3 replies to this topic

[daniel11]

Hi, guys.

 

Almost 3 years ago I decided to try methylcobalamin. I had my vitamin B12 levels tested before supplementation. And thank God I did that. Vitamin B12 levels were 450 pg/ml - completely normal. After the first two 1000 mcg doses I had more energy and better mood for a few days. But a week later I started becoming increasingly anxious and tired. Another week later I experienced my first ever panic attack. I wasn't doing anything stressful at the time, I was lying in my bed. And all of a sudden I began feeling tensed. Then a full-blown panic attack came...

 

Obviously something was wrong. I decided to test my vit B12 levels again. And to my surprise they were at 380 pg/ml this time. Over the course of 6 months vit B12 levels dropped to 180 pg/ml - an outrageous deficiency. I had panic attacks every day and felt like crap in general. I developed wrinkles on my fingers close to the nails. I googled this symptom and it turned out many people with vit B12 deficiency have these wrinkles. I'm sure everybody here knows that B12 is a cofactor for serotonin and dopamine production, hence the panic attacks.

 

Now the problem is that the stupid synthetic Methycobalamin got stored in the liver and its half life there is 400 days. I took 4 1000 mcg doses in total. 3 years later I feel much better, but my liver is still leaking MB12 in my blood every day and I still have some symptoms. 

 

The doctors I visited had never heard of anything like this and couldn't help me.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What do you think caused this paradoxical reaction in the first place?

 

2) Can you think of a way to fix this? I mean is there a way to make my body not think the synthetic MB12 is poison?

 

Thank you!

Edited by daniel11, 28 March 2018 - 01:01 AM.

[genereader]

4,000 mcg of methylB12 won't hurt you, as people routinely take 5,000 mcg daily for years. 

Your level of 180 is quite low -- check for anemia, macrocytosis, high homocysteine, high methylmalonic acid which are all indicators of functional B12 deficiency. 

 

Having dropping levels may indicate pernicious anemia -- see https://healthunlocked.com/pasoc for help with diagnosing that.  
 

I know this is an older post, but I hope you see it, or that you have already figured this info out.  Good luck! 

 

Edited by genereader, 16 October 2018 - 08:27 PM.

[daniel11]

4,000 mcg of methylB12 won't hurt you, as people routinely take 5,000 mcg daily for years. 

Your level of 180 is quite low -- check for anemia, macrocytosis, high homocysteine, high methylmalonic acid which are all indicators of functional B12 deficiency. 

 

Having dropping levels may indicate pernicious anemia -- see https://healthunlocked.com/pasoc for help with diagnosing that.  
 

I know this is an older post, but I hope you see it, or that you have already figured this info out.  Good luck! 

 

Hello, genereader, and thank you for taking the time to reply to my thread.

 

As crazy as it sounds: 4 000 mcg of methyl B12 destroyed the last three years of my life. I took them sublingually and boy do they get absorbed!

 

Taking 5 000 mcg daily for years is totally needless, is a waste of money and it happens because barely anyone knows what they're doing. This vitamin gets stored in the liver and its half life there is ~400 days. It gets recycled due to enterohepatic circulation, meaning the liver secretes it in bile, but the intestines reabsorb it back into the bloodstream. So, why would someone need 1000 times more than the daily need every day?

 

I don't have pernicious anemia, I eat animal food, I did NOT have any problems prior to methylB12, my blood levels were 450 pg/ml.

 

So what happened?

 

Could it be something genetic, or heavy metal burden? There must be an explanation for this paradoxical reaction but maybe sience hasn't found it yet.

[genereader]

Hi Daniel11, 

I'm glad to hear from you, I hoped you'd see the post. 
 

>>why would someone need 1000 times more than the daily need every day?

Because B12 is a tricky nutrient-- yet is absolutely essential.  Absorption, storage, transport, and CNS transit of B12 are highly variable, so inadequate cellular levels are common.  Additionally, B12 levels decline with age, and environmental exposures can reduce them.   B12 deficiency is fairly widespread (see http://b12awareness....-b12/incidence/ ).  There is no known toxicity from B12. 

 

>> So what happened?
Many people feel worse for a time after taking B12; one theory is that the B12 influx triggers the generation of new red blood cells and cellular repair mechanisms, which then causes a drop in potassium levels and other nutrients.   Having low potassium makes one feel very tired and weak.  To test this, you could try drinking coconut water (600mg/cup) or Low-Sodium V8 juice (900mg/cup) the next time you have B12, to see if it alleviates the symptoms.

 

If your B12 serum level is currently 180 pg/ml, then you are definitely deficient in B12.  Levels below 300pg/ml will cause neurological symptoms in some people; at 180pg/ml you are probably feeling pretty wiped out and stressed, possibly with brain fog or difficulty concentrating.  Having low B12 levels long-term can cause permanent neurological and brain damage, in addition to wrecking your quality of life, so I urge you to address this soon. 

You'll need regular B12 injections, but they are not painful, and will save your brain and peripheral nerves from permanent damage.  Sublingual tablets are often recommended by GPs as an easy-to-administer solution; however, they will raise serum B12 and some blood markers, but can leave the underlying problem untouched.  Injections are better because they always work at the cellular level.   If you are worried about methyl side-effects from methylcobalamin injections, you can request hydroxycobalamin or cyanocobalamin injections.   Supplemental potassium, folate, and other nutrients along with the B12 will help you to avoid side-effects as your body readjusts to having adequate B12 again. 

       

>> I don't have pernicious anemia
How do you know?   Even if you've been tested, pernicious anemia (PA) tests are notoriously inaccurate.  While there are many reasons for low B12 levels (https://pernicious-a...niciousanaemia/), a precipitous drop often indicates PA.   Perhaps your B12 was already falling from a higher level (550 pg/mL or greater) before you took the first methylB12.   

 

It's best to test for B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia before taking more B12.  The PA tests are not very accurate but they are more likely to be correct if you don't have supplemental B12 in your system.  You should also request tests for anemia, homocysteine, and methymalonic acid (either serum or urine).  

 

A friendly group for low-B12 advice is the Pernicious Anemia Society at https://healthunlocked.com/pasoc .  They mostly deal with PA, but will also field questions about low B12 as they have so much collective experience with it.  Since they are in the UK, keep in mind that the B12 levels mentioned in the archives may not be in pg/mL. 

Sally Pacholok has written these useful guides to B12 deficiency:  http://b12awareness.org/ and https://smile.amazon...k/dp/B00MERDLOE

 

Best of luck to you!  I feel much better after fixing my own B12 deficiency.  It took me many years and many wrong turns, but I finally found B12 injections.  It's amazing how much difference one little nutrient can make. 

Edited by genereader, 22 December 2018 - 07:34 AM.