I procrastinate, I'm guessing anyways. As of late, I have been so tired, like, can hardly get up off the couch after a day of work. So, spending 5 minutes ordering B12 must have taxed my brain because I ordered it too late. Then again, learning experiences are always good! My B12 finally came yesterday, I had a one last Thurs, then one on Sunday..by Tuesday I was feeling the effects of my missing B12. By Wednesday, at the end of my 1 mile walk, I was exhausted, yesterday, my hips ached, my shoulders were screaming, and my feet on fire by the haplf way mark. This morning, the same, except right from the beginning. I am dog tired too, connected? Maybe.

So, I would like to know a few things. I take 5000mcg of Jarrow B12 daily..how much of that do we actually absorb. They say only part of it even gets where it needs to go, that some is just floating around in you not being used..is this true? 6 months ago, my B12 level was 1789, in June it came back at 1389. One friend told me that possibly my body was using more, maybe a flare in the neuropathy. I just never expected the level to go down instead of up. Would it be better to take a lesser amount 2X's daily instead of the 5000 once daily? To add, I do have malabsorption issues because of my gluten intolerance. I think I read you shouldn't take B12 at night, that it may keep you awake, so that could be another issue if I tried splitting the amount, I have issues with insomnia.

I found taking my B12 at night helped me sleep! However, the Bcomplex, of all the B's tends to jive people up. (I think it is the folate that does it, myself).

B12 is used to make melatonin from serotonin.

Fatigue can be from other reasons. I am doing a trial of d-ribose and the details are on this thread:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread123731.html

Since I have started the ribose, I have much more physical stamina and better muscle functions. So far I am very pleased with it.

I guess I was slipping into not being as active as I once was. This may be metabolic for me, with insulin resistance, or part of my arthritis issues, etc. Then there is the PN to deal with and the hypothyroid. So I thought the ribose looked promising for helping the old sagging mitochondria out. And it is turning out that way for me.

B12 is stored in the liver. Skipping for a little while after being on it for a long time should not result in a severe reaction, one would think. But there can be an issue called "vitamin dependency". This is where the body gets used to very high doses of a vitamin and then changes to require it. It happens with B6 (people are born with this and it is called infantile spasms/seizures) and extremely high Vit C intake ala Linus Pauling's old recommendations often led to scurvy when dropped down to normal intake levels suddenly. While the literature does not include B12 as a inducer of vitamin dependency, it still is possible I think for it to occur.

Deb, do you have any liver issues? I am wondering if you are one of those with poor storage capacity?

Not that I know...and how would you know or find out? I never thought of that...might be part of the absorption issue?

I never tried it at night because I read not too. This isn't the first time B12 has effected me this way. My doctor told me to go without it for a time so we could test my true level, and after one week, I went back on it, and he told me we didn't need to try testing in that way again.

Hi Deb!
Does the methyl B-12 (sublingual) negate the malabsorption issues related to gluten intolerance? I've thought I have read it bypasses the intestinal absorption issues (if absorbed sublingually)? Since you know more about your malabsorption issues, thought I'd ask your opinion on this.
I have found my toughest times of functioning to be caused by changes that are truly multifactorial in nature. On a rare occasion, I can trace it down to one factor; yet, this is incredibly rare.
If this continues for you, while taking your B-12, maybe try some d-ribose?
This makes a huge difference for me! I had started this last summer. It gives me so much more muscle strength, energy, stamina. This has really shown up in my ability to use muscles for walking! I enjoy an incredible difference!
(See MrsD's thread on this in her post above. I happen to use Jarrow's D-ribose and love it. I may try another brand soon, just to see if there is a difference in performance.)
Always happy to learn as to how things are going for you!
I hope you feel better soon!
~DejaVu

I don't know the answer to this. I have no idea.