Read “Could it be B12?” (see Books) to find out anything there is to know about B12.
Symptoms
B12 is necessary in lots of processes in our body. So if you’re deficient, you’re going to have a myriad of symptoms. Also, symptoms of B12 deficiency are different in everyone, because everyone has a different nutritional status.
Absorption
Lots of people have problems absorbing B12. The absorption via the stomach requires sufficient stomach acid, but also an intrinsic factor.
Blood tests
It’s hard to detect B12 deficiency with blood tests, especially when you have been supplementing first. Many doctors keep to the lower end of the scale.
Supplements
When a person is found to be deficient, usually injections are prescribed. You’re starting to be sufficient when an injection doesn’t raise the amount of energy you feel any more. As long as you can feel the effect of an injection, you’re still deficient.
Sublingual (under the tongue) supplementation of B12 works well for some people. But not for me when I was really low. What works for me when I’m really low is B12 in DMSO (read the warning!) which I absorb via the skin on my arms:
- one or two Now Foods, Methyl B-12, 1000 mcg, 100 Lozenges (without folic acid). If you use two, the liquid will be thicker and stickier. It will take longer to absorb into your skin.
- 100 ml brown glass jar
- 100 ml DMSO
Add the lozenges to the glass jar. Top with DMSO until the jar is full. Let sit for as long as it takes to dissolve the lozenges completely, this can take a few days. A thick sediment is now at the bottom of the jar: don’t use that, use the sticky liquid above it. The liquid is bright red. This is the B12; B12 is also called the red vitamin.
The right kind of B12
Read “Could it be B12?” for extensive info on this.
This site provides good info: The Right Kind of Vitamin B12 is Vital for Treating Deficiency – NaturalNews.com
There are several kinds of B12 vitamin: adenosylcobalamin (dibencozide), cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin and methylcobalamin.
The cobalamin is the actual B12 part. The other part is the thing that the B12 is stuck to.
I only use methylcobalamin.