Hi,

One of my female relatives has been diagnosed with B-12 deficiency...after a long time of suffering ( blood report stated a level of 205) and low haemoglobin content(11.1).
Doctor has advised to take 1000mcg of B-12 and 400mcg of Folic Acid .
I have been studying a lot about B-12 deficiency and looks like her symptoms are because of that ( fatigue,sleeplessness, irritability, general weakness, long/heavy periods etc...)
For now she is taking 1000mcg of cyanocobalamin(timed release) and folic acid.One each daily .

My question is -
- Should she take methylcobalamin instead of cyano , will that be better ?
- Or can both cyano and methyl be taken at same time ( 500mcg of each ? )
- B-12 tablet label says it is timed release tablet , is that helpful in her case or no ? Roses's website says it does not .Any particular reason for that ?

Your help /inputs are much appreciated . This forum is extremely useful.Thanks.

Would like to add to above thread , that she is suffering from Hypothyroidism. following questions , can someone relate to it or have heard anything about it :

Does B-12 deficiency cause :
- long/heavy periods ?
- Does it relate to irritability , sleep troubles?
- Severe back ache .

Is there anything else that can be taken apart from 1000mcg of methyl B-12 and 400mcg of folic acid ?
Too many questions , but any help is much appreciated . Thanks.

I would take at least 1000 mcg all at once. I would take the cyanocobalamin until able to get the methylcobalamin, and then switch entirely to methylcobalamin. Then, after a while on the methylcobalamin, if she wants to use up the cyano, fine.

Could use a combo of the two. The methylcobalamin right away would just cover some of the rarer reasons she might benefit more from that form.

Timed release is a very bad idea because if she malabsorbs severely she will get nothing from it. And even if she doesn't malabsorb severely now, it could be worsening and move to that, in which case she would get less and less, until eventually zero.

Yes, B12 deficiency can cause those things. It affects individuals in many different ways, and those are on the very long list of possibilities.

rose

Thanks Rose.

Since then she has started taking methyl b-12 (jarrows...as suggested in other threads) .
In everybody's experience reading this , how much time it takes for body to recover to significant extent ,if not fully ? Should she start feeling "energized" let's say after a month under normal circumstances.( if she had b-12 level of 205 in her blood test) .
Are there any "signs" of body recovering ?

By the way , there was no improvement after taking methyl b-12 after week or so.

I don't know if this is the right forum , but in her MRI report one of the sentences said - " mild ethmoid sinus mucosal thickening" . what does this mean ? Any ideas? .
Thanks.

There is no answer to that question. Depending on the extent and type of damage, and the individual's ability to repair, substantial improvement can occur within weeks or years. It is rather common for a response to be noticed within a couple of weeks, but some people go for many months before seeing the improvement their bodies have been working on without their knowledge.

Do check out my website. There is a page on repairs and the often weird and long process.
rose

Read "repair" page on your website.Yes,it answers the question but does not address my anxiety of seeing her getting cured fast
Thanks for all your research into this .
Can I ask your experience with deficiency , how long you were affected by it and how was the recovery ? Just to want to listen/read other's experiences .
If you already have answered this question someplace else , then just point to that URL.

Hi,
I had hyperthyroidism due to Grave's Disease. They "nuked" my thyroid and I now have hypothryroidism. My periods went from very light to extremely heavy. Definately know it's linked. It also causes tiredness, so if she can't sleep it might be the back pain. As far as the B12 goes- I'm borderline anemic if I don't take high doses of it. My doc told me that people with autoimmune disease often have low B12 levels. Is her hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto's Syndrome. It a very common cause of it and it is a autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune malfunction causes much if not most malabsorption of B12.

rose

Sarahin, thanks for sharing the info. She has hypothyroidism , but I am not sure what is the cause of the disease , will ask doc in our next visit.
So what did you do for heavy periods , is there any medication to help reduce that ??That is major cause of weakness .

Rose, yes you are right I read about that too autoimmune disease leading to malabsorption of b12.

By the way, in latest test B12 level increased from 205 to 322 , is that a good increase in one months period ? will it be considered that she is not suffering from malabsorption???

Thanks.

It sounds likely that she malabsorbs severely. It also is likely that the first B12 result was not accurate and that she may have been lower than it suggested.

Many doctors do not know that people who malabsorb severely can absorb about 1% of a very large dose. So many doctors would assume that she does not malabsorb severely.

Even worse, many do not know that even more people cannot absorb B12 from food, but can absorb just fine from a supplement. Those people would increase their level MUCH faster than she has on even a smaller dose than that.

I would continue with at least that dose (actually, I would increase it), and, over time the stores should become filled and the level increase a great deal.

It is also likely that she does not absorb iron efficiently. If she has lost intrinsic factor, she probably also lacks sufficient stomach acid to absorb iron well.

Has she had a ferritin test to see what iron stores are?

rose