Some people feel "energized" by B12.... at first. But increasing blood pressure is a long shot for it, most of the reaction is subjective and a lifting of fatigue or brain fog.

If you stop everything for a week, and start the B12 only, that will answer your question. I'd limit caffeine too...as it can cause increases in both blood pressure and heart rate.

Ah ok, I will pay attention if the B12 is responsible.

Just one last question about the ALA. There are 3 forms, the S-form, the old R-form and the new R-form.

I have the old R-form, which requires a higher dose as the new one. You've pointed out that 100 - 150 mg would be sufficient for the new R-form. But what about the old R-form? I've seen posts here where people say they take 600mg of ALA, without mentioning which form. I'm a bit confused right now.

The high doses of ALA (alpha lipoic acid) usually refer to the racemic mixture of S- and R- . The S is supposed to be inactive biologically in humans. (this form is not solubilized).

The old R- form is usually in 50 or 100mg tablets. It is not very water soluble, and is thought to be difficult to get a good response from.

So a company made it a sodium salt... NaRALA... and did some studies that showed fast absorption when swallowed...in about 15-20 minutes it appears in the blood. This form is referred to as "stabilized".

This is an example of the NaRALA form :
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-B...2&sr=null&ic=1
Click on the label and see how the product refers to the contents.

So when you see "600mg" ALA... think the old racemic mixture.

Ok, I will ask the seller if the pills contain the mixtured form.

If it is the mixtured form I will go up to 600mg daily(2 pills). If it contains only the old R-form I will keep taking 300mg. I hope it would be good that way?

You said that it is difficult to get a good response from the old r-form. Does it mean that taking higher doses of the old form will not give you the same results as taking lower doses of the new form?

People do say the old form in high dose seems to work for some.

There is a youtube on the net, showing what happens to the older
R-lipoic form when exposed to warm water...it becomes a gummy mess, which is insoluble. This does suggest that the r-lipoic that is not solubilized may be not a useful form... But I can't say 100%.

This is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9NaaKvRD3A

I see YouTube is down right now...it seems for us on ATT to have this problem. But you might try later in the day to view
this video, and see what you think.

So I finally got an answer from the ALA seller. The capsules contain 100% of the old R-form. That means 300mg per capsule. I will stay at this dose and take it on an empty stomach. From my research, the old r-form should be half as effective as the new form. Anyway, I have no access to the new form and ordering from the US is too expensive. So I'm happy with my current product.

Thanks mrsD for all your help, I hope my regimen will work, as we discussed :)