b12 deficiency

It was 160 in december now its good and high the doctor said

OK, but what is the actual reading?

Im waiting on that book been delievered.. what about the Jarrow lozengers 5000 mcg.. how would i take them.. i keep getting swollen glands im now on antibiotics tablets for infection in my tonsils.. i finish them on sunday.. i need more i still have swollen glands on the left.. and acid reflux tablets.. i just want the choking pressure feeling to stop

There is, I think, some information about using oral supplements to dissolve under the tongue in the book.  It will work if you are not suffering from classic PA.   I'm on jabs, at least until I reach a good level, so I've no experience of dissolvables.  Low B12 can undermine your immune system, which might explain your infections, and an upset stomach (and helicobacter pylori, the ulcer trigger)  are often associated with low B12.  Have you been tested for intrinsic factor or parietal cell antibodies?  Those would indicate classic PA (an auto-immune problem) as opposed to other causes like diet.  Vegetarians and vegans are often low In B12, as are users of Metformin and colchicine, coeliacs, bariatric surgery patients, and a miriad of other folk.  It's more common in women, and as we get older.  Nitrous oxide (anaesthetics), childbirth, the use of folic acid when B12 is already low, and countless other things can accellerate symptoms sharply.  What about family members?  Is there any family history of PA, low B12, bowel/stomach cancer, chromosome 22 abnormalities, autism............?  The book will fascinate you.

I just want my throat to stop now bluemaran.. i asked the doctor if its b12 related he said no... im tired now of this ive been to the doctor.. my mum has a thyroid problem.. she is underactive she was diagnoised when she was 19,, she is now 71,, im also pre menopause

Ah, that's interesting.  My symptoms were dismissed as "peri-menopausal", until I could hardly drag myself about.  Then I had a blood test and started on the B12 jabs.  My periods (which had been agony, then stopped altogether) suddenly began again - and behaved themselves, but not before I'd had a D&C under full anaesthetic............  The nurse said "Oh, that'll be the B12".   I was a late finisher - I ground to a halt at 58 - but I wonder how many women are given HRT or a D&C when what they really need is B12.  HRT can be dangerous, and I would always recommend women considering HRT to check their B12 and do research before taking the hormones.  The symptoms are not that disimillar.  And avoid nitrous oxide anaesthetics.  There is a tendency for women with thyroid histories to have other auto-immune conditions, including PA.  My own mother was hyperthyroid in her 30s.  After surgery, she became hypothyroid, which ruined the rest of her life.  I have a feeling we are about to find out that B12 imbalance (an "umbrella" nutrient, affecting far more of your systems than other vitamins) is at the root of a great deal of aging, mental illness, dementia, and other conditions.

My ex-partner's daughter has spent about half her life clinically depressed, getting gradually worse as she matured.  Family history of depression, and childbirth (4 in quick succession), possible fulminant neurological effects as a result of In-born low B12, folic acid supplements in pregnancy and nitrous oxide anaesthetics for caesarian sections,  plus breastfeeding,  probably shoved her off the edge.  She was Sectioned.  I wept by her bedside in hospital.  How could this intelligent, determined woman get so sick?  What the hell was going on?  Now I think I know.........................

What do you know

This:

if she had poor B12 malabsorption and was therefore running low - 

if she was given folic acid without diagnosing low B12 first -

if she had nitrous oxide anaesthesia  -

if she breastfed 4 babies born end to end -

then all her symptoms were not just easily explained - they were almost inevitable. 

That all this time she was in fact b12 deficiency..

That is what I have come to suspect about her condition. Tragic.  In one way or another, it has eaten up more than half her life.

 

Regarding the dosage for lozenges and injections: bear in mind that you may only absorb a small percentage of the active ingredient (cobalamine) from lozenges.  If you have true PA, you may absorb nothing at all!  (Have you been tested for intrinsic factor and parietal cell antibodies?).

Many people have regular injections all their lives - like me.  Even more people as they age and their stomach lining become less efficient. True PA means you have a condition that makes absorption through the gut impossible.  Lozenges that dissolve on the tongue are given to people who have other causes for the deficiency, so can absorb B12 through the gut.  Lozenges may also permit some B12 to get into your blood through the lining of the mouth, but I'm unsure of how effective this is in the short term.

I believe you also excrete almost all the B12 ingested or injected within 24 to 48 hours, so it's virtually impossible to take too much.  Except in extremely rare circumstances, excess consumption of B12 is completely harmless.  Vast doses of B12 are used to treat people suffering from severe poisoning by other toxic substances - including cyanide!

Caitlin is right: ask for your most recent B12 serum results - not just the comment "normal reading" - ask for the actual figure.  It is the starting point for monitoring your condition and protecting you health.  Other readings may be useful in due course, but start with B12 serum.

Let's hope you respond well to treatment.  Good luck.

PS: Just a thought - has your GP mentioned iron anaemia?  If so, will they be giving you iron/vitamin c therapy too?

 

There is no PA, low B12, bowel/stomach cancer, chromosome 22 abnormalities, autism......... in my family.. i dont know why i ended up b12 deficiency

Ill do that on tuesday as mondat is a bank holiday.. then ill post it up to you.. 5000mcg is like 5 injections all at the same time..

hi martina. when u are phoning for your serum b12 & iron (HB) results on tuesday, also ask if they have checked your Folate levels. if yes, ask for the results. it's important that you have sufficient levels of Folate (as well as iron) in your system for your b12 to be utilized. Folate & b12 are interdependent. you can't use one if they other one's low.

re Lozenges. NO, 5000 mcg is NOT the same as 5 injections. when we take oral b12 i.e. tablets we absorb ONLY about 1% of what's taken. i'm not sure how much of the lozenges or/and subliguals get absorbed. perhaps someone else knows the approximate amount?? my guess is that not much more than oral supplements. i was on sublinguals for some time and whilst they brought up my serum levels (quite high), they did nothing for my symptoms. when i started the injections and addressed my low Folate levels my symptoms started to dissappear. hope that's not too much information & that's it's helpful?

take care

Caitlin.

Folic acid was 6.0

Its now

8.6

is there letters with those figures i.e. 8/6 ng/mL?

Caitlin

Lozengers we get 35% i asked..