Difference Between Hydroxo, Cyano, and Methyl cobalamin

[dfitz]

I'm new here and my first post. Have been on once/month injections until covid came to town this past March. No injections until 4 weeks ago (end of July). My doc had me on 3 mcg of cyanocobalamin/day in the interim. Now I'm back to having issues & need to "catch up" to alleviate the crappy side effects (exhaustion despite good sleep, brain fog, watery eyes/vision issues, etc.). Considering self-injections & sublingual combo. My question - what's the best route to take - hydroxo-, cyano-, or methylcobalamin? I had no idea there were different 'versions' of b12 until educating myself on this board (great resource btw).

[fbirder]

In terms of efficacy there is no difference. All three forms must be converted to cob(II)alamin before they can be utilised by the cells.

Hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin have the advantage over methylcobalamin in that they are easier to obtain, they tend to be cheaper, and they are more stable. In addition, many people suffer unpleasant side effects from methylcobalamin.

Hydroxocobalamin can be difficult to obtain in the USA.

For me, I would use hydroxocobalamin if it’s available and cyanocobalamin if it isn’t.