oral B12

Anonymous
July 23, 2008 at 7:58 pm

All that I have read about B12 is that oral B12 DOES NOT work nearly as well as intraveneous and it is stated the oral form should not be used if there is a severe deficiency or deficiency with serious concerns. The fact the oral form does not work well is especially true if someone has pernicious anemia since they do not have the intrinsic factor to help in the absorption from the gut. The newer formulations that are given under the tongue (sublingually) or into the nose (intranasally) are absorbed better and MIGHT be good enough for “maintenance” if taken in large doses, but I looked it up again in a drug book and the absorption with the into-the-nose formulation is 6% compared to that given into a muscle. Absorption of the oral form in pernicious anemia is 1.2%–meaning only 1.2% of the drug taken by mouth is absorbed so if you take 1000 mcg, you actually might get 12 mcg (or less) and you should get at least 100 mcg right now. Personally with something as serious as neuropathy that affects life–and understanding that it is not completely reversable, I would take/advise to take the best known way to get B12 into your body. Yes, shots are a pain (literally), but you want to best chance to reverse and allow healing. We had this discussion with the 10 year old who was really unhappy about daily shots, but we told him that that was the best way to help him feel better faster and be safer for him.
WithHope for a cure of these diseases