RE: B12 Drops

[Guest guest]

Sorry, this is not at all how B-12 is absorbed, but you're right, you

need to watch B-12 levels closely, and shots are a good idea too, so

much so that I wish ALL post-ops were offered them (they are cheap,

easy, and they WORK).

B-12 is made bioavailable (in normies) after it binds with a protein

called " intrinsic factor " which is manufactured by your body in the

lower portion of the stomach. Then, the food and intrinsic-factor-linked

B-12 is transported into the small intestine, where the protein-bound

B-12 is absorbed in the duodenum and ileum. Post-op, we lose our ability

to absorb B-12 from food completely; the chemical cascade that causes

your body to make intrinsic factor is gone, the food you eat is never

exposed to intrinsic factor so the body doesn't get to free up the B-12

in your food, and then the food you eat doesn't pass through the

duodenum anyway.

Sublingual B-12 works for probably 75% of the population of post-ops.

Some of us can take them every day, 32000% RDA, and still have numbers

that drop and drop. When that happens, intramuscular (IM) injection of

cyanocobalamin (B-12) is the way to go, on a frequency from once a week

to once a month. You have to monitor blood levels carefully to find the

right frequency; people seem to feel best when their vitamin levels are

between 600 and 1000. For me, that means twice a month.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to a type of anemia called pernicious

anemia which can be difficult to treat if it's not diagnosed. People's

iron levels are low, their docs put them on high dosages of iron, but

their blood doesn't bounce back, because the body needs adequate levels

of vitamin B-12 to make new blood cells, among other things. In order to

resolve this anemia, supplementation with iron AND vitamin B-12 is

required. Doctors will hesitate to even test for this illness because

it's more common in older people and if you're in your 20s or 30s you

can be told it's not possible for you to have it... If you're post-op,

that's nonsense, so stand up for yourself!

Hope this helps,

Z

Open RNY 09/17/01

http://www.ziobro.us

Re: B12 Drops

As B12 is normally absorbed in the stomach and our stomachs are so tiny

we really have to watch out for vitamin B12 levels. I was taking

Isotonic B12 and was within the limits but was on the low side (219) and

the red count was starting to ge low too. My docotor prescribed B12

shots once a month so now it is back in the mid-range readings. So be

very careful with your B12.

Dave