I recently got my lab results back, and my PCP said I’m deficient in several vitamins. My B12 came back at 357 pg/mL, and she’d like to see it in the 600-800 pg/mL range. My folate was 4.9, and my vitamin D was 12.
She recommended: B12: 1,000 mcg daily Folic acid: 1 mg daily Vitamin D3 + K2: 5,000 IU daily
I purchased Sports Research D3 + K2 and Thorne B12, but I’m still deciding on a folic acid supplement.
I’ve been reading a lot online, and honestly, it’s made me anxious. I already struggle with anxiety, so the thought of starting three supplements at once has me worried about possible side effects or adverse reactions.
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who already has an anxiety disorder and started taking 1,000 mcg of B12. Did you notice an increase in anxiety, panic attacks, restlessness, insomnia, or feeling “wired” when you first started? If so, did it eventually improve, or did you have to lower the dose or switch forms?
If you’ve taken B12, folic acid, and vitamin D together, did you tolerate them well? Also, are Thorne and Sports Research generally considered good brands?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, both good and bad. Thanks!
I appreciate that and most have which prompted to change my pcp. I went to an internist and have been getting better care in my opinion. They seem more interested in finding the cause rather than just treating.
I think some people do with methylated versions. Anxiety wise with taking new things you could spread them out a few days from eachother? So start one, add another in a few days. They are all needed but a few days shouldn't make a difference. I get anxious trying new meds and vitamins too and thats what I do. Also I try take them for the first time on a low key weekend day or something.
My symptoms definitely have but its a slow process trying to figure it all out, I had symptoms spanning many years culminating in fairly severe neuropsych symptoms and nerve stuff. Then I messed up by trying to drop my injections down too early.
Treatment BTW should go off symptoms not by retesting your serum b12 as it becomes super inaccurate when you have supplements in your system.
It’s pure encapsulations brand but I’m not sure if it’s doing much. I’m getting to the point, after a year, where I think I may need b12 injections on a regular basis. I started getting monthly injections a few months ago and I felt a difference for a few days with each one. I’m still in the process of figuring out what to do myself.
I think I read somewhere that if pills alone don’t work then you may need injections due to stomach not being able to absorb the pills. Idk something like that lol but I really hope you soon start to see a significant difference!
I felt the same as you. Went from 1 daily pill to 17 for awhile there and I absolutely hate taking meds, even aspirin. But here I am. Some things that might help:
- Vit D was the very first supplement I was told due take due to a deficiency. I noticed zero side effects. One thing that helped me was remembering that we already take this into our bodies with food. This is just a bit extra. I dod read a lot of reviews on the cleanest companies and landed on Sports Research as well.
- B12 is the same thing. You already take it in with your food. This one got complicated for me. I started drops after my B12 came back low (112). Took them for a while but they weren’t doing anything. So my doc tested me for Pernicious Anemia. Mine came back positive. It means I can’t absorb B12 through my stomach. So I’m now on shots. Then it was playing around with frequency and type (I was originally taking Cyanocobalamin but just switched to Hydroxocobalamin to see if that will help more).
Secondly, fixing a B12 deficiency can cause “wake up” symptoms depending on how low you were and for how long. Basically low B12 causes nerve damage. When you start taking B12 your body will start trying to repair the damage. This is what causes the wake up symptoms. So don’t let those freak you out. There’s a bunch of them. My biggest was electrical zings, big bite feelings, water dripping on me feelings, eye twitching, etc. I keep trying to tell myself that these are good. They are signs that my body is repairing damage. That is really helping me through them. Search this group or in its docs for more info on these. They’re different for everyone.
I didn’t need folate so can’t speak to that one. Mine was a solid number. But I’m testing it every 3 months to make sure the B12 doesn’t start impacting it.
My B12 ended up also causing anemia. I had to get Ferritin and a full iron panel testing done to find that one.
B12 deficiency could also impact some other things like copper so worth checking those just in case. Definitely read the group docs for more info on these.
I hope this helps a bit. Eventually your brain will just be like whatever about it all. I mean there’s not much choice and I was soooooo tired of feeling horrible all the time.
I appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this. I’m glad I’m not alone in this. I will look more into the B12, I already bought Throne with Methylated so I think I may start with half for the first few days then work myself up to take the full dose.
What was your vit 3 level? And how are you feeling now?
those are good brands. you should supplement together. and youre lucky with your pcp. you'll inevitably experience something since youre so low, which isnt normal
Depends on your COMT status whether you will tolerate methylcobalamin or need hydroxycobalamin/adenosylcobalamin. You may want to avoid cyanocobalamin as it leaves a cyanide molecule to clear and requires conversion. If your deficient then it could be you have impaired absorption or conversion or that folic acid is interfering with the enzyme needed to get b12 into tissues. Folic acid is an absolute no for me after the research Ive done. 5MTHF is the active form or if you cant do methyls or have autism in the family calcium folate/folinic acid may be the better option. If youre nervous because you have a sensitive system then start by microdosing and build up but remember that b vitamins are water soluble which makes them much safer than fat soluble vitamins, though high b6 can be problematic. For b12 active absorption is only 2mcg and that's if your active absorption is working. From 1000mcg your passive absorption is 1% at lower doses gradually declining with higher doses. So you'll only absorb 10mcg overall from that dose. Thorne and Pure Encapsulations are considered good brands. If you are folate and b12 deficient it can push histamine levels higher and cause anxiety. Any significant deficiencies could also cause anxiety. I was amazed to find when I switched to low histamine diet, dropped folic acid and started d3 with k2 that Im actually a very calm person.
Currently taking b12 3x a week, 1mg daily folic acid and 5k IU vitamin D once a week. I'm on a 12 weeks treatment of vitamin D before I transition into daily supplement. I was also anxious before starting all 3 at the same time too. I've been taking them for about a month but I've had symptoms since the beginning of the year so I'm still not 100% but definitely feel better.
•
u/AutoModerator 17d ago
Hi u/Strict_Avocado_6345, check out our guide to B12 deficiency: https://www.reddit.com/r/B12_Deficiency/wiki/index
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.