It seems to me that the NHS treatment I am getting is aimed at keeping me out of B12 deficiency, not about giving me the optimum level for health. So in the long term it could be a good idea to bump the levels up a bit more.
I know a lot of people self-inject but I am looking into alternatives to that.
I was wondering if anyone who has tried sub-lingual tablets or sprays has found these effective? I suspect this is very much in the territory of 'what works for one won't necessarily work for another' so I may need to experiment for myself once I am past the 'loading dose' stage, but I would appreciate the opportunity to learn from other people's experience.
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I have PA and take oral B12. I use sublingual liquid but dilute it in water and drink it instead of putting under the tongue. I did try it under my tongue but it didn't work very well. I have read that this is because the B12 molecule is too big to get absorbed through mouth tissue/skin. Apparently most of the B12 sublingual liquid is actually swallowed and ends up being passively absorbed by the gut. And because it is being passively absorbed you need much more than the makers recommend. Only 2% of the B12 you take orally will be passively absorbed and it is a very slow process. So I dilute my b12 with water and drink throughout the day. This makes sure there is a steady supply of B12 in my gut to give my gut maximum chance of absorbing enough B12.
I concur with you guys! I’ve tried them all too and found the sprays and tablets to have extremely little effect unless you permanently have them throughout the day and even then nowhere near the effects of a good old IM injection. Sorry, I know they’re not pleasant 🥴
IM is less effektive than SC. With IM you dump all b12 into the blood, more gets in the urin. By inject SC it takes a little longer (15-30 minutes) to reach the blood and is more spread - then less gets in the urin. SC is recommended by doctors with b12 competence, IM by old school doctors or doctors without b12 competence.
Oh? Thank you, I hadn’t heard that before? Though I am overweight and wonder if this may cause an issue with SC-injection depth or ‘trapping’ in the fat layer? Any advice? 😊
I am fat (BMI 36) and are taking my insulin in the fat, and it works every time 😁, and the b12 too. Actually, more fat - longer time to reach the blood - better. But we are talking about minutes in difference. Say 10 minutes for a skinny person, 30 minutes for a fat.
I SC-inject into my stomach. I look and feel 5 months pregnant. That’s what my illnesses do to a person.
‘But you don’t look ill.’
‘It’s a disabled toilet.’
Yes, that’s why I carry a card and have a disabled toilet door (RADAR) key.
😉
I had to start using a spray when the GP stopped giving me injections. The dosage was 4 sprays a day on the inside of your cheek. I upped it to 8 a day, then 12 and eventually 16. I started noticing a difference when I was on the 4 sprays a day, but I obviously needed more!
I started self injecting once a week, and that worked until I'd gotten to the point where I'd 'filled my tank', so I've stopped injecting for now until I notice my symptoms coming back!
(I am not a doctor, not intended as medical advice, YMMV. Don't forget your sunscreen)
When I couldn't get ampoules I tried sprays but had to take 30 a day. That's 25000µg - 25 milligrams or 25 times the amount in one ampoule. Also the additives affected my bowels. Was most relieved when fresh ampoules arrived.
methylcobalamin tablets worked for me for a while, but not as good as injections. However, I still had symptoms.
There is some research that says that oral cyanocobalamin is better than oral methylcobalamin, which is what I found too. Also, I found that some brands work and some others don't! No idea why. Note that the absorption depends on many factors, such as taking with food or without. Even diarrhoea or IBS can reduce absorption. Hence, injections are preferable, but if you have a mild deficiency and no neurological symptoms, 1000-2000mcg/day cyanocobalamin may be OK.
I currently use a mix of methyl and adenosyl tablets/sublinguals - total 9mg a day. Works okay for me.
I didn't actually see any really improvement with injections and it was using a nasal spray that was my salvation - went from struggling to walk to being happy at the top of a ladder pruning a grape vine in about a month.
for the methyl I have a repeat order but not particularly worried about brand. adeno is more difficult to get but order mine from Nature's Fix 3000mcg - think its the only option there.
Please could you tell me more about the B12 nasal spray? What it's called and where obtainable? I'm just having great success with a nasal spray delivering steroid and would like to see if using that method for B12 works well for me too. Thank you
There are reasons for the differences in our bodies which affect how our bodies respond to different administration of supplements. Those reasons are not known.
But when I told my GP that a B12 injection once every 3 months was not often enough to keep my symptoms from returning , he would not entertain the idea of a more regular injection . “ More often would be toxic”
That’s how I came to self -injecting , and risking toxicity !
So I really wish that that doctors believed that patients differ in their reaction to supplements .
You make such very useful contributions to the forum. Thank you .
In a twisted way I was lucky as it took about 45 minutes of reading to have a better understanding than those treating me in the USA.
I was given injections of 1 mg of cyanocobalamin a week for 8 weeks and was in debilitating pain in between injections when the injections were discontinued and I was prescribed 1mg cyaobalamin once a day for life I had no choice to self inject or risk permanent neurological symptoms. That and I was in pain. So I did not really have to make a choice of not self injecting.
The odds of finding medical help that at least follows 60 year old understanding in the USA is nil and I did waste a lot of energy and time trying to find them.
I'm in the USA and at best you're going to get a prescription for 1 mg of cyno injection once a month. In my area. 1 mg oral and 1 mg folic acid is pretty standard as long as your serum B12 is out of range at some point. Not likely to be tested for B12 serum unless you ask.
I have found that sublingual B12 liquid has helped to hold things until I start every other day injections again at the end of this month. But even with dosing twice a day, the sublinguals haven’t been enough and I’ve been forking out for weekly injections via a beauty clinic.
Only as an extra additional amount of B12. I inject Hydroxocobalamin about twice a week at the moment and take Methylcobalamin as a liquid form under my tongue on every other day I don’t inject, the other days I do the Folate drops from same brand , Methabolics on Amazon uk, under my tongue.
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