Just found this interesting article on how B12 helps with ME and CRF.
drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/B12_-_r...
One sentence in the article struck me.
'The "normal" levels of B12 have been set at those levels necessary to prevent pernicious anaemia - this may not be the same as those levels for optimal biochemical function.'
Maybe we should be referring our GP's to the article?
I can say categorically that B12 injections helped my ME by a large amount. I just wish that I had been able to afford them much earlier.
Interesting article, thanks.He seems to have used subcutaneous injection rather tham IM injections and gained good results. Again interesting, especially for those of us finding difficulty in self injecting using IM method.
UK and Irl seem to advise only IM. . . . . I read at one point that the UK used to approve of SC but for restrictive reasons stopped that . . . . .Many other places continue to approve SC within Europe and I think parts of Canada amongst others. . . . . .I am led to believe that IM is frowned upon as a SI route and that removing that route removed any chance of SI approval . . . . . I could be wrong. . . . . .If anyone knows different for sure please correct me. . . . .I have tried both and settled on IM. . . . .
Maybe that was the intention - complicate the issue to deter people from SI?
I note that prophylactic use of injections for over 60s is mentioned, whatever your health status or blood level. To help protect against aging and dementia - and as you mention ‘for optimal biochemical function’.
If only we could buy our own supplies. I have bought b12 in Germany and the pharmacist said to me ‘my husband takes this, he gets very tired. But don’t overdo it’. Just normal everyday life.
Our health system is creating a crisis for some people where none need exist.
Also I see from dr Myhill’s website that they sell 30 ml vials of hydroxycobalamin. Has anyone bought this?
Agree re we are creating a health crisis. I also was well looked after with b12 whilst living in Germany. And we wonder why our dementia figures are so poor.
I am positive that b12 deficiency is a major factor in dementia. It all fits - depression, frailty, falls, confusion and it becomes increasingly difficult to explain clearly what your problems are and that can lead to aggression.
I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw it in my stepfather and all his symptoms disappeared in days with a couple of injections. Unfortunately the treatment was just that - a couple of injections and so he rapidly went downhill again.
Sadly it was only with with hindsight that I understood as I knew nothing about b12 at the time.
I agree, I think there could be a causative issue with B12 but certainly elements that compound or exacerbate dementia symptoms.
I saw it with a former father-in-law (we weren't married but were together for 3 years when he got dementia). He'd made a lot of money in his lifetime but was a widow - a man on his own in a big house, doing his own thing not having much of a life.
He started drinking way too much - this I'm sure affected his B12 levels. He most likely was not feeding himself well enough and probably not sleeping well either. He was a young man to get dementia - only 60. So could it have been the stress of bereavement (big impact on B12 levels), depression from loneliness, and drinking alone that encouraged Early Onset Dementia?
We never found out because he never had injections. Doctors never raised the issue. I think it is linked, and I personally experienced my own severe confusion and delusions when at the peak of deficiency, but I think the jury is still out on whether it's the main driver.
My suspicions are that dementia is rooted in gut health - like many other neurological complaints. And that poor gut health may create a problem absorbing B12, along with a dysfunction that leads to permanent cognitive decline. For me, a focus on the gut seems to be lacking in medical science. But hopefully it's slowly coming around.
Yes I have wondered about the gut connection. I also drank far too much when I was younger and that affects your gut lining, b12 and other nutrient absorption, causes depression etc.
I’m currently not drinking at all and experimenting with diet.
Same here.
And yes it can affect it but I think the gut is quite resilient (if it has all the right nutrients and support to be so).
I believe it's more when things 'break down' and don't have the opportunity to repair or go back to the way they were that the problems start. So you could have been a heavy drinker or alcoholic and probably not have a major problem with your gut if you gave it time to recover, consumed the correct vitamins and minerals to support recovery (Zinc in particular), and slept well without stressors.
B12 is actually a detoxifying nutrient, along with many other B vitamins, so heavy drinkers are often bereft of B vitamins. On top of that, they can eat badly because they're too inebriated to cook properly and are relying on microwave meals or take aways or even tea and toast. This is terrible because the food isn't providing nutrients and the nutrients it is providing are being used up straight away to clear the body of toxins. If they gut is weakened, this is extra pressure on the detoxification process and makes the liver work harder.
So I believe the true risk factor for B12 deficiency is heavy drinking but only without getting enough B vitamins to replace the B vitamins expunged with the toxins and the temporary unravelling of the gut without the support it needs from nutrients like zinc.
So B vitamins really are the essentials of life I reckon.
MorningMistBefore I got a PA diagnosis with b12 levels in low 70s. In a professional capacity I could have a conversation with my assistant, go back sit at my desk and 5 minutes later have exactly the same conversation over again with no recall of the original conversation. (had many other symptoms too, all missed by gp's)
Neuroligical issues almost all went once b12 infections started.
Had I been 10-20years older and PA undiagnosed I wonder where I would have ended up./ what the diagnosis might have been.
How fortunate for you that you were diagnosed and received injections. I worry that once dementia is suspected an individual can find themselves on a very predictable pathway.
B12 injections help a lot of my MS symptoms to be more manageable.
Thanks for the link…. I am going to try the Blue Tack trick for my next SI because it is really tricky at times!
what’s the blu tac trick? Is it pushing the ampoule onto some to help withdraw trick
Ive just read this article and something concerns me. You can’t prevent Pernicious Anaemia from happening to an individual. It’s an auto immune disease( autoimmune atrophic gastritis) of course B12 and all the cofactors and other things we need can help us not to have more progressive symptoms and even stop some symptoms altogether in the lucky ones but it’s can help stop symptoms , B12 etc doesn’t prevent PA from occurring.
one bit that concerns me in this article . The claim that B12 can prevent Pernicious Anaemia. B12 can prevent symptoms from progressing and alleviate them altogether in some lucky folk but it does not prevent an individual from getting PA. PA is an auto immune disease. Atrophic gastritis. I think some GP’s and medical practitioners might think that B12 cures PA. Big mistake
Thanks for this article charks!! Well done!!
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B12 levels 
