Bernard O'Shea: Thank God my wife made me go to the doctor when I had pins and needles

A touch of hypochondria and a severe lack of vitamin B12 has me retiring to my fainting couch

Bernard O'Shea. Picture: Moya Nolan

Three years ago, I began to get pins and needles in my hands. I thought I was losing my sight, and I was constantly feeling faint. A quick trip to my GP, and he knew straight away by my symptoms that I had a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Thus began an odyssey of researching vitamin B12-rich foods and a tendency to raid every chemist I visited for B12 supplements. All this because I’m terrified of needles, and one of the most effective ways to get the vitamin into you is by syringe.