How much b12 per day? Just wondering what is a "safe" amount to take?

[AleB]

I have been taking B12 oral supplement (1000) per day, have askes several doctors' advice but don't get a yes or no definitive answer! My iron levels have been very low, as from Friday 30th Nov I was told by Doctor to take Ferrous 210mg x 3 per day for 2 months ... only to be told to stop for a week because of colonoscopy on Wednesday 12th Dec! Only yesterday evening I started to feel very fatigued, slurred speech, trouble walking, tingling in feet lower legs and hands ... this has continued in to today! Just wondered if B12 is too much!

[humanbean]

Vitamin B12 is not poisonous and high doses won't do any harm that I've ever heard of.

stichtingb12tekort.nl/weten...

I take 5x the dose of B12 that you do and I get many benefits from it. Some people do fine with the dose you're on. Some people take less or stop it when their B12 level goes above range because they see high doses as just a waste of money. (People lose excess B12 in their urine.) The choice is yours. If you aren't getting any benefit from high doses, and your serum level is above range then I would suggest saving your money and only supplementing if/when your level starts to drop.

[AleB in reply to humanbean]

Hi Humanbean many thanks for your response and the very interesting link ... my B12 was last tested in June 2018 at 379pg/mL (range 180 - 1100pg/mL), I started supplementing in July after the past 3 years of being up and down with iron levels and other vitamins. I was taking 4000 per day and then reduced once I felt better. It seems that when my levothyroxine is reduced my vitamin levels drop ... it's all very scary and it's been a long hard learning curve ... I'm sure you too have had similar experiences along with alot of other people using this site! I have requested print outs of all tests done from April 2018 to date ... will post to let you know what B12 was (Doc said this wasn't low, but iron was ... it was by phone)!! Anyway a huge thank you on your post, at least I'm not overdosing!! ☺

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

AleB

Are you taking enough? What was your B12 level when tested?

[Singoutloud]

I have pernicious anaemia and at my worst point was receiving hydroxycobalimin injections every 8 weeks from gp, self injecting hydroxycobalimin twice a week and and taking 4 x 5000mcg methycobalamin sublinguals daily. I also take folic acid 3 times a week. It's taken 3 years to get to a point where i can manage on 8 weekly injections with a reduction of sublinguals to occasional use and self injection once or twice a fortnight to keep on top of symptoms.

[thyr01d]

Recently I read an article about the harm of taking B12 and I was found to be over-range even though I previously believed that excess was excreted in urine. It does harm us to take too much. Having reduced the dose I feel much better, less fatigued especially, and think this is because too much of one of the B vits causes depletion of some of the others, which can cause fatigue. (You'll notice most multi Bs contain over 100% of some (cheap ones) and under 100% of others, which is because of the cost, it is important to take them in balance) Hope this helps you.

Presumably people with pernicious anaemia or similar have a different reaction.