[julieannebaker]

I was diagnosed b-12 deficient in august my numbers were 210, I started shots right away at once a week I also started taking a multivimin and b-12 sublingual 2500mcg along with a d supplement. in the begining I felt my memory get a little better and I did not feel like I was walking in a fog so much as well as my fatigue had become somewhat better, after a month my numbers went to 780 and it all stopped, the fatigue is different not better, my memory is just as bad and it is killing me, I have suffered 5 years with fatigue and almost 2 with gradual memory loss. how long does it take to recover and could there be something else going on? help!

[pabb]

a time line would be helpful...
are you taking the B12 on an empty stomache, and not eating for at least one hour after? are you taking cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin?
recovery is extrememly variable....some nerve damage may never repair.

[cat265]

Originally Posted by julieannebaker

I was diagnosed b-12 deficient in august my numbers were 210, I started shots right away at once a week I also started taking a multivimin and b-12 sublingual 2500mcg along with a d supplement. in the begining I felt my memory get a little better and I did not feel like I was walking in a fog so much as well as my fatigue had become somewhat better, after a month my numbers went to 780 and it all stopped, the fatigue is different not better, my memory is just as bad and it is killing me, I have suffered 5 years with fatigue and almost 2 with gradual memory loss. how long does it take to recover and could there be something else going on? help!

You should try taking folic acid as well. I take FolaPro L-5-Methyl Tetrahydrofolate 2X' a day with food.

[chiarichic]

Some people have a genetic disorder of b12 metabolism. That is why it is important whether you are taking methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin. The methyl is the most easily absorbed. And folic acid and b12 deficiency symptoms overlap so a folic acid supplement is a great idea.

Good luck and remember that it takes time for the body to heal!!

[cenockson]

Originally Posted by julieannebaker

I was diagnosed b-12 deficient in august my numbers were 210, I started shots right away at once a week I also started taking a multivimin and b-12 sublingual 2500mcg along with a d supplement. in the begining I felt my memory get a little better and I did not feel like I was walking in a fog so much as well as my fatigue had become somewhat better, after a month my numbers went to 780 and it all stopped, the fatigue is different not better, my memory is just as bad and it is killing me, I have suffered 5 years with fatigue and almost 2 with gradual memory loss. how long does it take to recover and could there be something else going on? help!

The shots you were taking are probably cyanocobalamin which is the least well absorbed and utilized of the cobalamins. I would suggest you use methyl cobalamin (methyl B12) either sublingual or shots. Hopewell pharmacy cells the liquid for injections. I inject 1200mcg twice a day.
Good luck,

[drswami]

On march 17 2010 my Vitamin b-12 level was 162 pg/ml. I started taking ** Methyl B-12 1000mcg a week or so later. I experimented and gradually worked up to taking four ** Methyl B-12 5000mcg pills each day. I took them sublingually.

On the April 7th 2010 i had another blood test and my level was 5297 pg/ml. I stopped taking the 5000mcg b-12. Since then i have only taken a B group multivitamin containing 1000mcg of b-12. These have been taken orally.

My last blood test for b-12 was on June 2nd 2010. Result was 649pg/ml.

I felt good while taking the high dose and had no ill effects. I only stopped because the doctor said I should.

After reading some of the posts on this website I am going to experiment with a higher dose, and try to maintain a higher level.

I am having another blood test tomorrow 23.11.2010.

[mrsD]

Originally Posted by drswami

On march 17 2010 my Vitamin b-12 level was 162 pg/ml. I started taking ** Methyl B-12 1000mcg a week or so later. I experimented and gradually worked up to taking four ** Methyl B-12 5000mcg pills each day. I took them sublingually.

On the April 7th 2010 i had another blood test and my level was 5297 pg/ml. I stopped taking the 5000mcg b-12. Since then i have only taken a B group multivitamin containing 1000mcg of b-12. These have been taken orally.

My last blood test for b-12 was on June 2nd 2010. Result was 649pg/ml.

I felt good while taking the high dose and had no ill effects. I only stopped because the doctor said I should.

After reading some of the posts on this website I am going to experiment with a higher dose, and try to maintain a higher level.

I am having another blood test tomorrow 23.11.2010.

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I don't see why your doctor would have you stop...obviously he does not know that there is no upper limit for this vitamin!

But I don't think most people need FOUR 5mg tablets a day.

One should be enough for most people, and we have some members who use one a day and get readings over 2000, using the 5mg dose.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-lifest...de-vitamin-b12

Even at high doses, vitamin B-12 seems fairly safe. Experts have not found a specific dose of vitamin B-12 that’s dangerous. No tolerable upper intake levels have been set.

The only reservation I have with really high doses, is that with vitamins in general (first discovered with vitamin C), taking really mega doses for a long time, can result in a vitamin dependency which manifests as deficiency when suddenly stopped. This was demonstrated by Vit C mega doses (like Linus Pauling used to recommend) causing scurvy when suddenly withdrawn. I think it can happen with other vitamins too. I know B6 dependency exists as a genetic mutation, and is the cause of infantile spasms (seizures). So I really think you can get a good level with 5mg of B12 a day, on an empty stomach, and succeed with your goal.

[drswami]

i live in hong kong. my pn started 18 months ago. since then i have seen more doctors than i care to count. none of them knows anything about pn. i have come to the conclusion that i probably have multifocal sfn.

After receiving the results of my first blood test the doctor said the level wasn't particularly low (169), and he did not know where i could get B-12. The next doctor i saw said i must be an alcoholic (i'm not) and refused to inject me with B-12.

I did my own research on the net, and purchased b-12 from iherb. When i showed the results of my second blood test to another doctor, he said it must be a mistake because the level couldn't rise that much from taking b-12 orally, even in such high a dose.
Two neurologists i saw advised me to go overseas to seek expert help. My health insurance doesn't over this, so i am currently trying to figure it out from here. I am now getting lots of tests done at the public hospital which is free, but takes months between visits, and getting the results.

Yesterday the doctor who wrote out the request for my current blood test asked me if i trusted the results of the lab i was taking it to, and suggested that they "might not be experienced in analyzing b-12".

At the public hospital four months ago the first neurologist i saw said i didn't have pn, but he didn't know what i did have. the one i saw last month, a different guy in the same place, said the first one had written on my file that i did have pn.

It is all rather challenging. i am glad to have found this website, and appreciate your help.

[mrsD]

This is typical...not just because it is HongKong...

Luckily B12 can be done yourself. Other medical things are not this clear. You have your starting point...and that is the biggest factor.

Take care.

[magenta272]

When I was first diagnosed my numbers were 185. I was super tired all the time, foggy, bad memory. Couldn't even talk properly. I was sick to my stomach, anxious, shaking... blah blah blah. Anyway, when i first started treatment, my first dr was giving me shots and told me to take 2000 mcg of B12 that disolves. I wasn't feeling much better.

I went to a new dr. He gives me shots every month but the dose in the shot is 100 mg. I have also been taking 3000 mcg of Methyl B-12. It HAS to be methyl. I noticed the difference when I bought a bottle of 5000 mcg that was NOT methyl and I slowly started to have my symptoms come back.

So make sure that your dr is giving you a high dose shot and that your disolving b12 is methyl. And go to 3000mcg. It's going to take some time to heal. It's been over a year and I still have days, sometimes weeks when I feel like crap. Stress can cause my symptoms to flare up. Low B12 causes nerve damage, sometimes if it takes a long time before you even knew about the defiency you may have perminent damage. Somethings will heal, some may not.

Good luck. You'll feel better soon I'm sure.