Hi daniella, yes, that's a good idea.

The connections aren't going to be exactly the same for everyone.

In terms of something you're eating making you sick... it can be that if you lack hydrochloric acid that happens. I have a page on hypochlorhydria... you can google it... and it explains this and also that not everyone can or should take hydrocholoric acid.

For me, it's great, but not so for everyone.



(((((((((daniella)))))))))))

If the damage has been limited to peripheral neuropathy (not the central nervous system), it is not surprising that repairs would be made within a year. Even less if the damage was less, and in some of those cases it is a nice direct road to fewer and less severe symptoms.

It is the central nervous system that often takes such a long and convoluted repair route.

And no one should "wait patiently." There can always be another problem, and one should alert to all possibilities, but one should not be alarmed unnecessarily or think that the process is not long and weird when damage is severe and especially when long-standing.

One size definitely does not fit all. It is a very good idea to keep track and see whether there are immediate correlations to what you are doing or not doing.

It is also important to recognize that there usually is no immediate correlation with B12.

Stomach acid is soooo important, for many things more than B12, calcium and iron absorption. Betaine hcl would be a good idea for many here. The standard method of use is to begin with one capsule with a meal, and increase the dose one at a time, backing off one when there is a warm sensation in the stomach in response. And, of course, there is a maximum dose, which may appear on the bottle.

rose

I remember a GREAT book I had called Know Your Nutrition, in which the author, who I think was Linda Clark, said that if she were stranded and could have only ten nutrients, the one she would most want to have with her was hydrochloric acid.

I love it myself.

But when I was working on my web site and realized how many different people come and read the different pages, I realized it was important to warn people that it is NOT recommended for people on certain medications and with certain conditions.

I got the impression from the severity of the warnings that it could be dangerous for people using those medications or having those conditions...

So, not everyone should try it, without checking the warnings and seeing if they apply to them.

Karen,

All that may be true for you. Assuming that you do react very quickly to changes in B12 doses, you are in a tiny minority. It is very important that people not believe that "B12 is effective in a way that can be felt pretty quickly." A very small minority find that.

And although there may be something else going on, one size does not fit all in the change of symptoms department either. As a matter of fact, a small minority do not see evidence of the great changes going on in their bodies for many months.

When people assume that there will be short-term differences if they are benefitting from B12, they are in danger of stopping even though they need it. This is very dangerous if the person needs it.

People can take B12 long enough to get their stores up good and strong and then stop. If their body has been working on that stored B12, they may see a positive change after they stop. If they do not realize that most people store B12 for a long time and use it very slowly, they will decide they do not need the B12, even though the B12 is the reason for their improvement.

Those people are then likely to stop taking B12 altogether and eventually (within months or years) begin to incur damage again.

One size does not fit all. Most people do not see those immediate and linear changes that correlate with B12 taken in the short term.

rose

Hi Rose,

My neurologist said he was surprised I could feel changes in less than three days. I do feel changes for things like bloody nose, numbness, tingling, blurry vision.

It is precisely because everyone is different that people must keep notes on how things work for them.

In terms of it being a minority who feel the changes in an easily recorded period of time, I disagree.

The vast majority of research into B12 shows that it works quite rapidly.

For instance, in the old days before there were B12 tests, doctors would see someone whom they thought might have a B12 deficiency. The doctor would commonly prescribe a course of B12 therapy, and if it worked, then the diagnosis was made that indeed there was a B12 deficiency.

Today, there are tests, and many people are denied B12 because their test results are too high in terms of what the United States uses as a Normal for low... but these people continue to feel the need for additional B12 because of the improvement the B12 makes in their health. That is, they feel improvement with B12, and want more improvement.

It is dangerous for people, it seems to me, to not realize that if they are feeling symptoms of low B12, they should get some and try it for a month, maybe two, and note any differences it makes.

If more people did that, then more people would benefit.

This way, when people go to their doctors for the final say on whether or not they need B12 replacement therapy, there is a substantial chance that they will be told they do not need it, that their B12 level is just fine.


