B12 sublingual advice

[bollin]

Hi,

I was wondering if I could have some advice on sublingual B12. I know that most say injections are the only option for absorption issues but I really don't want another injection after a bad reaction.

I know people say to get through the reversing out symptoms but I never had low B12 symptoms when I was given the injections. The loading dose made me wired but then the next dose after 3 months gave me terrible symptoms that floored me and only slowly recovering after 8 months.

I know I need some B12 supplementation but would like to hear from people who are successful with sublingual who also have parietal cell antibodies.

I suspect my reaction was to do with slow COMT and inability to break down neurotransmitters - my symptoms were consistent with too many neurotransmitters.

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks

[charks]

I have PA and use sublingual B12. It works for me. However if you have PA oral B12 can only be absorbed passively and only about 1% of the B12 supplement will make it into the blood. It is effectively osmosis which is very slow so the body can only efficiently absorb a small amount of B12 within a given period of time. So in order to help B12 absorption it is recommended that you divide the dose up into many smaller doses and take over the course of a day. And you have to take a lot. I take 3 droppers daily of 5000mcg sublingual.

[bollin in reply to charks]

Hi charks, thanks for your reply. So do you take 1 drop of 5000mcg 3 times a day (15,000mcg/day) or is it 5000mcg in total. Can I ask which make you take? Thanks

[charks in reply to bollin]

I dilute the sublingual liquid and drink it instead of putting under the tongue. I don’t think B12 can be absorbed under the tongue as the B12 molecule is too large to pass through mucous membrane – you end up swallowing it and it is absorbed passively in your gut. So I put approx. half a dropper of 5000mcg sublingual in a glass of water six times a day.

I buy mine from in bulk from iherb but you can buy them from Amazon. As long as it is 5000mcg you will be OK.

It did make me feel 'wired' for a couple of weeks but the effect wore off. Which was a shame because I quite liked it. Made a change from being too lethargic to do anything.

[bollin in reply to charks]

Thank you. I'm going to find a sublingual hydroxocobalamin as I'm trying to avoid methyl B12. I'm finally not feeling wired after 8 months post injection and don't miss it

[topazrat]

I've tried various types of oral B12, and unfortunately, they do nothing for me. But they do work for some people, so its a case of try it and see. I have positive parietal cell antibodies and positive IF.

[bollin in reply to topazrat]

I think I'll have to wait and see if sublingual work. I had some bloods today - last injection was 8 months ago so hopfully it will be accurate. I supplemented B complex for a couple weeks but stopped for 3 days before this test - it only had 50mcg of B12 in it.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

If you think you have an issue with COMT then avoid methylcobolamin supplements - which means most of the supplements that are marketed. Methylcobalamin is involved in the COMT cycle and too much or too little just throw it off balance, or at least that is my understanding from reading up on it a while back.

I use a mix of methyl and adenosyl supplements at the moment.

I haven't been tested for either IFAB or GPCAB but have little/no stomach acidity.

[bollin in reply to Gambit62]

Hi Gambit62, yes I've been told to avoid methylated supplements and methyl donors which makes it hard especially with folate.

[bookish]

Hi, have you tested for slow COMT and methylation and what are you already treating yourself with? It won't only be COMT at play, it never is. Magnesium helped me enormously as did methyltetrahydrofolate in small quantities (always change only one thing at a time and start with a low dose). I have not had a problem with frequent hydroxocobalamin injections. I was using 15000 mcg daily oral/sublingual (three cobalamins, not cyano) etc but it was no longer enough. It could be that you have insufficient cofactors, B6, B2 etc Do you have other autoimmunity and are you gluten free? Cheers

[bollin in reply to bookish]

Hi, yes I have SNP's on 2 COMT genes -

COMT V158M rs4680 AG +/- and COMT H62H rs4633 CT +/-

From what I understand this slows down the breakdown of neurotransmitters. I don't have MTHFR SNP's.

Do you know if the B12 injection causes an overproduction of neurotransmitters? It was the only thing I could think why I had such a bad reaction? My cofactors were/are not optimal (folate was 12 before injections, went up to 25 after loading dose and then went down after maintenance dose - do you know why it would go up after loading dose with no supplements?and ferritin halved from 80 to 40 after the injections (loading dose plus 1 maintenance)

I also have hashimotos. Been gluten free for about 8 years. Thanks so much