Can you have too much B12 and Folic ... - Pernicious Anaemi...

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Can you have too much B12 and Folic Acid

I have just been diagnosed with very low B12 and have been booked in for 3 Injections next week. I do take oral vitamins which say they contain B12 and Folic Acid

Can you have too much?

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FedupVON

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11 Replies

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clivealiveForum Support7 years ago

Hi FedupVON was your folate measured when you got your B12 deficiency diagnosis?

If you are B12 deficient despite taking "oral vitamins which say they contain B12 and Folic Acid" it may be you have an absorption problem.

Best check with your GP about your Folate.

Gambit62Administrator7 years ago

B12 isn't toxic - even at really high doses - 5000x the amount you have in an injection.

The amount in your multi-vitamin is probably a few mcg - which pales into insignificance against the amount in a B12 shot - even if you are taking high dose B12 - you obviously aren't absorbing it because if you were your levels wouldn't be low.

On the folic acid - You will need adequate folate levels to be able to process B12 - if you have an absorption problem with B12 then that is likely to affect your ability to absorb folate so the supplement really shouldn't be a problem - though the best form of folate is obviously food but if you have absorption problems you may need help and folic acid is a good way of getting it.

There are some vitamins that you can overdose on - B6 is the B vitamin that I'm most aware of.

foxglove• in reply toGambit627 years ago

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know it it's poss. to take too much thiamine? (vit b1).

I take 100MG daily for peripheral neuropathy...don't know if it's helping!!!!

Gambit62Administrator• in reply tofoxglove7 years ago

suggest you take a look in this

efsa.europa.eu/sites/defaul...

wedgewood• in reply toGambit627 years ago

A fantastic document ! Thanks for that Gambit 62 !

drareg7 years ago

if b12 is very low you need injections methylcobalamin is the best hydroxocobalamin is next best i steer clear of cyanocobalamin no there is no upper limits in injecting with b12 and that is according to the world health organisation

Gambit62Administrator• in reply todrareg7 years ago

drareg, as pointed out before, there is no 'best' form of cobalamin. different forms may work better for different individuals but the only way to know which works best for you is to try them.

I have seen a smoker report that cyanocobalamin worked better for them than hydroxo. I think cyano lasts a little longer for me than hydroxo. There are some rare individuals who have problems or can't convert methyl to adenosyl so methyl would definitely not be the best form for them.

drareg• in reply toGambit627 years ago

methylcobalamin is the purest and most easily absorbed form of b12 inj. hydroxocobalamin is second best cyanocobalamin ,isteer clear of simply because of the fact that it contains cyanide which over along period can build up in the system with all sorts of compilations you can use what ever you want i am not stopping you that is your prerogative and good look to you but i also can give my opinion and the facts as they are and that research has shown to be soand iagain state there are no upper limits whereby one can inject with b12 this is according to W.H.O ARE YOU REALLY SAYING TO ME THAT I SHOULD GO BY YOUR WISHES AND INJECT MYSELF WITH CYANOCOBALAMIN WHICH CONTAINS A KNOWN POISON????? AND FOR THE RECORD I STATE AGAIN METHYLCOBALAMIN IS THE BEST AND PUREST AND MOST EASILY ABSORBED FORM OF B12 INJECTION

Gambit62Administrator• in reply todrareg7 years ago

drareg - please quote the research directly

as stated before - a) the cyanide molecule in the cyanocobalamin molecule is very tightly bound to the cobalamin molecule - so much so that it constitutes no risk. Hydroxocobalamin is used as the treatment of preference for cyanide poisoning because of the lack of toxicity. The process by which it removes cyanide from you system is by converting it to cyanocobalamin ... and the quantities used are 1000s of times the amount in an injection so it really isn't toxic. smokers are probably at more risk from the trace amounts of cyanide in tobacco products because cyanide is used in processing tobacco.

It does not build up in your system over time - unless you are continually putting more into your body than your kidneys are removing.

and again - if you mean by pure that methylcobalamin comes from a naturally occurring source - that isn't true - it is made by bacteria in vats like all the other forms of cobalamin used for vitamin supplementation.

the process for metabolising B12 is the same whatever the form - it goes through all the same steps as cyanocobalamin - with parts being removed and then reassembled so it isn't 'more easily absorbed'.

Ryaan7 years ago

Too much Folic Acid is not good, so after testing go on docs recommendation. Too much B12 is not harmful as body gets rid of excess in urine.

You may have an absorbtion problem so best to get checked out or ask doc for further testing especially if you have neurological symptoms from low B12 or B12 deficiency.

I self inject B12 every 2 weeks and am on daily recommended dose of 400ug Folic Acid, although doctor can prescribe you 5mg Folic Acid If too low.

Gambit62Administrator7 years ago

FedupVON

apologies for this but in view of a heated exchange I am going to close this post to further responses. Please feel free to start another post if you feel that your questions have not been answered or you have further questions

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