Advice about maintenance doses for B12, D3 and iron needed please

[wisewoman108]

I have been working hard to get my B12, iron and D3 levels up and am now wondering how much of each I should continue to take as a maintenance dose once I am well in range. Many thanks! x

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

wisewoman108 It probably varies with the individual.

I have found that personally my B12 stays at around 900-1000 on 1000mcg sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 5 days per week. If I take them 7 days a week it goes over 1100. I know that retesting B12 when supplementing isn't a good indicator, but it does tend to show if you are supplementing the right amount, in my opinion.

If you get your ferritin up to half way through it's range then eating liver once every week to 10 days should keep it there. Far easier than taking iron tablets, and better to get it from a food source.

Vit D is a bit more tricky, far more individual. In the summer it would depend on how much you get naturally from the sun. In the winter you might find 2000iu about right, you might need more, maybe even less. When I originally got mine up from severely deficient it reached about 200 which was a bit much (recommended 100-150nmol/L). I use a combo D3/K2 supplement containing 2000iu D3. By experimenting I have found that for me taking it 5 days a week in the summer and 7 days a week in the winter seems to keep it at around 150. When supplementing with D3, it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep an eye on your level.

[wisewoman108 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you very much for your clear advice seasidesusie. I should have mentioned that I am veggie so no liver for me! I was thinking that maybe one Spatone sachet a day would be about right to maintain my iron levels at around 100?

[wisewoman108 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Also could I ask the make of your D3/K2 supplement please. At the moment I take them separately. Thank you!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to wisewoman108]

wisewoman108 This is the one I use amazon.co.uk/d/4f2/Nutricol...

It also has Vit A which is good for me as it is supposed to help when you have lung disease (which I have), so I'm getting 3 supplements in one so I don't think it's badly priced compared with buying three separate ones.

I didn't get on with Spatone but have found this

"One convenient Spatone sachet contains 5mg of iron in solution. Scientifically shown bioavailability, as high as 40%, means one sachet can provide up to 2mg of iron."

2mg available iron isn't much compared to an iron tablet but you can only experiment. If your level drops then work on getting it back up again and either take more sachets as a maintenance dose or use iron tablets. I know that Solgar Gentle Iron has 20 or 25mg elemental iron compared with ferrous fumerate which has 65mg.

[wisewoman108]

Thank you! x