Metformin, Vitamin B12 and Numb Feet: A Check Worth Asking For
One of the most fixable causes of neuropathy hides behind one of the most prescribed diabetes drugs.
The link
Metformin is the first-line medicine for type 2 diabetes and is taken by millions of people for years. It can reduce the absorption of vitamin B12 in the gut. Over time, B12 levels can fall low enough to damage nerves, and the symptoms, numbness, tingling, unsteadiness, look exactly like diabetic neuropathy[2].
What the long-term study found
In the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, participants who took metformin for around 12 years had a higher rate of B12 deficiency than those on placebo, and B12 deficiency was associated with more neuropathy[1]. The authors recommended periodic B12 testing for long-term metformin users.
What the guidelines say
The ADA Standards of Care recommend periodic measurement of B12 in people taking metformin, especially if they have peripheral neuropathy[3]. That fits the wider advice to look for other causes before attributing every case to diabetes[4].
What to do
Ask for a B12 test
Especially if you have taken metformin for years and have numb or tingling feet.
Do not stop metformin
Its benefits are large; B12 can be replaced while you keep taking it.
Treat a deficiency properly
Your doctor will choose the dose and form, tablets or injections.
Why an herbal nerve capsule is not the answer here
Nerve Honey contains no vitamin B12 or any other vitamin. If low B12 is part of the problem, no amount of passionflower or corydalis will correct it. That is the clearest example of why a diagnosis should come before a supplement.
Questions on this topic
Does Nerve Honey contain vitamin B12?
No. Its label lists only five herbs.
Should I take B12 if I take metformin?
Ask your doctor for a blood test first; treatment depends on the result.
Sources behind this page
Every link opens the original record. Those studies used single herbs at their own doses, often as extracts or teas, and none of them gave anyone a Nerve Honey capsule.
- 1Aroda VR, Edelstein SL, Goldberg RB, et al. Long-term metformin use and vitamin B12 deficiency in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016;101(4):1754-1761. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26900641/
- 2NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin B12: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/
- 3American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. 12. Retinopathy, neuropathy, and foot care: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2025. Diabetes Care. 2025;48(Suppl 1):S252-S265. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39651973/
- 4Pop-Busui R, Boulton AJ, Feldman EL, et al. Diabetic neuropathy: a position statement by the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. 2017;40(1):136-154. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27999003/
Treat Nerve Honey as a 60-day experiment you can measure
Checkout happens on the seller's BuyGoods page, not here. Before the first dose, run the label past your pharmacist if you use sleep aids, pain medicine or anything for mood; write down a 0 to 10 score for tingling, burning and sleep; keep the order email and the packing slip; and settle by day 45 whether the bottles go back to Florida while the window is still open.