B12 supplements with intrinsic factor

[Samsungtracy]

Has anyone tried b12 supplements with intrinsic factor ? I’m wondering if supplementing with intrinsic factor would help reduce excess methylmalonic acid or if someone with intrinsic factor antibodies would have no benefit .

I have just started injecting b12 after 2 years of trying to get gp’s to find a cause for my symptoms , after many test and research I found low active b12 . With high mch and high mchc. Awaiting results of intrinsic factor antibodies test.

Long story short I had all the usual symptoms , fatigue being the One of the, but one day after injecting 1mg of b12 and fatigue has gone. And energy levels are back to my former self. I do have pins and needles in hands and feel the cold mor than I did , so I read on this forum it’s best to inject other Day untill symptoms go or there is no change. Im 39 and fit active and slim . My gut still isn’t calm but one step at a time.

[Haveitall]

I’m in WA where my doctors are and one of them today wants to put me on a supplement that has intrinsic factor in it. I had no clue they existed. I think I’ll still inject a few times a week as it can’t hurt.

[Samsungtracy in reply to Haveitall]

Do you mind saying what they are called ?

[helvella in reply to Haveitall]

The British National Formulary states:

There is little place for the use of low-dose vitamin B12 orally and none for vitamin B12 intrinsic factor complexes given by mouth.

bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-s...

(I don't think anyone outside the UK will be able to access that link.)

Why would a doctor want to prescribe an unusual treatment such as B12+IF?

I can see zero reason to use B12+IF if injecting. The only argument I can see is if someone can stop injecting and rely on oral only. And the advantage of that might be financial rather than therapeutic.

There is little recent research. I found a few papers (from 1976 and older) discussing hog intrinsic factor. The most recent of which said that using hog IF resulted in IF antibodies in the bloodstream.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?te...

[FlipperTD]

Scientist's answer, not a medic.

This is an interesting subject. The combination of B12 and IF in a capsule was part of the Schilling test that we mention on here from time to time. A brief history lesson:

The Dicopac Schilling Test used two presentations of B12; one on its own, and one bound to IF. B12 contains Cobalt, and Cobalt has a large number of radioisotopes. So, by using two different isotopes in the test, we could perform the two parts simultaneously. (The two different isotopes can be counted simultaneously because of different emission spectra.) So, in one visit for administration of the test we were able to show whether the patient absorbed B12 on its own, or whether IF was required in the process. (The IF used was a purified animal by-product.) The test was withdrawn a long time ago, and it's sadly missed. So there's plenty of evidence that IF-bound B12 could be absorbed in PA, under experimental conditions although I have no knowledge of any large-scale therapeutic trials of this type of material.

The presence of Intrinsic Factor in normal human gastric juice was proved by William Bosworth Castle, in a very elegant series of experiments, but I'll spare you the details of how this was done!

[Samsungtracy in reply to FlipperTD]

Do you know what is cause of the b12 not getting converted ? Ie , I have high total b12 but low active , So I’m wondering if it’s in my blood what is causing such a small amount to be converted ?

Thanks for sharing you knowledge

Sam

[FlipperTD in reply to Samsungtracy]

Hi. This is the retired scientist's answer; I'm not a medic, and I'm afraid I can't really help here, but it's not going to shut me up just yet..

Total B12 is simply that; it's the total amount of B12 being carried in the blood. It's carried principally on two transport proteins. We understand what one of them does, but the other one is something of a mystery. The lesser portion, the one that has the 'biological activity', has been termed 'Active B12', and it's marketed as being 'better' for monitoring, but I'm not getting dragged into that argument! When we measure total B12 in the blood, the first step in the analytical process is to separate the B12 from the binding proteins, by denaturing these proteins. As a consequence, we get the 'total'.

The 'Active B12' analytical process is a very different laboratory method.

Measurement of 'Total B12' has been the approach adopted in NHS laboratories, and that's what is used in monitoring treatment. Whether this will change in the future remains to be seen! Sorry I can't be of more help.