I read in a post I now cannot find that this form of b12 can give some people side effects? Have I got this right? I'm on B12 hydroxocobalamin injections but do have these tablets are times.
Are there other tablets that are better tolerated. I di seem better off them but it's hard to tell as when I have them it's because I feel I need more b12.
Please tell me how it's affected you. Thank you
Methylcobalamin
Hi Nackapan,
Yes ! I took them for ten days, within the first couple of days experienced a sedation type feeling, next symptom was numbness on the left side of my face. Soon after when I took the pill I would feel faint. I have since stopped them. But the side effects just became worse, I had a horrible episode the other day where I felt so disoriented and unstable. It felt like a truck if panic attack’s hit me. Everything about me was out of balance. I even gave my son to a friend to keep an eye on as I couldn’t focus. It was horrifying. I spoke to my mother and she told me to take a sedative (just a small quarter) it took of the edge but I still didn’t feel normal. The next day was a bit better. But then the third day (today) I feel psyche changes. Feelings of derealisation. I’ve been crying on and off and praying to feel better. I was worried I was going to loose my mind or it would develop into a state of psychosis. All I can say is that I hope and I pray it gets better soon. I have a family to take care of. I don’t say this lightly at all it is the scariest thing I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m trying not focus on it. My eyes are burning and my head feels like it’s burning too. I don’t think Methylcobalamin is for me
Okay that sounds awful and could explain some of what is happening to me.
Thank you so much for your reply.
You will improve I'm sure now you know . So will turn take another form now?
Would you mind saying what dose you took for 10 days?
500 ug. What are you feeling ?
Jittery. Shaky. Restless. I have head pressure and headaches anyway and akso pain in my skull/tightness. The shaking was worrying me. I have checked my b complex and it has cyanocobalamin. The other is methylcobalamon 100ug. Multivitamin I don't know but a very low dose. I hasten to add I do not take theses all on the same day. I alternate supplements. Am infact taking alot less. Waiting for blood results to see if on track.
I took Methylcobalamin Sublinguals for a few weeks. Didn't notice anything at first. Then bang much the same as Reemfali. Not as bad though. They make my mouth throat and lips burn.
you can get sublinguals for hydroxo etc it may be worth looking for those if you are finding that methyl causes problems.
some people definitely do find that methylcobalamin doesn't suit them at all and causes anxiety and disorientation.
I didn't realise. As my injections are hydroxocobalamin I will source same if I continue to use tablets too. The b complex i use 3 timee a week has such a low amount of cyanocobalamin will use those still. Definitely worth eliminating to see if I can get rid of a few symptoms now it's been highlighted by Reemfall. You live and learn. Thank you
Read this article. It talks about over methylation and what to do. My daughter actually has a genetic SNP that makes her sensitive to methyl groups. So, she takes a combo of adenosyl, hydroxy and methyl B12 with methyl folate. You are doing what is recommended to build up stores of B12 by getting hydroxy B12 shots.
suzycohen.com/articles/meth...
I'm afraid that article propagates some common misunderstandings about methylation and how it applies to B12.
B12 and methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF) are both involved in the methylation of homocysteine. But the article says that it is methylcobalamin that is involved in the reaction. That is wrong. It is cob(I)alamin that is used in the reaction. A methyl group is passed from a molecule of MTHF to homocysteine (to produce methionine) via cob(I)alamin. In the brief moment that the methyl group is bound to cob(I)alamin it does produce methylcobalamin, but just fleetingly. It immediately goes back to being cob(I)alamin.
Cob(I)alamin is made from B12. Any form of B12. It makes no difference if you take methylcobalamin, cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin or adenosylcobalamin - they all get converted to cob(II)alamin and then cob(I)alamin. So taking methylcobalamin isn't necessary.
frankhollis.com/temp/B12%20...
The article talks about MTHFR mutations. MTHFR in the enzyme that makes MTHF and if you have two copies of the C677T mutation then the enzyme doesn't work as efficiently. But the body can compensate by making more of the enzyme. That's why 10% of the population thta have thta mutation are able to function perfectly well.
