How long for b12 supplements to work?

[mand82]

How long does it take for b12 supplements to start making even the slightest affect? I’ve taken two 500ug tablets daily for the past 13 days and so far haven’t felt the slightest bit different 😞

[wedgewood]

I had a low B12 result (150) which my doctor deemed normal in spite of several symptoms ( Numb feet , confusion , exhaustion , dizziness. I took sublingual B12 nose spray and had B12 patches all over my body . No result . I have PA , and can only benefit from injections. If you have an absorption problem , tablets will not help you . You need to be tested if you are having symptoms of B12 deficiency .( look them up on the internet or read the pinned posts ) You have a roughly 50/50 chance of getting a correct diagnosis with the notoriously inaccurate Intrinsic Factor Antibody test . I know that sounds ridiculous , but that’s the only test available . Doctors only want to treat blood test results and not symptoms . Good luck .

[mand82 in reply to wedgewood]

I’ve been tested for absorption problems last year and it came back as normal, and my b12 levels were round 438 in March this year so they say it’s in normal range

[wedgewood in reply to mand82]

I can assume that your test for a problems means the unreliable I.F.A. test - It gives about 60% inaccurate results . showing negative instead of positive . —- You can still have PA .-It is acknowledged -look through the pinned posts to find that reference .If you have symptoms of B12 deficiency, and. “normal” B12 reading , you can still have PA . In Germany if you have symptoms , and have a reading of 500 B12 serum level and under . , you will get treated . Up to 80% of your B12 reading can be for inactive B12 which the body cannot utilise .Its a terrible situation . You see why this society has been formed —. To fight for correct treatment of PA. It’s also a reason that so many members here have had to resort to self-injection . There is another test that you can have done , but I doubt whether the NHS do it . It’s an active B12 test . You can get it through online laboratories . I haven’t any details . Perhaps other members can advise you ——. Just read what Clive alive wrote and he seems to know that you have been vegan in the past ., which throws a different light on things , as B12 is only obtained through animal products . Are you still vegan ? I don’t know what to say now .

[mand82 in reply to wedgewood]

I get b12 through fortified foods like alpro soya milk & yogurt as well as cereal as well naked juice etc, & yes I’m still a vegan but I eat food that has all vitamins in ,

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi mand82

As you are Vegan and had loading doses injected nearly a year ago, make a list of your symptoms and present this to your doctor and ask him to re-start you on loading doses "until there is no further improvement" according to the N.I.C.E guidelines below. Click on the link, then on "Scenario: Management" and scroll down to "Treatment for B12 deficiency"

google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j...

"The maintenance dose depends on whether the deficiency is diet related or not. For people with B12 deficiency that is:

Not thought to be diet related — administer hydroxocobalamin 1 mg intramuscularly every 3 months for life.

Thought to be diet related — advise people either to take oral cyanocobalamin tablets 50–150 micrograms daily between meals, or have a twice-yearly hydroxocobalamin 1 mg injection.

In vegans, treatment may need to be life-long, whereas in other people with dietary deficiency replacement treatment can be stopped once the vitamin B12 levels have been corrected and the diet has improved".

I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.

I wish you well.

[mand82 in reply to clivealive]

My last b12 levels were round 438 in March this year they slow go down over time, I was told that it wasn’t diet related when I was diagnosed last year , they won’t seem to do anything more as my levels are in the norm like as they say & just tell me to take supplements with my own money ,

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to mand82]

Does your doctor not know that you are Vegan????? If he does - how can he say it is not diet related?

Sadly it all comes down to cost cutting.

Have you tried a B12 Boost spray? I'm not supposed to advertise on here but if you do an internet search it can be bought online costing around £12 (or less) and at four squirts a day lasts for about six weeks at less than 30p per day.

[potatospud in reply to clivealive]

Hi, I have used the same thing in spray form and it absolutely worked for me. I also have a probiotic tablet which includes B12 and other B vitamins, I drink chocolate flavoured Alpro drink too. My hair loss is finally slowing down and the itchy head has gone (it feels like you have ants constantly crawling through your hair).

The horrid darkness has gone and it's like I'm seeing everything in HD!. My eyesight is improving SLOWLY, but the heat haze effect has disappeared completely. My high resting heartbeat has decreased, heart palpatations have gone, brain fog clearing, my worryingly depressed, anxious and paranoid state all disappeared within 10 days (I was a regular caller to Samaritans- I was really that low). I had a reading of B12= 383 but had horrendous symptoms even though told all normal. I have NOT being diagnosed with PA

[mand82 in reply to potatospud]

Potatospud I get the itch head like ants crawling like sensation at times it can drive ya mad , I’ve noticed in the past year that I get bald thinning hair in parts of my head as well as white strands of hair 😱 recently been diagnosed with generalised spondylosis & osteopenia & slight reduction in intervertebral disc height at the c4/c5 , I still suffer from brain fog I’m very forgetful & can just go into like a daydream for quiet a while & not realise even just typing small things like this on the Internet I end up stopping a few times & brain just blanks out like

[mand82 in reply to clivealive]

Clive my doctor knows I’m vegan and when I had the loading doses last year the nurse told me she doesn’t think my diet is the cause of it etc as I eat enough fortified food , will look out for the spray