Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

I take B-12 pills - 1000mcg a day - and that has solved my low B-12 problem.

I'm a little concerned that your doctor is giving you B-12 shots *and* telling you to get more B-12 in your diet. As I understand it, there are 2 possible reasons for a low B-12 blood test:

1) You're not getting enough B-12 in your diet. Eating more foods with B-12 or taking B-12 pills should solve this problem.

2) Your body is getting enough B-12 but cannot process what it is getting. Some people have this problem all their lives and it seems to occur fairly often as people age. For this problem, you must get B-12 shots because no matter how much B-12 you consume your digestive tract can't get it into your bloodstream.

So if your doctor thinks your problem is that you are not getting enough B-12, I don't know why he'd give you shots instead of pills. If he thinks your problem is that you can't use the B-12 you are getting, he'd give you shots but then there's no point telling you to consume more B-12.

I suppose he might think you have both problems but I'd try getting more B-12 by mouth before assuming you can't use the B-12 you're getting and need shots.

My advice is to try the pills for 3 months and then get re-tested. Also, avoid the sublingual (under the tongue) B-12 tablets - I couldn't find a single one of them that didn't contain an artificial sweetener. Just get the regular pills that you swallow and read the list of ingredients to make sure there are no artificial sweeteners in it. Any drugstore will carry these.

HTH.

--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

Print Remind Me Notify Moderator