I just wanted to share that I saw my general MD last week and it happened on a day where I was done with my Nuvigil and my insurance isn't going to cover it again. I was faced with knowing I'd have all that fatigue again, and she suggested B12.

I was skeptical and didn't think it would really work, but I have seen a noticeable increase in my energy level since I've been on it. I take 1,000 micrograms a day in place of the Nuvigil and it gives me enough energy to get my kids off the bus and start dinner.

I don't know if it's just me, or if as I use it more it won't work as well, but I'm excited that something natural can give me the boost I need in place of something like Nuvigil.

Any thoughts?

Kate,

B-12 is a serious part of my daily regimen. I take about 400 micrograms daily. 1000 micrograms sounds high unless you have had blood work done to show a deficiency. It is thought that B-12 can be overdosed. It has been suggested that high doses can cause excessive cell regeneration to the point of cancer.

There are two forms of B-12. One is oral and the other is injected. Some people do not uptake the oral B-12 sufficiently so they need the shots.

I was given B-12 injections once a week for 8 weeks back in 1983 for a serious decompensation. It helped greatly.

On Wednesday, I get my labs read by my new physician. He has had me tested for B-12 along with hormones and such.. I am interested in what he finds as I take 380 mcgs of B-12 daily.

Hey Mark,

Thanks for that information. My MD did find a B12 deficiency and a Vit D deficiency. She wanted to try the B12 b/c of my fatigue and she put me at a higher number b/c I have been having some twitching/spasms in my right hand/forearm. She thinks it might help.

I'm not sure, but at least I'm getting the boost I need. I want to call her and ask her about what she thinks about the excessive cell regeneration. I certainly don't need cancer on top of all this junk! ;-)

I'm taking it orally, not injections. She also wants to do a lumbar puncture to see if there are high protiens pointing to MS. She thinks there may be a possibility that the head injury could have brought out MS symptoms due to an excess of stress. I'm not sure, but I see my neuro on the 15th of this month and I will ask him more about all this.

I think my MD is great, and definately proactive. She ran the blood b/c she found high billirubin levels, and I have to see a GI about that.

Don't you sometimes feel like you are falling apart!?!?

Just to settle some minds here...

There is no upper limit for B12 dosing. There are no reported toxic effects from high doses.

In fact less than 10% of any dose is absorbed orally by passive diffusion. The lowest dose we use on PN board here is 1000mcg daily.

In US we have antiquated testing ranges. Here very low readings are considered "normal" when in fact they are not.
In other countries, people are treated with levels below 500 or so.

The various nutritional experts have recommended that all people 50 and over take a supplement for this vitamin since so many are low, and that being low contributes to neurological symptoms and deterioration.

People with intact intrinsic factor functioning, will absorb more than 10%. But today with acid reducing drugs etc, that function is not reliable.

So taking 1000mcg is not "dangerous". But not taking enough may be not effective.

We have a thread on PN here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread85103.html

Oral supplements of B12 should be taken on an empty stomach for best results.

Never be satisfied with "normal" from your doctor. Get the actual numbers! We see this error every day just about at the PN board here.
People being told they are "normal" when they are NOT.

Kate

I believe in your case being on a high dosage of B12 might be a short lived
thing. Maybe just till you get your levels back up.

The other thing to help with the Vitamin D is to take a Multi Vitamin daily.
This really should help that part I would think. I know that it did me
for a while.

Donna

I am sorry, I don't agree. If someone is low, you need to find out why.
People don't get low unless a serious condition is present.

1) long term veganism (with no dairy, eggs)
2) malabsorption from gluten intolerance ( or damage to the GI tract)
3) pernicious anemia ( lack of intrinsic factor)
4) use of metformin or acid blocking drugs. (also long term antibiotic treatments as used in Lyme disease)
5) loss of stomach acid capability

Chances are once you have become low, you will need supplementary B12 for life. Correcting a level for B12 does not correct the reason it became low.

Here is the new medical video on Vit D. The amounts previously considered normal are very outdated now. A multivit does not provide adequate levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-qekFoi-o

The new vit D information is critical for health today. Please watch this video from Univ. Calif San Diego medical school.

My wife's physician has told her that Vit D deficiency takes months (6 or so) of supplementation to restore to a normal level. Getting sun exposure is an important need. Older people often have a decreased ability to get Vit D from sun exposure. High longitude (above 42 degrees) makes sun exposure much less effective in the six colder months.

kate, It is good to hear that your doc tested you for Vit B-12. Maybe the 1000 mcg is good for you. It will be interesting to see a follow up B-12 test.

Sometimes, they test for Vit D. Some studies claim that the tests are prone to underestimating the Vit D deficiency since it has so many forms in the body before it gets to the usable form.

As mrsD said, get a look at the real numbers from the lab work. Is your doc using 'old school' standards or is he using more current values?


The RDA as prescribed by our FDA is woefully inadequate.

Thanks Mrs. D. I wasn't meaning she shouldn't know the reason for being
low. But to start on B12 till they find out I didn't think there was anything
wrong with it.

I do now that my mother is given the shots for B12 or I believe that is what
she said. I'll have to ask her now.

I might be wrong it might be B6.

Donna

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for your responses. I spoke with my MD yesterday, and wasn't able to post until now. She said the same that Mrs. D said, the 1000 micrograms is not dangerous. I wasn't able to get the actual levels from her, but I will at the next appointment.

I don't think anything she does is "old school". I will certainly ask, but she is young and seems to be current on everything. I have never had such a fantastic general MD.

She reinforced that the B12 is supposed to help with neurological functions, and that it may help with the twitching in my hand. She said that the increased energy is another benefit from it, but not what she was going for, but it's great that I have it.

When I see my neuro on the 15th, she wants me to go over it all with him and see if he will do a LP to check for evidence of MS. She thinks it could be a possibility, but that the twitching may just be another side effect of my head injury.

I'll keep everyone posted, and thanks again for all the added info!

I had a fair number of twitches in the aftermath of my TBI. My hands shook for the first year. They're pretty good now - but I don't know if that's healing or meds. I also had a twitch that made me blink my eye. A lot of old guys at the grocery store thought it was their lucky day - or not.