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What is A high Dose of sublingual B12?

Posted , 4 users are following.

ester23510
ester23510

I have read online that pernicious anaemia can be treated by high doses of sublingual or transdermal B12.  Can anybody tell me what amounts we are talking about here?  I've been using 4 doses of sublingual B12 plus 4 doses of transdermal B12 a day for months and nothing has improved.  My tongue is still swollen and my RBC count is still 3.9.  I also read that some people don't absorb B12 sublingually so I've changed over to 8 doses a day of transdermal B12.  Funnily enough, my doctor has agreed to give me a B12 injection monthly, but I never got enough of a loading dose to begin with so what I did get was a waste of time. Because I take B12 my blood levels are high, but somehow it's not being absorbed by my body.  Do I need to take more transdermal B12?  I have not been officially diagnosed with PA but I have little or no stomach acid and am now on a vegan diet.  My iron and ferritin levels are ok as is folic acid.

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3 Replies

  • aveline
    aveline ester23510

    Posted

    Have you been tested for vitamins A, D, E and K? Malabsorption can be caused by Celiac Disease or other disorder, although I'd think that your treatment would bypass the stomach and intestines. 

    You mentioned stomach acid. As a vegan, you may not need as much acid to break down your food, but if acid is low, it could affect pepsin enzymes and that affects absorption. I've recently read about this and not sure if it's studied enough, but it's something you may want to look into with your doctor.

    Good luck with the answers to what's bothering you!

  • ester23510
    ester23510

    Posted

    Hi aveline...Thanks for your reply.  I haven't been tested for any of those vitamins until recently when one was done for vitamin D.  I don't have the results yet but won't be surprised if I'm deficient even though I take a D3 supplement.  I do have Celiac disease though.

    I've started taking rice protein powder which is making a huge difference and appears to be very beneficial.

  • aveline
    aveline ester23510

    Posted

    I don't know why doctors aren't more concerned with deficiencies when a patient is known to have CD??  I heard a nutritionist from Schar (brand) speak and she mentioned that although low A, E & K are not common they can often be found in patients with Celiac and should be tested for. When I spoke with my son's GI doc, they pushed back a bit, but added it to the items to test for at his next bloodwork. He's low on K!  So, next time, have the other fat soluable vitamins checked, too. (Plenty of otherwise "healthy" people are low in D, at least in the U.S., it seems - the others seem to be somewhat rare)

    Between the CD diet and vegan diet, it doesn't sound like you're eating any foods with B12, so you'll need far more than the next person with PA, I'd think. Would your Dr. reconsider the injections, starting with loading doses? I can't think of why injected B12 wouldn't be absorbed, so s/he should help you with that. Or, maybe it's not the B12 that is causing issues???

    Good Luck!!

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