Cyano Vs Hydroxy: Seeing as I still... - Pernicious Anaemi...

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Cyano Vs Hydroxy

WorkingProgress profile image
4 Replies

Seeing as I still have to SI daily does anyone know if there will be any differences between the two.

I know the half life of hydroxy is longer but if it is Daily SI does it really matter?

Or is it more a case of "See which one you feel better on".

It's interesting how Cyano is FDA approved and not Hydroxy.

Btw I am in the uk and have been using hydroxy for a few months now.

Has anyone had any experience using the two or alternating them to see if they suffered any ill effects. I am not a smoker or a drinker but did smoke 24 years ago and would this make a difference.

Or is cobalamin simply cobalamin or are there conversion differences in the body making one easier on the body.

Thank you all again for your help.

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WorkingProgress profile image
WorkingProgress
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4 Replies

Didnt find Cyano injection as effective as Hydroxo. But daily Hydroxo was also a bit overkill for my system. I felt all the symptoms reversing out too intensely and I dont think my body could really handle it...it all the same stuff in the end. But I found Hydroxo generally easier on the body when taken as prescribed (EOD).

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support

Hi WorkingProgress I've been on cyano every month for fifty years and when Hydroxo was introduced in the 80s had a bad allergic reaction to it so have continued ever since. At the end of the day it's B12 no matter the medium or how often it is injected.

I wish you well

Gambit62 profile image
Gambit62Administrator

on average the 'half life' of hydroxo is twice that of cyano but that is an average and there is a lot of individual variation with some finding that cyano lasts longer.We did have a smoker on the forum many years ago who got on better with cyano than hydroxo. Their theory was that the hydroxo was being used to deal with the trace amounts of cyanide in tobacco but not sure that the trace amounts of cyanide would actually explain the difference.

Cyano is more stable than hydroxocobalamin which is part of the reason for FDA approval. Its difficult to find hydroxo on the other side of the pond (I'm in the UK) so it generally isn't used. I'm sure that it is approved by the FDA as it would be needed to treat people who have lebers, just that it isn't particularly prevalent.

The move to hydroxo in the UK was, I believe, a way of avoiding the potential harm that might be caused to a very very small number of patients who might not be aware that they carried the gene for lebers syndrome as it was 1960s and genetics was nowhere near as advanced as it is today.

As you will see from the responses above people do respond very differently to different types of B12. There are actually 4 types that are bio-available - cyano, hydroxo, methly and adenosyl. I have no idea how many forms there are that aren't bio-available but I get the impression it is a lot.

Cinders70 profile image
Cinders70

I pushed for more regular injections at my surgery as 8 weekly shots of hydroxocobalamin were not enough to keep my symptoms at bay. In the end, they agreed but swapped me into cyano, which is licences for more regular use. I now get a shot of cyano every four weeks from the surgery, but also self inject hydroxocobalamin in between, so I have a shot every 2 weeks. If I’ve been really active or have had a few drinks, I occasionally take a bit more hydroxocobalamin and I’ve found this regime is working well for me. I’ve had no obvious side effects from mixing the two and for the amount of time between shots I’ve seen no difference in reaction between the two types. I’m not a smoker though.

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