[mrsD]

Originally Posted by deb54

Hi, new to posting, but at my wit's end. I am severely b12 deficient and can't seem to tolerate the side effects of treatment. I've had several small bowel surgeries, am very reactive, any change in my diet or treatment plan for my immune disorders are always a disaster. For example: tooth blew apart during an MRI. EMG resulted in extreme lymph node swelling, dosing methylcobalamin resulted in higher BP, rapid heart rate, chronic cough and finally..one breast became swollen as well as the lymph nodes. I'm 57, have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, multiple food and chemical allergies/sensitivies. After my last bowel resection, these allergies seemed to go away...until starting the b12 sublinqual.

I started on 1000mcg of Pure Encapsulations methylcobalamin. Results were immediate, eyesight cleared, 4 yrs of neck pain, gone...I could move. My memory began to clear and I was nolonger apathetic. With the exception of depression, I had every symptom on any list. I was never tested until I noticed not eating GrapeNuts made me feel worse than ever. I brought this to my nurse prac's attention...tested my b12, which was 200. Started on suppliments without the other tests. Nurse prac didn't know about them or the importance of these tests. We assume I don't absorb much. I've lived most of my life w/out any source other than GrapeNuts cerial.

Other adverse reactions: extreme depression of which I'd never had before, burning urination, swollen hands, legs, (not an illusion, I measured. I only wiegh 100 lbs, easy to tell.) nightmares, panic attacks, weight gain, fibroid formation. psoriasis worsened, chest pain, breathing problems.

Positive reactions, memory returning, neck pain gone, I can move again, strength returned.

Questions for any of you on this board..and thank you for reading this far...

Has anyone had severe, odd reactions to b12 suppliments? What were they and how did you solve the problem? Have you ever heard of anyone with these sort of problems? What kind of physician should I see next? I've seen my rheum, 2 internists, nurse pracs, nuerologist, and allergist. I haven't seen my nurtritionist, nor have I seen a gastro. Injections are not an option, pure methylcobalamin without preservatives or additives results in swelling of tongue throat amd mouth.

This is serious, I have to have the stuff, can't take an anti-allergen, not even epi...currently dosing 25mcg twice daily for 3 days, then 1 dose 25mcg, then skip a day. The skipped day is misery. any ideas???

deb...

Here is a paper discussing mercury toxicity in relation to use of methylcobalamin...
http://www.whale.to/w/b12.html

I looked up GrapeNuts cereal. It is fortified with vitamins and has 25% RDA for B12 -- that would be around 1 microgram.

Have you had testing done after using the methylB12? Do you know the numbers?

I am sorry I don't understand what this means:

This is serious, I have to have the stuff, can't take an anti-allergen, not even epi...currently dosing 25mcg twice daily for 3 days, then 1 dose 25mcg, then skip a day. The skipped day is misery. any ideas???

..
Does this apply to oral dosing or injection?
If oral 25mcg is not very much. Average absorption of 1% or so, in the intestine, which you do not have much surface area left.
So knowing your B12 NOW level may be helpful for you to figure things out.

As far as your other symptoms... it could be diet related. Low consumption of essential omega-3 fats, leads to all sorts of problems. Do you eat meat, seafood, etc? Do you take other vitamins/minerals? Do you eat whole foods, to get adequate potassium and magnesium? Do you know your Vit D level?
There are alot of things you need to look at I think.

If you get your water from a well, I'd get that tested. Some wells can deliver heavy metals, like arsenic commonly.

There is a B12 patch. But I don't know if it really works. You can Google that and find one there. Also another possibility is having the methylB12 compounded into a transdermal gel. I don't know how much would be absorbed, but using this way could possibly work.

I don't know much about multiple chemical sensitivities, so I think you'd have to consult a doctor who specializes in this.
Perhaps an environmental physician?

Drugs can also cause lots of side effects... what drugs are you using?