Nerve Damage

My mother warned me again and again that missing an injection could lead to nerve damage. Why would I not heed to the warning of a doctor so esteemed that she had patients who would travel over 100 miles to see her? It's less because of a mother /daughter relationship than me being risky and trying to figure out how to avoid sticking a hypodermic needle into my thigh.

On the fifth day after taking the emergency injection, I tried not to worry that pins and needles still relentlessly poked my hands and feet. I called my mom. Her mother's instinct knew even though I said nothing about the numbness. She yelled at me.

That day, in spite of the new funny feeling, I realized that my energy level was quickly on its way back up. New blood cells were multiplying.

Permanent nerve damage? Lumosity.com, a site with games that improve brain function and even helps people with damage to their nervous systems, gives hope. Why should I not also hope?

On day 6, I tested my renewed energy and briskly walked from the subway station to a friend's party. Though mentally not fully engaged with the usual intensity that comes with the New York rush, my feet carried away as if nothing was wrong. At the party, while seated and in conversation, the possibility of damage became real as warm prickles radiated on the left side of my face and then switched to the right. The tingling didn't last, but it lingered long enough.

Later on in the evening, my friend who is a fitness trainer and knows about massage pressed hard on my hands. Usually if she does that it hurts. This time it didn't. I could feel pressure but could not sense how much.

On day 7, the pins and needles seemed to start subsiding. I don't know if the numbness had started to wear off or if I started growing accustomed to it.

Nerve damage as a result of low B12 occurs in the spine. That's what an article said anyway. Pins and needles are felt mostly peripherally in limbs.

A Livestrong article stated that permanent nerve damage occurs after considerable time with low levels of Vitamin B12. I haven't been any longer than 2 months without an injection for years. So the damage couldn't be permanent, could it?