Happy Sunday morning. I've run out of my cytoplan sublingual methylcobalamin. Wanted to order some more but now they do this in a combination as follows:
That one is an excellent supplement, I've been using that one for a long time. Adenosylcobalamin is another active form of B12, as is methylcobalamin, the combination of both is very good.
It is sublingual, it says so on the bottle. It's a tiny pink tablet you put under your tongue.
Also is there a need for other B's as well?
Absolutely. When taking B12 we need to take a B Complex to balance ALL the B vitamins.
Serum vitamin B12 - 236 ng/L - *ng/L is the same as pg/ml*
That is low. You should check for signs of B12 deficiency here, plenty of people with a result in the 300s have been started on B12 injections because of deficiency b12deficiency.info/signs-an...
I have read (but not researched so don't have links) that BCSH, UKNEQAS and NICE guidelines recommend:
"In the presence of discordance between test results and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment."
And an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml* to at least 450 pg/ml* because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml*."
Two good brands of B Complex are Thorne Basic B (capsule) and Igennus Super B (tablet). If you want a liquid version then Metabolics B Complex is a good brand.
If you do have signs of B12 deficiency, don't start the B Complex and stop the B12, ask your GP to test for B12l deficiency/Perncious Anaemia, if you supplement you will mask these signs and skew the results.
TSH alone is not an indicator of your hormone levels. You need FT4 and FT3 as well.
Your HbA1c looks to be pre-diabetic, has your GP said anything?
Thanks SeasideSusie for your reply. Seeing the GP on the 1st. I am on ferrous gluconate supplements so is it worth asking the GP to get checked for pernicious anemia?
Ferrous gluconate is used to treat iron disorders such as iron deficiency anaemia.
Pernicious anaemia is responsible for B12 malabsorption. With PA the body can't make enough healthy red blood cells because it doesn't have enough vitamin B12.Your B12 is low, as I mentioned. You should check the signs and symtoms of B12 deficiency, if you have any ask for further testing.
I've stopped my B12 as my level went too high (now have 2 pots sitting in the cupboard!). My B complex is now maintaining my B12 level.
You take B12 and B Complex in conjunction with each other. But as I said, see if you need further testing, only supplement if definitely no symptoms of B12 deficiency. If you do have signs, testing must be done before you do any further supplementing. If you need b12 injections or prescribed supplementation, those must be started before the B Compex.
Last time my b12 was slightly higher and GP said it's normal, no action needed. So I took her word. She said to me that the surgery doesn't do any injections and I should buy otc meds for b12 and d3.
I imagine that if a patient has tested positive for B12 deficiency or pernicious anaemia then the GP has to provide B12 injections, the would be seriously negligent if they didn't. I live in a rural area, one surgery for our town of 2,500 people and outlying villages. They do B12 injections for those that need them. So I seriously doubt what your GP is saying about your surgery doesn't do any injections.
With B12, it's not numbers that's important, it's symptoms, which is why I linked to the signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency and suggested you check them. If you have any then you list them and go and see your GP and request testing for B12 deficiency/PA.
Vit D level has to be below either 30 or 25nmol/L to be Vit D Deficient and then loading doses are prescribed. Above that level then the GP is not obliged to prescribe D3 but should give advice about buying a supplement yourself. There are many of my replies about D3 levels, giving the suggested supplement dose as advised by the Vit D Council.
The problem here is I'm still within the normal range so they're refusing injections. I'm seeing my GP on the 8th and will ask her about it.
In the meantime I've ordered the cytoplan b12 and Igennus super b. Have also ordered vitamin k2 drops. That only leaves zinc. I have selenium from cytoplan which I take three times a week.
Would appreciate any recommendations for zinc so I have all the basic vitamins recommend here. Let me know.
It is such a blessing to have likes of you, slowdragon, humanbean and all others. I say to my family that I'll ask the forum and buy the best vitamins. Prior to joining here hubby used to order vitamins. The responsibility has now been given to me.
Did you check the signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency that I linked to?
Do you have any and if so did you list them to discuss with your GP?
Doctors are supposed to take symptoms over the result of the test.
If you have symptoms, pop over to the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum, list your symptoms and explain what your GP has said, you should be able to get advice on how to go forward with your GP from them.
If you don't have symptoms then you should be OK to supplement with what you have bought.
I can't help with zinc, it's not a standalone supplement that I take. Have you tested zinc? Zinc should be balanced with copper, so testing zinc and copper might be best before considering supplementing.
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B12 supplements recommendations please. 
More blood test results
Baseline test recommendations?
Cholesterol and Calcium results
Recommendations for a good selenium supplement?
