muddle

[jillc39]

I can find Meth-B12 for sale - is this the same as the hydrox... I get, and can you mix them? I need all my facts when I confront my stupid gp.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

There are 4 forms of B12. In order of stability they are - cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Methyl and adenosyl are the two forms used for key process in the body (would have to check up on which is used for which processes).

methyl gets a lot of hype because it is one of the forms used by cells ... and some people do have genetic sequences that affect their ability to convert hydroxo and cyano to methyl forms though the genetic factors tend to affect processing folic acid into methylated forms more than they affect B12 ... so it's been pushed as being better than hydroxo and cyano because it requires less processing. However people respond differently.

A few people have problems converting methyl to adenosyl but can convert both hydoxo and cyano to either form so methyl may not be a good choice for everyone. I tend to find that it does nothing for my neuropsychiatric symptoms and as these are the symptoms that affect my life most it isn't the best form for me - though I do find it good for some things - like the level of feeling in my left foot.

the advantages of hydroxo and cyano are their greater stability - they are affected by light but less so by temperature - that makes them easier to transport and store than methyl and particular adenosyl

You can mix forms of B12. I've seen sublinguals that are a mixture of methyl and hydroxo and adenosyl and methyl ... and even methyl and adenosyl.

[jillc39 in reply to Gambit62]

thank you so much for your very clear reply. so difficult to untangle it all.

[fbirder]

Stick with the hydroxocobalamin injections that your doctor will, hopefully, supply. The vast majority of the population (more than 90%) can easily convert it to the two active forms. And the vast majority of those that have more difficulty converting it can fix that by supplementing with methylfolate.

The methyl form is overhyped by a bunch of zealots who make money by running clickbait websites.

Some people think that you cannot convert mehylcobalamin to the adenosyl form. As far as I can determine this is all due to a Wikipedia entry that misinterpreted a scientific paper because they only read the abstract.

If you feel that you need supplementation additional to your jabs then there's no reason not to use methylcobalamin sprays, lozenges or patches as well as hydroxocobalamin injections. These are all readily available from Amazon.

[Frodo]

On the different types - have found recently that my son has had a good response to adenosyl sublinguals (with folate included) whereas nothing much happened with the methyl spray over a period of several months. So I tried them myself as hydroxo seems to wear off quickly and also found an immediate response (and I had also experienced no change with the methyl spray).

You'd only get cyano or hydroxo from a Gp though, wouldn't you? (If you were lucky)