Question:
Why can't we take B-12 in pill form?
If we can take regular vitamins in pill form, why not B-12? Thanks! :-) — Angie M. (posted on October 14, 2002)
October 14, 2002
HAH! I know this one!!! I have pernicious anemia which means I have a
b-12 deficiency and I cannot absorb the vitamin B-12 through consumption of
food. (to put it VERY simply) B-12 cannot be absorbed through the stomach
lining therefore needs to be injected into the bloodline. Hope this helps.
PS- I get my injections in the rear because it is a dense muscle and it
hurts for the first day but after that, no biggie. Hope this helps!
— Christin H.
October 14, 2002
I take B-12 by pill form--2 pills a day for a total of 500m.
Ask your doctor why he has you on the shots instead of pills.
— barbara A.
October 14, 2002
I take B-12 via pill (when I can remember to take them). Mine are 1000 mg
and my nutrionist makes me take them 1/week.
— heathercross
October 14, 2002
christin is right. B-12 is absorbed through the stomach wall and
secretions. Since we have an extremly small stomach, it is not absorbed
well, if at all. So, the best bet is for you to continue with the
injections which need to go into the muscle for them to be absorbed well
also. Good Luck!!
— Vicki L.
October 14, 2002
I take B-12 via a sublingual (under the tounge) pill. My labs are normal.
— Susan M.
October 14, 2002
According to the info I got from my doctor, B-12 is obtained from the food
we eat through the small intestine. For thos of us who have had the
Roux-en-Y procedure, B-12 isn't absorbed in a large enough quanity due to
the shortening of the small intestine. So, taking it in a pill is useless-
it needs to go directly into the bloodstream, and there are only 2 ways to
do that: shots or sublingual tablets (tablets that are held under the
toungue until dissolved).
— Mary E. S.
October 14, 2002
Because the B-12 (cobalamin) needs a substance known as "intrinsic
factor" in order to be absorbed by the body. This substance is
secreted in the lower part of the stomach - the part that has been stapled
off.
<p>
The B-12 is normally bound to this intrinsic factor during transit through
the stomach and separation occurs in the terminal ileum (last part of the
small intestines) in the presence of calcium.
<p>
Getting the B-12 injections or taking it sublingually (under the tongue)
allows the B-12 to enter the bloodstream directly and bypass the stomach.
— John Rushton
October 14, 2002
Well said John =)
— Denise W.
October 14, 2002
Ok I take 2 B12 by mouth daily and my labs are fine, I am out over a year.
Some in my support group report the same thing. I cant explain it but it
works for me....
— bob-haller
October 14, 2002
Bob - that's all fine and well - but the nerve damage from pernicious
anemia is irreverible. The liver does store B-12. From
http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/v_b12.html on consequences of
B-12 deficiency:
<p>
"If the normal vitamin B-12 levels of 100 to 1,000 micrograms per
milliliter fall to below 100 micrograms, pernicious anemia occurs.
Pernicious anemia can result from an inadequate dietary intake of the
vitamin; a diminished secretion of intrinsic factor by the glands of the
stomach; the partial or complete removal of the stomach; or from a lack of
the transport proteins transcobalamin 1 and 11.
<p>
An additional cause of vitamin B-12 deficiency is the atrophy of the
mucosal cells lining the stomach. This atrophy can result from genetic
facts, alcoholism, iron deficiency, or thyroid gland disorders. An
infection with the intestinal parasite Diphyllobothrium latum can produce
pernicious anemia; the worm absorbs the available vitamin B-12, leaving
little or none for the host's use. In the latter case, the anemia is easily
cured by expulsion of the worm from the intestines.
<p>
Injections of vitamin B-12 can control pernicious anemia; however, the
anemia must be detected at an early stage so that treatment starts prior to
irreversible nerve degeneration. It is possible to diagnose vitamin B-12
deficiency on the basis of blood levels of the vitamin using
microbiological techniques.
<p>
Since the body is efficient in storing vitamin B-12, it could take up to
six years before vitamin B-12 deficiency symptoms develop in a diet devoid
of the vitamin. Children of vegetarian parents can become vitamin B-12
deficient in two to three years, as they have no vitamin B-12 stores in
their bodies."
<p>
It seems to me that taking the B-12 sublingually or by IM injection is such
a <b>small</b> price to pay to head off permanent nerve damage
down the road. Some surgeons and nutritionists are out there recommending
patients take calcium carbonate instead of calcium citrate. Michelle
Curran and her husband can tell you how wrong that information is...JR
— John Rushton
October 14, 2002
B-12 is absorbed by the part of the intestines that has been bypassed.
Taking B-12 pills is useless. Maybe your levels are OK - but keep on
checking them. My doctor gives me a shot when I come in for my follow up.
— Marianne K.
October 14, 2002
can our bodies store too much B12. What about a high B12 reading. Taking
two shots a month I am at 768 which I think is great.
— faybay
October 15, 2002
6 years? Jen my wife isnt B 12 pill complaint, hers fell like a rock and
she is getting now 2 shots a month. I have had blood work every 3 months
and so far so good. Of course I take 3 flinstones chewables with iron daily
as well without problems. Iron level fine. Others heard I do that and ended
up anemic. Maybe I am just wierd?:)
— bob-haller
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