B12 tablets

[networker]

Could anyone help me I'm getting conflicting views on the amount of sub lingual B12 tablets a person can take my understanding is that it's harmless as it just passes through any help would be greatly appreciated .

[fbirder]

Any excess B12 in your blood will be excreted in the urine. So using more than the recommended amount will just result in unnecessary expense.

Keep a log of your symptoms and how much B12 you take. Try to lower the amount whilst keeping symptoms at bay. If you increase the amount and don't notice any change in symptoms then you should drop back down to the lower amount.

[networker in reply to fbirder]

Hi this problem with my daughter in law has been going on now for seven years with no positive diagnosis weather it's B12 or not . She started seeing a new dr at a new practice and the first thing she did was to stop daughter taking B12 and prescribe sertraline for the last 5 months my daughter in laws life has been turned upside down ,we are now at our wittsend she has now started taking B12 again two sub lingual tablets per day symptoms are still there not as bad but still worrying . Over the last seven years we have gone down various avenues trying to get a diagnosis on this problem the only thing I know is that when she takes B12 tablets she functions near normal the longest she has gone without a episode is seven months I understand that it could take a while for the tablets to start working any advise appreciated .

[Secondchance in reply to networker]

There are no known risks from high B12 supplements. I take 5mg sublingual a day, others take more. It really is trial and error. Some people choose to self-inject but not a route I have resorted to yet as I get GP prescriptions at present.

[paul2978 in reply to Secondchance]

Do you find taking 5mg orally has helped? Is it spaced out over the day?

[networker in reply to paul2978]

Yes they did work but she had five months off them on DRs advice to try other treatments and the symptoms returned within 2 weeks of stopping .

[Polaris in reply to paul2978]

Not sure whether this is relevant but may help to know that sublinguals work for some people - part of a letter from Dr Wilhelmina Rietsema in 'Rapid responses' to the BMJ research document :

bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g52...

"Is it important which form is used in treatment? In most people, it does not matter. They can convert cyano- and hydroxo-cobalamin into the active forms needed. However, I have recently reported a case in which it did matter. The severe vitamin B12 deficiency, including dementia and psychosis, responded to treatment with high dose oral methylcobalamin, but not to equally high dose oral hydroxocobalamin. [1]

1. Rietsema WJ. Unexpected Recovery of Moderate Cognitive Impairment on Treatment with Oral Methylcobalamin. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2014;62(8):1611-12 doi: 10.1111/jgs.12966[published Online First: Epub Date]|. "

[PAS-admin Partner in reply to Polaris]

True, the work for some people. Often it's a question of trial and error.

But: b12researchgroup.wordpress....

[Polaris in reply to PAS-admin]

Of course, but having had tests and coming up against brick walls, there comes a time, when self treatment is probably vital with the risk of permanent neurological damage creeping nearer.

[PAS-admin Partner in reply to Polaris]

Of course, I'm pro-any B12, after testing

[Secondchance in reply to paul2978]

Hi

Yes it did help with neuro symptoms I had in my fingers- burning, pain and oversensitivity. If I run out then I notice a difference within a week and it is sore to use touchscreens. I tried 1mg tablets but they did not have the same effect. I don't really understand why it seems to take so much and would prefer to use less if I could but it has not worked out. I think people should try to see what helps them and I found keeping a symptom diary very helpful in working out what worked and what did not. If I had not done this, I do not think I would have worked out the finger symptoms were actually symptoms. It had been like that for so long I thought it was normal!

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Do you know what your daughter-in-laws folate levels are like? Antidepressants like sertraline - SSRI's can deplete folate and without folate you can't process and use B12, so it's possible that in some cases SSRI's really won't help where depression and anxiety are caused or involve a B12 deficiency. Unfortunately most GPs aren't aware of the neuropsychiatric symptoms of B12 deficiency. The best source of folate is food.

[networker]

On a resent blood test her folate levels were below the min level but her dr didn't feel that it warranted treatment so she went to see another dr who put her on folic acid . We might have the B12 thing all wrong but over the last 7 years it's been the only thing that has worked , a few years ago we did the symptoms check list on the pernicious anemia web site and she has all the classic symptoms we've taken this to various DRs only to be told that it means nothing to them even been told by one dr that vitamin deficiency does not exist in this day and age !!!!

[PAS-admin Partner in reply to networker]

If the tablets worked well before then continue with them of course. Two a day is fine. It will take a little bit of time again because it was stopped for a while, but if she responded good to them before, she probably will again soon. It's a good sign there's already some improvement. And yes, add a bit of folate as well.