Q: I am 43 years old. I am a pure vegetarian computer professional. My height is 5.7 feet. My vitamin B12 result was 153. Can deficiency of vitamin B12 lead to a panic disorder or attack? Is there any study done on this? A psychiatrist advised me to take five injections of cobamet twice a week and then one in 15 days with other medication like Paxidep CR 12.5.

A:It is true that strict vegetarians are more likely to suffer from Vitamin B-12 deficiency than others. However it is surprising that very few vegetarians, in practice, suffer from this deficiency. You have not indicated the type of test done to determine the B-12 level in your case. Is it ng/ml (normal 200-900) or pmol/L (normal 150-660)? Severe vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to confusion, moodiness, loss of memory, delusions, hallucinations and rarely overt psychosis.