[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by mrsD

50mcg orally is not enough IMO. You will need 1000mcg to 5,000mcg orally at least. Only 1-10% is absorbed orally. So take this on an empty stomach to get the best results.

Please read the beginning of this thread for dosing oral, and also choosing the active form methylcobalamine instead of Cyano.

50 is absolutely NOTHING. You are not absorbing 50. I have been taking 5000 for over 2 years now.

Doctors don't know this, or they don't want to know this.

Listen to what everyone says on this forum. You will learn quite a bit.

All the best

Melody

[numbfoot]

Been taking 1000mcg per day for a year or so now.
Havent had a test for a while but last one was around 650.
Thought I would step it up & get some Jarrows 5000.
Nothing over 1000 available over the counter in this country, so have just placed an order with iHerb.com
Be interesting to see it arrives ok.

[capewind]

Originally Posted by mrsD

50mcg orally is not enough IMO. You will need 1000mcg to 5,000mcg orally at least. Only 1-10% is absorbed orally. So take this on an empty stomach to get the best results.

Please read the beginning of this thread for dosing oral, and also choosing the active form methylcobalamine instead of Cyano.

I wonder in your opinion if a B12 of 320 pg/ml could be low for someone with PN? PCP say level is normal! I am not convinced. I know about your info and agree on dose an type plus empty stomach. Any feedback would be helpful! Thanks. P.S. Have serious burning stinging pain in feet, toes and now hands.

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by capewind

I wonder in your opinion if a B12 of 320 pg/ml could be low for someone with PN? PCP say level is normal! I am not convinced. I know about your info and agree on dose an type plus empty stomach. Any feedback would be helpful! Thanks. P.S. Have serious burning stinging pain in feet, toes and now hands.

Your reading is WAY TOO LOW.

You have a deficiency. You've read the postings. You now know what you should be doing. And yes, on an empty stomach.

Keep us posted.

All the best.

Melody

[Dutch]

Thank you for this info. I started to become resigned that there was nothing I could do about my neuropathy symptoms

[zeeclass6]

Another question about B-12 or what auto-immune disease can do to your gut....

After my second child was born 15 years ago, I got depressed, was found to have Hashimoto's....and began to get lactose intolerant, "out of the blue."

Until recently, I just took a Lactaid pill with dairy and I was fine.

But in the past few months, the lactose intolerance is beginning to become a huge problem. Even if I take 1 or 2 Lactaid Ultra pills, some dairy foods still give me a problem with gas, bloating, and very embarrassing very foul smelling wind, like an awful sewer! It is disgusting. It's as if I didn't even take the Lactaid pills. I have had to totally avoid dairy for several days to calm it down when it gets bad.

I drink Lactaid milk and that's OK for me (a little in my decaf or cereal....I don't guzzle it). I know that soft cheeses are worse, and that dairy foods low in fat are worse, so I try to avoid those.

Can B-12 deficiency and/or auto-immune disease be causing this sudden increase in lactose intolerance?

I'm sure you guys might tell me to give up dairy, but I don't want to!

I wasn't this way when I was younger....never used to have any sort of problem with dairy before my daughter was born in 1996 and all hell broke loose in my body.

Oh, BTW, I had a colonoscopy last year (welcome to age 50) and was found to be squeaky clean, no problems whatsoever.

[mrsD]

Very little B12 is absorbed orally. That is why you take a huge dose so a few micrograms will get thru. Not likely to cause anything noticeable at all. Doctors typically don't test intrinsic factor anymore (Schilling's test--most labs stopped offering it)
There is a test for antibodies to stomach parietal cells to look for autoimmune issues.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/003351.htm

You could be shakey due to low blood sugar, in the morning.

You can try something for foul smelling GI issues. Get some Psyllium seed (either powder or the capsules) Take one or 2 capsules daily to start with alot of water at mealtimes, and see if they work. Say one for breakfast and one dinner.
They will absorb any toxins in your bowel, that are causing you grief (smells and IBS type symptoms). This works very well for minor bowel disruptions. You may find you can eat better after a couple of weeks of this. Also look at your sugar consumption. Fructose can cause lots of gas, as well as sucrose, because it feeds Candida. Stop all sugar and fructose for 2 weeks and see if the gas is better. These are two common causes. If this does not work, you'll have to think of something else to try.

You may need some good probiotics ultimately, but try this simple inexpensive thing first.

[zeeclass6]

Any advice on brands of B vitamins which are better than average?


Also, is the sublingual Cyanocobalamin OK, or should I be looking for sublingual Methylcobalamin instead?

[mrsD]

Oral works the same. I don't believe much is absorbed sublingually. The tablet dissolves and you swallow that saliva and it then becomes ORAL.

[karsten]

Originally Posted by mrsD

Oral works the same. I don't believe much is absorbed sublingually. The tablet dissolves and you swallow that saliva and it then becomes ORAL.

I take mine as a sublingual. There are a few differences between oral and sublingual.

The tablet is placed under the tongue and kept there as long as possible letting it slowly dissolve. I can make a single 5000 mcg Jarrow Mb12 last about 30 minutes this way before it's completely dissolved. After it is dissolved, I wait another 30 minutes or so before drinking anything to allow for some additional absorbtion of the B12 into the tissue lining of my mouth and throat.

Avoid chewing or slurping down the tablet which is the same as taking it orally. Placing it under the tongue lets the B12 be directly absorbed by the blood stream. In theory, it is then easily absorbed by the body for immediate use.

Naturally, a sizeable portion of the tablet does get consumed orally anyway as it runs down into the throat to the stomach.

I believe one can achieve a faster rate of absorption for this method of administration than by purely oral use.

Tablets taken orally undergo the process of normal digestion. I'm almost paranoid regarding the ability of my digestive system to properly absorb B12 so I go the sublingual route knowing that part of the dosage passes through the blood stream to the brain.