I have recently had
moons on my index fingernails begin to peep back into existence. They had disappeared long ago, and as far as I could tell, had disappeared with same speed that ridges on my fingernails had developed.I remember looking at my fingernails one night several years ago and wondering, “When did my nails stop being smooth?”
Because I had been worried about ongoing problems, I hadn’t been paying attention to myself and as stress mounted, manicures were last thing on my mind.
Perhaps because it seemed appropriate that hurdle-high ridges had appeared on my fingernails, matching mounting hurdles in my life, I wondered if ridges could be related to health.
It would take nearly two years for me to learn that ridges were a result of low vitamin B12; not a “B12 deficiency” exactly, because at 241, my serum blood level was in low normal range and nothing to worry about, according to my doctor.
But after my feet and hands were frequently tingling and numb, my memory was a thing of past, my balance was dependant on light, and I was depressed - which seemed reasonable under circumstances – I went to a new doctor and in course of answering his questions, mentioned that my mother had B12 problems.
That was it, he said, adding that I would need B12 shots for rest of my life and he’d have his nurse show me how to inject myself.
The neurologist I saw, to follow up, said he believed my problems all resulted from low B12, but he wanted to be sure, “I want you to keep a Time Line,” he said, “Write down your symptoms, each shot you have, and your B12 test levels.”
