Solgar B12

[Katiepoopops]

Hi everyone, I was just looking for some advice on Solgar B12 vitamins on Amazon. There are 1000mcg and 5000mcg sublingual methylcobalamin. 1000mcg is £8 and 5000mcg is £18 (both for 60 nuggets) and I was just wondering which is the better value. Can 5000mcg be taken once every five days? Or is a daily 1000mcg better?

[Thalia56]

That's such a difficult one to answer, because I think it depends how much your body needs from day to day. From reading here that seems to vary enormously, so that 5,000 every five days might be fine for some people, but not for others. There might even be people who can manage with 1,000 every few days (assuming these are a top-up to NHS injections). Another option for you to consider might be getting the 5,000 and using a pill-splitter to cut them in half, so you take 2,500 every couple of days.

FWIW, I started off on the 1,000s, hoping they would be all I needed because they are cheaper. When I found I wasn't feeling much better after taking them, I moved to the 5,000s. I still can't say for certain how much B12 I need because I'm quite ill from my thyroid with lots of crossover symptoms, but I think I'm better on the 5,000s, with an adenosylcobalamin supplement thrown in every few days.

Sorry - that doesn't seem to be much help! But the other reason I wanted to answer you was to pass on a tip - I was beginning to quail at the price of the Solgar 5,000s, so I opened an account on Amazon.com and bought them directly from there (there's currently one supplier listed who will ship to the UK, assuming that's where you're based), and the total, depending on exchange rate, is c£13, including shipping.

[deniseinmilden]

I get the Jarrows 5000 mcg, also from Amazon, as they were cheaper than the Solgar and I need lots every day in addition to my jabs.

They taste fine and work OK. The base material is a bit chalky/gritty and something smoother would be easier on my tongue.

What are the Solgar ones like?

[Thalia56 in reply to deniseinmilden]

The Solgar ones dissolve much faster than the Jarrow's and are smoother in texture. They're also smaller - I find I can forget I have one under my tongue, unlike the Jarrow's. I know that taking longer to dissolve is supposed to be a good thing - something about more B12 being absorbed the longer the lozenge is in contact - but for whatever reason, I don't find the Jarrow ones as effective as the Solgar. My symptoms started to return after a few days on the Jarrow's, and went as soon as I returned to the Solgar.

Personally, I much prefer the Solgar to the Jarrow. But as you have to take a lot and you find the Jarrow works for you, cost is possibly an issue to consider. I find ordering Solgar from Amazon.com rather than co.uk helps keep the costs down, but they're still more expensive than the Jarrow's.

Edited to add: I've just checked and, right now, Solgar 5,000s from Amazon.com are actually cheaper than the Jarrow's from Amazon.co.uk. Price does fluctuate with the exchange rate, though.

[deniseinmilden]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply: I will try to source some Solgar from the .com site and see how I get on with them.

[_tracy_]

I've tried both the Solgar and Jarrow brands, purchased in the US from Amazon.

The Solgar sublinguals are very small. Could be tricky cutting them with a pill cutter if you plan to halve the 5000 mcg pills. Jarrow brand are much larger and easier to handle in my pill cutter, but they do get chalky and gritty under my tongue.

I prefer the size and texture of the Solgar, but have found Jarrow work better for me. The Solgar don't seem to be as strong for some reason.