are below 110 while its required to be above 180 and vit d is also low. Its just been a week that I started my medication, and I already feel significant change in my energy levels. I do not know the reason for deficiency yet. My tbut is 3-4 seconds. I wish my dry eye gets better with my energy levels.

[littlemermaid]

Cornea. 2015 Oct;34(10):1324-5. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000000572.
Management of Ocular Neuropathic Pain With Vitamin B12 Supplements: A Case Report.

Shetty R1, Deshpande K, Ghosh A, Sethu S.
Abstract

PURPOSE:

To report the case of a 28-year-old patient with persistent bilateral burning pain and foreign body sensation in both eyes for the past 1 year. The patient showed a poor response to 0.05% cyclosporine eye drops and frequent instillations of artificial tears. Ocular examination showed few superficial punctate epithelial defects, well-positioned laser in situ keratomileusis (performed 5 years ago with symptomless recovery) flaps, and clear interfaces bilaterally, with a tear film breakup time of 7 and 8 seconds in the right and left eyes, respectively. The results of Schirmer tests, confocal microscopy, corneal esthesiometry, and meibography were normal for both eyes. The patient was incidentally diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency, with a serum vitamin B12 value of 90 pg/mL (reference range, 236-911 pg/mL), during routine laboratory tests. In view of weak correlation between signs and symptoms, a putative diagnosis of ocular neuropathic pain secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency was made.
METHODS:

Case report.
RESULTS:

The patient was treated with parenteral vitamin B12, and topical therapy was continued without any changes. The patient experienced dramatic improvement with a decrease in symptoms within 3 weeks of administering vitamin B12 supplements and was symptom-free in the absence of any topical medication 6 months after treatment.
CONCLUSIONS:

Vitamin B12 deficiency, although common in India, has not been reported to be associated with ocular symptoms, including pain and mimicking those seen in severe dry eye. Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ocular neuropathic pain and dry eye in patients presenting with recalcitrant ocular neuropathic pain.

[savino]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26266431#"]Cornea.[/URL] 2015 Oct;34(10):1324-5. doi: 10.1097/ICO.0000000000000572.
Management of Ocular Neuropathic Pain With Vitamin B12 Supplements: A Case Report.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Shetty%20R%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_ uid=26266431"]Shetty R[/URL]1, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Deshpande%20K%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauth or_uid=26266431"]Deshpande K[/URL], http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Ghosh%20A%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_u id=26266431"]Ghosh A[/URL], http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Sethu%20S%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_u id=26266431"]Sethu S[/URL].
Abstract

PURPOSE:

To report the case of a 28-year-old patient with persistent bilateral burning pain and foreign body sensation in both eyes for the past 1 year. The patient showed a poor response to 0.05% cyclosporine eye drops and frequent instillations of artificial tears. Ocular examination showed few superficial punctate epithelial defects, well-positioned laser in situ keratomileusis (performed 5 years ago with symptomless recovery) flaps, and clear interfaces bilaterally, with a tear film breakup time of 7 and 8 seconds in the right and left eyes, respectively. The results of Schirmer tests, confocal microscopy, corneal esthesiometry, and meibography were normal for both eyes. The patient was incidentally diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency, with a serum vitamin B12 value of 90 pg/mL (reference range, 236-911 pg/mL), during routine laboratory tests. In view of weak correlation between signs and symptoms, a putative diagnosis of ocular neuropathic pain secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency was made.
METHODS:

Case report.
RESULTS:

The patient was treated with parenteral vitamin B12, and topical therapy was continued without any changes. The patient experienced dramatic improvement with a decrease in symptoms within 3 weeks of administering vitamin B12 supplements and was symptom-free in the absence of any topical medication 6 months after treatment.
CONCLUSIONS:

Vitamin B12 deficiency, although common in India, has not been reported to be associated with ocular symptoms, including pain and mimicking those seen in severe dry eye. Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ocular neuropathic pain and dry eye in patients presenting with recalcitrant ocular neuropathic pain.

Good post.