Okay so I can't find the benfotiamin at the store. Should I order it? Or are there certain stores that carry it. Tomorrow I am getting my B12 tested in the morning to get an idea of where it's at before I start the supplement. It was last tested in October 2011 and was 511. My symptoms have gotten progressively worse since then and we still don't know why. Also after re-reading my past medical tests I see I was never tested for diabetes ever except for gestational during my pregnancy which my level for that 1 hour test was 130 "normal". Is this something I should have tested? I seriously doubt that could be the cause of my neuropathy because if I do have diabetes type 2 it hasn't been for that long. Any thoughts on this? Sorry to keep questioning I just find you all very helpful and educated. Thanks!

My healthfood store carries it but many/most people order it online.

Which B12 test are you going to get? 511 is still low, in my opinion. There are a few, none show active B12 but 1 which I could not find anyone who did the one test. So I did the MMA test.

If you have taken any B vitamins they will show up.


As I said in my previous post, you don't have to be diabetic to have spikes. Anything over 140 can cause neuropathy.

If you do test for diabetes I would get the A1C test but more importantly I would buy my own meter and check myself. My dr tested me, said I was fine and dropped it, however a dr wont worry til its too late.

This has a little talk about spikes.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.co...he-spike-ii/2/

I order my Benfotiamine at Life Extension. It is a great place to get supplements. I get their magazine.

Benfotiamine is not commonly in stores. There may be a local place here and there, but expect it to cost much more $$.

Amazon.com
iherb.com
Swanson's

All have this at 40% to 50% discounted.

Example:
http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-B...otiamine+150mg

Amazon has 25 dollar purchase= free shipping.
120 caps would last you 3 months at 300mg a day for one month and one capsule daily thereafter. So this would be about $5 a month. Not what it used to cost back when it was rare and only came from Germany--- IF you could get it all--- minimum of $60/month! So not much if any more expensive than old fashioned thiamine from the drugstore!

I'm not sure what the test is. It just says on my sheet B12 test with fasting specimen (blood). What is MMA? I won't start any vitamins until after I get that result just because I do really wanna see where I'm at and I wouldn't want it to sway the test. I bought a cheap meter but the strips I thought were a little expensive. It was $35 for 25 strips! That could get costly if I'm checking it even twice a day. Any suggestions for that?

--stands for methymolanic acid, which tends to be elevated in B12 deficiency states. It is a more sensitive (though less specific) test than a standard B12 serum assay, as it roughly correlates to how much usable B12 is available--elimination of MMA metabolically requires B12 as a cofactor, so high MMA indicates there's not a lot of B12 chemically available.

Treatment with methylcobalamin B12 will tend to drive high MMA levels down fairly quickly, but one may still need large doses of B12 for long periods of time to help accomplish whatever tissue repair is possible.

Okay so I had my b12 done yesterday at it came back at 582 which is better than it was last year. I will still do the vitamins but I'm a little discouraged because I was hoping it would be low so I would have something to blame this on. The search continues...

Well in my opinion it still is low considering that number includes all INACTIVE B12 found in the gut.