Hmm, I did not see where Dr Cohen addresses that B12 is used in homocysteine conversion at all. She mentions methionine synthase and how it converts homocysteine into methionine AND 5-MTHF to tetrahydrofolate. Maybe you misunderstood what she wrote? There is a lot of information. She recommends taking methyl B12 as a methyl donor to bypass the MTHFR defect. The body needs to remove the cyanide from CyanoB12 and then add the methyl or adenosyl group to make the active forms. My kids and I all have the MTHFR defect. One of my kids had a Spectracell test done to check for any deficiencies at the cellular level (inside the cell). B12 was what popped up. My Dr could not explain why my kid would be deficient when she ate meat and took a multivitamin with B12 in it. I knew that you need intrinsic factor to absorb B12 from meat, but B12 from vitamins bypassed the dependency on intrinsic factor. My Dr could only prescribe methyl B12 and could not offer any explanation. Only thing that happened was that my kid would get nauseous if she took the methyl B12 at the dosage recommended. I had a more comprehensive Spectracell test done on myself and I also was deficient in B12, but also carnitine and CoQ10. I had all of us in my family tested through 23andme, as the article suggested, and uploaded our raw data files to Genetic Genie. That's when I saw that my kid had another SNP that can make you sensitive to methyl groups. The report suggested taking a combo of hydroxy, adenosyl and methyl B12 and I found a sublingual with that combo along with methyl folate. So, yes I can get B12 from these other forms. The article stresses methylating slowly and offered the suggestion to use niacin if you start suffering from symptoms of over methylation, which is what the issue of the original post could have been
I did not see where Dr Cohen addresses that B12 is used in homocysteine conversion at all. She mentions methionine synthase and how it converts homocysteine into methionine AND 5-MTHF to tetrahydrofolate. Maybe you misunderstood what she wrote?
Maybe I didn't. Maybe what she wrote isn't complete.
Here is a more complete description of the way that methionine synthase works from a more reliable source -
"The enzyme is initially primed into a reactive state by the transfer of a methyl group from N5-MeTHF to Co(I) in enzyme-bound cobalamin(Cob), forming methyl-cobalamin(Me-Cob) that now contains Me-Co(III) and activating the enzyme. Then, a Hcy that has coordinated to an enzyme-bound zinc to form a reactive thiolate reacts with the Me-Cob. The activated methyl group is transferred from Me-Cob to the Hcy thiolate, which regenerates Co(I) in cob, and Met is released from the enzyme."
What I wrote was a simplification of that process, while retaining the important bits. Which are:
B12 (in the form of methylcobalamin) itself isn't used in the reaction. Cob(I)alamin is used in the reaction. Cob(I)alamin is formed from any form of B12 elsewhere in the cell. Because methylcobalamin isn't used directly by the enzyme, taking methylcobalamin cannot compensate for any MTHFR mutations.
She harps on about MTHFR and getting tested by 23andMe. This is what 23andMe say on the subject - blog.23andme.com/health-tra...
"Based on the existing data, scientists at 23andMe have concluded that people should not interpret their genotypes at the common MTHFR variants as having an effect on their health."
I have had methyl injections twice. Both times, I woke up the next morning with an excruciating headache. It didn’t last long, maybe an hour, but intense pain. I was also incredibly moody & irritable for almost a week following. I felt no benefits from the medication.
I have taken cyano by Rx from my hematologist for 18 mo, starting with 1x/mo, after 1yr, increased to 2x/mo. Still experienced neurological symptoms, so added hydroxo injections, alternated with cyano, so now injecting weekly. That seems to be what’s best for me,
Glasses you've found what helps you.
I'm having hydroxocobalamin injections 2 weekly. Still having neuro probless too.
I was taking some b12 tablets that are methylcobalamon. Have stopped. The B12 in my multivitamin is cyano .
Thank you. I hope you continue to make improvements
If you are still experiencing neurological problems, that may indicate that you still need more frequent injections, and/or that you need to get in more co-factors on a daily basis. The B12 cannot work without the co-factors, (potassium, folate or folinic acid, ferritin + vitamin C, iron), so don’t neglect those. I can tell a difference on days when I slack off and don’t get them in! And when I was first diagnosed and started injections, no one even mentioned those to me – I’ve had to learn from B12 sites like this one and some really helpful FB pages.
Here’s to feeling better & reclaiming good health!
B12 doesn't need potassium, ferritin, iron or Vitamin C to work. The body might need those, and others, to make red blood cells. But they aren't involved in what B12 does.
actnaturalhealthwellness.wo...
B12 doesn't need potassium, ferritin, iron or Vitamin C to work. The body might need those, and others, to make red blood cells.
If you have had a B12 deficiency that had caused macrocytic anaemia then the body will have a burst of red cell formation that will use up more iron and potassium than normal. This isn't too much of a problem with iron as the body should have quite a bit of it. Potassium may drop by a significant degree.
So supplementation with both may be a good idea during this period. But, after a few weeks red cell formation is back to normal, as is the body's requirements for iron and potassium. They should only be supplemented subsequently if blood tests show a deficiency, because too much of either can be harmful.
Vitamin D may need to be supplemented just because it's not easy for the body to make enough from sunlight at certain times of the year. But injecting extra B12 doesn't increase the body's requirements over a normal person.
Methylcolabamin gave me excruciating headaches, anxiety and made me very shaky and agitated. These effects stopped after about a week once I stopped taking it. Same effect on my friend - she was noticicably agitated and had persistent headaches.
Tablets or Injections for B12
Reaction to B12 tablets 
Sublingual b12 v tablets
B12 Tablets
B12 substitute 
