If you have pa, will oral b12 tablets raise serum or active levels at all?

[leahcim]

I know injections are always the go too for pernicious anemia but I was curious to know if oral tablets would raise in blood serum or the active b12 test at all?

[toph]

Active no serum yes

[MensaKaren]

If methyl b12 yes to both!

[Gambit62 Administrator]

any form of supplementation with B12 can affect the results of any B12 test - be it serum or active (and potentially secondary tests such as MMA and homocysteine).

if you have PA then the strength of the tablets would be a factor in considering how much of an impact the test will have on your B12 levels - as the amounts absorbed would be very small - around 1% - so if you are taking high dose (1000mcg+) it could well have an impact.

As far as I am aware this will be independent of the type of B12 you are taking.

[leahcim in reply to Gambit62]

Ah, that's why I asked about pa in the question as I was curious if b12 could still get in the blood somehow but not be used if you get my drift.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to leahcim]

absorption is one phase where things can go wrong with B12. It then needs to get from your blood to your cells and then needs to be used for various processes in your cells. Things can go wrong at each of these stages. PA affects the first step getting B12 from your food into your blood. It prevents B12 being absorbed in your ileum but small amounts are absorbed elsewhere in the gut - averaging about 1% of the amount ingested.

[pinkypop in reply to Gambit62]

hi , i have severe migraines due to excess nitric oxide -after taking a supplement called pine bark extract -picnogenol for 1 month 4 years back for chronic pelvic pain/endometriosis . My b 12 levels were low at 180 pg/ml and methyl cobalamin shots cured 50 percent of my migraines . My neurologst wants me to try hydroxo . I live in india and Hydroxo is unavailable here . My vitamin b 12 levels after 20 shots of methyl was 3100 pg/ml - after the sixth shot methyl cobalamin was ineffective -i would like to know why ? b 12 not entering the cells after the 6 th injecton . i;m planning to get activ b 12 test done here.can you pls recommend a neurologist in UK who could help me with hydroxo -IT 'S URGENT AS I'M SUFFERING A LOT

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to pinkypop]

suggest you start this as a new post and people rarely come back to old threads.

serum/active B12 levels don't really mean very much after loading shots unless they are very low - they are more a measure of how efficiently your kidneys are removing B12 from your blood than what is going on. MMA/homocysteine may tell you whether B12 is actually getting into your cells.

We cannot make recommendations concerning individual medical practitioners on the forum as it is against forum and platform rules. I'm also not sure that it is necessary in your case as your neruologist supports you so if you can't source hydroxocobalamin locally in india you can easily import it. I am surprised that your neurologist is not able to provide you with a recommended source if you are struggling to find another source.

[Technoid in reply to pinkypop]

Pine bark extract does indeed contain pycnogenol but this substance increases the natural production of something called "Nitric Oxide" (NO) in the body. "Nitrous Oxide" (N2O)is a different molecule with completely different effects, for one thing, it can indeed deplete B12 whereas Nitric Oxide does not. You are likely confusing the two.

Nitric Oxide : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nit...

Nitrous Oxide : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nit...

Whoever told you your B12 deficiency was down to taking pine bark extract was quite mistaken. I'm posting partly for you but also in case others happen upon this thread and then become unreasonably terrified of pine bark extract, when there is no justification for that. You should push for an investigation of the cause of your B12 deficiency as if you have developed PA you will likely need frequent injections.

[pinkypop]

Thank you very much for the quick reply .mma and homocysteine levels are normal, i ;m writing to you with tears in my eyes , please suggest a neurologist or a gp who recommends hydroxocobalamin on a regular basis . i 'm fed up of these neurologists here in india . I'll be leaving for california in two months for a endo surgery .I do'nt know any neuro in US . i'd be grateful if you could kindly suggest a neurologist in uk who uses hydroxo .Hydroxocobalamin has some side effects -like redness of the face and neck which occurs in about 90 percent of the patients and pink colouration if the urine and for these reasons neuros in india are not recommending hydroxo and want me to go abroad .

[Technoid in reply to pinkypop]

"Hydroxocobalamin has some side effects -like redness of the face and neck which occurs in about 90 percent of the patients and pink colouration if the urine "

This is misleading. The side effects you describe of redness in the face and neck, and pink colouration of the urine occurs in the specific context of Hydroxocobalamin treatment for cyanide poisoning (using "Cyanokit")

Ref : ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

"In life threatening situations 5 g hydroxocobalamin is given intravenously within 15 minutes, an amount that corresponds with 5 000 injections of 1 mg B12. Hydroxocobalamin reacts in the body with cyanide, and forms cyanocobalamin, which is excreted in urine.

The serum value of B12 can rise to an average of 560 000 000 pmol/L within 50 minutes. If necessary this treatment is repeated within several hours, making the total dose 10 grams.

The side effects that occur, like reddening of the skin and urine and changes in heart rate and blood pressure are temporary and harmless. In short: 10 000 injections a day are still not enough for an overdose of vitamin B12."

Source : stichtingb12tekort.nl/engli...

In short, these side effects are perfectly harmless but also have nothing whatsoever to do with the Hydroxocobalamin B12 injections used to treat B12 deficiency, which are 5 THOUSAND times lower. If the "neuros" in India are avoiding Hydroxocobalamin treatment for B12 deficiency because of the harmless side effects of a dose 5 thousand times greater than what's actually used... erm..... I don't know what to say except they need some basic education on how B12 deficiency treatment works.