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mrsD · 12-26-2008, 08:13 PM

is available by injection thru a compounding pharmacy.

Oral is just as good. There are studies comparing oral vs injection and the same results are had from both.

Injections only last 72 hours. Oral provides the B12 every day.
Your doctor is wrong...one does not need the stomach at all for high dose oral to work. B12 is passively absorbed in the small intestine without intrinsic factor. (it must be taken on an empty stomach however.).

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030301/979.html
for you to read and for your doctor.

Quote:

Because most clinicians are generally unaware that oral vitamin B12 therapy is effective,17 the traditional treatment for B12 deficiency has been intramuscular injections. However, since as early as 1968, oral vitamin B12 has been shown to have an efficacy equal to that of injections in the treatment of pernicious anemia and other B12 deficiency states.9,17-19 Although the majority of dietary vitamin B12 is absorbed in the terminal ileum through a complex with intrinsic factor, evidence for the previously mentioned alternate transport system is mounting.

In one study,18 38 patients with vitamin B12 deficiency were randomized to receive oral or parenteral therapy. Patients in the parenteral therapy group received 1,000 mcg of vitamin B12 intramuscularly on days 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90, while those in the oral treatment group received 2,000 mcg daily for 120 days. At the end of 120 days, patients who received oral therapy had significantly higher serum vitamin B12 levels and lower methylmalonic acid levels than those in the parenteral therapy group. The actual transport mechanism used in this pathway remains unproved, but vitamin B12 is thought to be absorbed "en masse" in high doses. Surprisingly, one study20 showed that even in patients who had undergone gastrectomy, vitamin B12 deficiency could be easily reversed with oral supplementation.

Methyl has become the main form preferred and is very inexpensive. (doctors don't know about this either because their textbooks have not been rewritten). For 30 cents a day you could have a non-invasive way of getting what you need.

I'd recommend you do 5mg a day for the 120 days, and get retested. This is an example:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=117&at=0
take on empty stomach with no food for 2 hrs after. Presence of food and fiber reduces absorption.

Twitching has many causes. Imbalance of calcium to magnesium (not enough magnesium) or low blood sugars.
Low blood sugars are a common cause of muscle twitches.
This can be a sign of insulin resistance. In fact it is the first sign. A fasting insulin level will tell you if this is the case for you.

I'd suggest you read my magnesium thread. Taking 1/2 of the RDA as a supplement can help many neuromuscular twitching and cramping symptoms. Excess of calcium in the diet with a low intake of magnesium often causes problems like you describe.