My Dr wants me to take B12 supplements but the ones I was taking made me feel worse so I stopped. I think maybe they made me feel worse b/c they are made with mold. I know there are 2 ways to make vitamins and one is a mold fermentation but I can't figure out how you would know which ones are/aren't made that way. Anyone know of a brand that is definitely mold free?

at iherb... some say "yeast free".

But the only way to know is to contact the supplier and ask.
Many have toll free numbers.

When you deal with micrograms (a speck) of something derived from living organisms, the amount left behind, if any would be minute (once purified).

B12 is also manufactured in our GI tract by organisms. And our GI tract also has yeasts commonly---probably far in excess of any you might find in a methylcobalamin supplement.
Methylcobalamin is made from fermented corn product.
Cyanocobalamin is comes from animal waste among other things (ugh)

I think you began feeling worse only because of your being severly deficient and your body was/is making repairs to damages done when taking it.
I know...I went thru a very long period of repairs and actually felt worse at times. I suggest you keep taking it, don't stop!
I like the brand by Jarrow best of all, get it cheap from iherb.com or vitacost.com...they have free shipping if you get a lot of stuff, so have found them to be best value and offer quality vits too!
Don't give up! You'll feel much better some day...I know I sure do!
Rose helped me years ago when I was near death back then, had spinal cord involvment then, severe fatigue, needed assistance just to brush my teeth or change my underware! I was a mess! But now I'm feeling much better these days, but as long as I take my supplements, if not then I head downhill again, don't ever want to go there ever again!
Blessings, cheryl

Thanks for this. I am wondering because there is a chance that what I am dealing with is a fungal infection out of control and my understanding is that ingesting mold-prone things (including mushrooms and grains) will make you feel worse. My B12 was 388 and my Dr wanted to bring it up to 400. I was taking the B12 "for energy" and folic acid "for memory" but the B12 made me dizzier and the folic acid made me pee twice as much which in turn dehydrated me. Since I have stopped, I feel dizzy less of the time and am not thirsty and dried out constantly. I thought if I can find a supplement that is definitely mold-free I can test if it's the mold or the vitamin. Does that make any sense?

issue in the vitamins is anything to worry about.

If you have Candida or other fungal infections, you are swamped by that. The minute amount that may be (or may not be) in the vitamins is minute.

Some people who have methylation issues, have metabolic
intolerances to B12 and folate.
http://www.alternativementalhealth.c...s/pfeiffer.htm

This gets difficult to comprehend...and in my experience is not common.

If you search on www.iherb.com the various manufacturers list on that site-- yeast free. So selecting one of those
would be the way for you to go. You may find them also locally but it is faster to search online first.
example:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails....&pid=1202&at=0

Thanks. I will look into those links for sure.

I found something yesterday after reading an old thread about types of B12 on here and doing something sniffing around the internet. I wonder if you know any more about it?

I looked up homocysteine and found that the majority of the info is about people with high levels and the implication of heart disease but it made me start wondering about a possible LOW level and if that's problem or not. I found 1 article about a study of low levels and the effect. I turns out that a low level can affect many many systems negatively although it didn't get into specifics (unfortunately). It seems to not be on the average Dr's radar. They use B12 and folic acid to lower homocysteine levels in those with heart disease and in athlete's to increase endurance. It seems that that COULD explain why I felt worse on the B12 and the folic acid and better directly after exercise. The exercise would bring a low level back into range and the supplements would lower it further. Obviously, I'll have to get the level checked anyway to see if it could be a factor or not, but I thought it was interesting and wondered if anybody know any more?

Mrs D, can you link a source for the animal waste in the cyano? I have been harping on my sister and neices about taking methyl type and since they are vegetarians maybe this will get them to listen. They do take B12 but it is the cyano type. Thanks...Sue

I didn't save it. But it mentioned that the fermentation of corn was the source of methyl form, and that cyano came from animal waste.

This wiki article gives the names of the organisms that
make the cyano form...and I would assume they use animal
substrates to grow the bacteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/59...scription.html

and if you search propionbacterium in Google you find that this species is used in waste treatment.

This discusses making methyl type from sugars (corn would be an example)
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/55...scription.html

This last entry implies that all types of cobalamin may be made this way, with fractionating and removing the various types.

The process looks very complex. It is amazing that the end products are so inexpensive.

The methyl form is very important, because it is the only form the CNS uses. So irregardless of how it is made, it is superior.
Slowly it is replacing cyano.

Kind of creepy.... but many things are fermented..including penicillin. Human insulin comes from genetically altered E.coli.

So don't get tooooo grossed out!

OK- so I decided to try the Methyl lozenges and to give it a few months to see if it's just a matter of needing to get worse before I get better. It's a hard road. So far I have had a severe attack of ataxia right in the middle of a rehearsal and have spent several days on the couch unable to do much. Pretty much every day I am dizzy by the time I get to work and my headaches are worse. Also, the first day I had a crazy buzz but since then I am getting more and more fatigued. Brain fog is thick and uncoordination has made it impossible to cook at all. Is this really how you felt when you started taking B12?