B12 options

[Rufty10]

Hello team! I have been looking at the B12 I've been prescribed. The ones I have been prescribed by my GP are cyanocobalamin and only 50mcg. The H&B ones are also cyanocobalamin and claim to be 1200mcg. Would I be better ditching the prescription?? I have also read that the cyanocobalamin contain a cyanide derivative - any insights please?

[Judithdalston]

Cyanocobalamin is cheap so that is why the NHS uses it, but if you really are B12 low then 50 mcg won't make much difference anyway. I have taken methylcobalamin in 1,000 mcg daily doses, and you can get them in larger than that. Even mixed B Complex like Jarrow have B12 at 100 mcg per tablet. So yes I'd buy my own- try the Internet.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Judithdalston]

It depends why someone is deficient. If they simply have not had enough B12 in their diet, 50 microgram tablets might be perfectly adequate. If, on the other hand, the person has an absorption issue then even 1,000 or 1,200 micrograms might not be adequate and injections could be required.

The actual amount absorbed into the bloodstream from even a high dose tablet is pretty small.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Rufty10

What was your B12 result?

As Judith says 50mcg isn't much use.

But stay away froml H&B, they're pretty naff quality. There are much better ones out there. And methylcobalamin is the better form.

If your level is very low in range, you may need 5000mcg daily for a few weeks then go onto 1000mcg as maintenance dose.

[Rufty10]

Thanks. I'm recently diagnosed (3 months) with hashi, hypo & low B12 and haven't been able to ask the Dr yet what my actual values are. Only just had my first re-test after starting Levo and I don't think they tested either B12 or antibodies.

[humanbean in reply to Rufty10]

If your doctor prescribed Vitamin B12 for you then your level must have been tested and been found to be low. Doctors never prescribe B12 out of the goodness of their hearts. You need to know what your level was at the time your doctor first prescribed.

If your result was very low in range or under the range then it is possible that you need injected B12 but getting that from the NHS is very difficult. And you might benefit from a decent dose of a supplement anyway.

The Pernicious Anaemia Society (PAS) forum on HealthUnlocked does have info on sourcing B12 injections, and some people inject themselves. But I'd definitely suggest trying the tablet supplements of the type and dose that SeasideSusie mentioned first.

You can find the PAS forum here : healthunlocked.com/pasoc

[Gambit62]

Please note that there is no absolute evidence that methylcobalamin is any better than either cyanocobalamin or hydroxocobalamin.

The assumption that it is better because it is one of the two forms of B12 used in the cell is erroneous because the way B12 is processed in your cell means that it is stripped of the methyl/cyano/hydroxo element when it enters the cell. Significant numbers of people find that methyl B12 doesn't work well for them and causes anxiety in some.

The cyano element is extremely tightly bound to the B12 and is only a risk to people with a rare genetic condition called leber's syndrome who have a particular sensitivity to the cyanide molecule. You will get more trace cyanide from your food than you will from the tablets you have been prescribed - and even from high dose tablets.