The Angry Vegetarian

Okay- I admit it...sometimes I want to eat meat. I mean really want to eat meat. I don't want the taste, really....that's not it. Something in my cells seems to be screaming out for it...almost primal. I don't eat it though, and I am left with that longing...the craving...and I'm HUNGRY-and being hungry all the time really makes me feel angry. Hence...THE ANGRY VEGETARIAN.
(I always think that is a great super hero name..."watch out it's the angry vegetarian!!! fighting crime by shooting tofu cubes and wheat gluten...aaaaahhhhhh!") I have also seemed to be fighting a never ending battle with fatigue and a litany of other  bizarre body issues (today my right eyelid twitched nonstop,strange electric shocks down one side of my body, oy! why can't i remember anything....wait what was I talking about? damn this headache....) I have run the gammit of what it may be....fibromyalgia, Lymes, anemia, thyroid etc... have been to the doctor- blood tests check out fine. (everything is normal- some things a little low- but all in the normal range) I have tried it all- diet change, cleanses, fasts...... to no avail. Through it all, I want meat. MUST.... NOT.... EAT.... HAMBURGER.
Then I stumbled upon it.....
If you have any unusual undiagnosed symptoms, perhaps you should consider whether you have a vitamin B12 deficiency. Chances are you don't, but many people do.

Could my symptoms be caused by B12 deficiency even if my blood tests have shown a normal range?


Possibly- a blood test may show your B-12 levels in the normal range. However, it may be just below or in the lower end of that range, otherwise sometimes known as borderline, or near borderline.
If I have B12 deficiency, wouldn't my doctor have diagnosed it already?

Not necessarily. B12 deficiency is sometimes overlooked by the medical profession even when you've had a blood test (actually two different tests are required to nail the deficiency down to B12).

Borderline B12 deficiency can sometimes cause symptoms so dramatic that B12 deficiency may be rejected as a possible cause because it may be thought that such symptoms wouldn't be caused by a mere borderline deficiency. B12 deficiency sometimes goes undiagnosed until the symptoms become moderate to severe, although this is not necessarily the fault of the medical profession. The symptoms often come on so slowly that a B12-deficient individual may become accustomed to them and not complain until the symptoms become severe.

I run down the list..... all the bizzarro symptoms I have are listed in the symptom list.  Risk factors for B-12 deficiency? Vegetarian and vegan diets (among a host of other risk factors). But wait, I really watch my diet and I should be okay.... I take B12! Then I read something that says "Traditional tablets are not effectively digested by the body especially if you are low on B-12  and/or have an issue with B-12 absorbtion. B-12 shots are the only solution."  Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh! No Fair! I run to my health food store....."sob...drama...sob...I need b-12 that can be absorbed more effectively than traditional b-12 tablets...ssoooooobbbb...i don't want to get b-12 shots!" Bless my sweet friend S. who talked me off the ledge, and gave me the pills that will hopefully change my life....  A form of b-12 that is digested more effectively than normal b-12 supplements, called Methylcobalamin. 

I have taken three tablets so far....and I actually think it's working. I have had 4 days with tons of energy- and none of the other craziness I have been living with. I even went out to dinner last night and watched my friend eat kimchee bokumbop with beef, and I didn't want to jump across the table and stab her in the eye with my chop stick in order to take her food. Not even once. 

Sigh- I think my days as the ANGRY VEGETARIAN are drawing to a close. Hmmm maybe now I will be SUPER HAPPY VEGETARIAN fighting crime armed with pink tofu and sparkly hugs. Just think of the costume potential.

Read more about vitamin B-12 deficiency here....