I find that when a doctor tells me something, and I don't have any basis to disagree, that I believe... but when I have a basis to know about myself, then I can sometimes see that the doctor isn't helping me the way that I need to be helped.

I was denied B12 shots over and over again, and sometimes given dangerous drugs instead. That is so upsetting to me.

Now, I have my Time Line and I can see for myself how my body reacted to the B12.

For instance, you were sure that the reason my fingers were no longer blue under my nails was that I had stopped having my period, but when I looked at my Time Line I could see that your view was incorrect.

If I hadn't kept a Time Line I might have believed you were right... and that would have discouraged me from believing that B12 replacement has appeared to reduce my symptoms of iron deficiency anemia...

It's just so important for people to keep notes.

It's like a self breast exam... it's something we owe to ourselves...

(I don't know what is comparable for men, but keeping a Time Line is vitally important for men, too.)















Rose wrote -

The research you are referring to has been done assuming that people are being diagnosed early. People who are diagnosed and treated early (those lucky enough to have obvious megaloblastic/macrocytic anemia) usually respond quickly and recover very quickly. Those are not the people I am addressing.

The fact that some docs will give a shot or two to see if a person needs B12 is better than nothing. But many people were missed because they did not have the response thought by ignorant medical people to be the norm.

I have been suggesting for many years that people keep notes. It is important for them to understand that not responding immediately and obviously does not mean they don't need the vitamin. The trial and the notes need to be kept up much longer to cover that possibility.

Most people do show some response within days to weeks. Some take longer, and after the initial response it is common for a person with significant damage to have strange symptoms as their body periodically adjusts to interpreting different signals as the nerves repair.

I have no problem with your description of your experience. It is important for people to know that your experience is not common. Theirs may be very different.

I don't know why you I don't believe people should try B12. I have been suggesting it and providing support for years. It is important for people to know that if they give it only a couple of months, that may not be enough to determine whether or not they need it.

The danger is in people assuming that if they do not have results that are quick and obvious that they do not need the vitamin. The body can do a lot of work before letting us know what it is doing.

I don't know what you're responding to. It certainly isn't to what I've been saying.

rose

Boy, I sure know about the Central Nervous System, having had tetanus.

For sure the improvements are continuing now, and when I have a lot of stress I still have the awful feeling in my stomach muscles that I never had anytime in my life before I had tetanus, and the muscles tighten and bend me over. This is years later. (and it's not because of a muscle disease, it's because tetanus is a Central Nervous System disease.)

But the fact is that I felt improvement immediately. I felt it and recorded it. Things would improve, even vastly improve, but then stress would increase and I'd be set back...

My experience has always been that taking B12 results in improvement that I can feel on the same day or within a couple of days.

That is, if my hands or left arm is numb, and I have a B12 shot, that numbness is reduced within three hours, and reduced more a day later unless there is stress. Etc.

Similarly, when there's a lot of stress my eyesight worsens... I have a B12 shot, and within hours things are not as blurry... But for my eyesight to be quite clear, it takes a longer time, continued low stress, etc.

What I am saying is that B12 is effective in a way that can be felt pretty quickly.

If someone has symptoms of low B12 and takes B12 and there is no change in the symptoms, then that is a clear warning sign, it seems to me, that there may be something else wrong, in addition.

For instance, when I was living in the hydrogen sulfide, I had many extreme symptoms of low B12, and I had the normal shots I was being told to have for my B12 deficiency... but the hydrogen sulfide was causing more nerve damage than that amount of B12 could vanquish... so to speak...

I believe that had I understood B12 better at the time I could have taken more B12 and not had as bad of damage from the hydrogen sulfide because the B12 would have sort of kept up with ongoing repairs...

For me, it's been a God send that the neurologist told me to keep a Time Line. If I hadn't kept a Time Line I couldn't be so sure of what I am saying.

I encourage people to keep a Time Line so that you can see what your personal reactions are, your personal improvements and what causes you to get worse... what stresses.