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Regarding B12 for stiff sore muscles.... I have a massage client who is a 
walking, talking B12 deficiency.  She has almost all the symptoms I know of: 
nervousness, stiffness in the low back,hips and feet, numbness and tingling 
in the feet, menstrual problems including cystic ovaries, and a diagnosis of 
MS but doesn't have the brain lesions.  I once asked if her mouth was ever 
sore and she said no, so that one she doesn't have.  I've been after her for 
about 9 years to get B12 shots, her drs have never thought of it and she 
hasn't asked.  By now of course she has permanent nerve damage.  She does 
feel better on the sublingual B12, and when she runs out and comes in 
hurting and miserable I start bugging her to get back on it till she does. 
Then she feels better and doesn't need massages for awhile.
    So a lot of you with muscle stiffness would do well to try B12, but you 
may find that Folic Acid is needed too.  This subject has been discussed on 
this group a year or two back, and I told a new client about that 
discussion.  This poor guy got very sick, and when he went to the VA they 
threw him in the loonie bin for a couple of weeks.  Since then he's been 
going the alternative route and has educated himself very well.  One of his 
symptoms was that his muscles were so tight that he said if he just bumped 
his elbow, the reaction would throw him across the room.  He also walked 
slowly and carefully with a wide based step, which implied to me that he was 
shortof some B vits needed for nerve transmission (B3, B6, B12, and folate). 
I told him about the discussion on this group re Folic acid relaxing 
muscles, and then about an article I'd read recommending 800 mcg, 5 tablets 
3X a day.  I'd been shocked at the dose but have read similar 
recommendations several times now.  One dr said the FDA is terrified of 
Folic acid because if you are short of B12 and take folic acid instead of 
it, it will cover up the symptoms of the B12 deficiency until the damage is 
permanent.  (Personally I don't see why they care, the doctors so prone to 
ignoring B12 deficiency symptoms and refusing to give shots till the damage 
is permanent anyway.)   So a word to the wise, if you want to try folic 
acid, start the B12 too.  If you've tried B12 and it didn't do all you'd 
hoped for, try adding the folic acid.  My client told me that within half an 
hour of swallowing his first dose of 5 tablets, his muscles relaxed.  I saw 
him 3 weeks later and he was walking much better.
    We've been trying to figure out what is wrong with him, so if any of you 
have clues, I'd be glad to hear them.  He's very thin and may be a little 
bit loonie, but makes good sense to me.  He was drinking spring water and we 
have wondered if he could have picked up giardia or some other parasites 
that would have used up his B12 (parasites are fond of B12) and other 
nutrients.  I lean toward the notion that he has gluten intolerance, and he 
has done better when avoiding gluten and done worse when he was eating it. 
But sometimes people just have to feel their way into that by trial and 
error.  I don't think any dr will do the tests on him, so all I can do is 
encourage him when I see him.      Donna 

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