B12 oral spray

[Amynic]

Hi all, could I please have some advice regarding the b12 subligal spray! I have started using this daily and having 4 weekly injection. I have pernicious anaemia which I tested positive for intrinsic factor. So my question is! Is the siblings spray effective? My b12 level atm is 415 at 4 weekly injections?

[wedgewood]

Using the spray will certainly boost your B12 serum level . But whether it will benefit you is not certain . The B12 molecule is said to be very large and difficult if not impossible for some to absorb through the skin The skin under the tongue and in the nose is certainly thinner than other skin and should be more able to absorb B12 spray . Some PA patients say that the spray helps . But it benefitted me not one iota . I used it before I had any injections.

Injections are the only way for me . But we are all different .

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Amynic personally I have been giving myself 4 squirts of methylcobamalin B12 spray every day for over two years and I have cyanocobamalin 1mg injections every three weeks (one this morning together with a 'flu jab).

Whether the spray benefits me "scientifically" or not I don't know but psychologically I feel it does and I can afford it.

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

I wish you well.

[fbirder]

Sublinguals do nothing for me, which isn’t surprising.

To get through mucous membranes molecules need to be small and fat-soluble. B12 is large and water soluble. That’s why it needs help (in the form of Intrinsic Factor) to be absorbed from he gut.

If the B12 molecule could easily cross mucous membranes then it should be easily absorbed from the large intestine. We have bacteria in there that produce B12. But it’s too low down in the gut for it to be absorbed via the IF route. If it could be absorbed passively then we wouldn’t need to eat B12 - just like herbivores don’t.

Also, if B12 easily crossed mucous membranes then another dosage form would be much more effective than sublinguals. Whether it’s in he form of liquid drops, sprays or lozenges, one problem with sublingual administration is that it doesn’t stay in contact with the membranes in the mouth for very long - most of it gets swallowed.

But if it were given in the form of a suppository then it would be in contact with the thin membranes of the rectum for much, much longer. That should greatly increase the amount absorbed. Indeed, I would expect B12 suppositories to be quite common. The fact that they’re not leads me to believe that they don’t work.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

there are a few studies on delivery methods for B12 which show that sublinguals seem to have an average absorption of just over 1%, high dose oral has an average absorption of just under 1%.

However, as with most things to do with PA there does seem to be a lot of individual variation which means that some people will absorb significantly more and some a lot less. All you can really do is try the sublinguals and see. They may be useful in maintaining your B12 levels but they are unlikely to actually raise B12 levels.

Your result of 415 is presumably where levels have fallen to 4 weeks after a shot as levels just after a shot will be well off the top of the measurable range.