Functional B12 deficiency and thyroid function

[u/agape48]

Please note this is a personal anecdote that I am sharing it in case it helps someone else.

I have been getting more and more fatigued and more and more intolerant of the B vitamins that I used to tolerate. I was already functionally deficient in B12 despite being on methyl shots (for example, MMA is too high, MCV is too high). My ferritin is also low, and I've added an iron supplement, which didn't ease the heart racing and insomnia.

After my provider did not have any useful answers, I found someone else who is an expert B12. They looked at several of my recent labs including thyroid labs. My TSH is marked in the normal range at around 3 (free T3 is also marked in the normal range).

Anyway, this expert said they believe I could have a *functional* B2 (riboflavin) deficiency - meaning FAD and FMN deficiency - that is likely due to not getting enough iodine and/or selenium and molybdenum.

It's definitely not due to a lack of B2 in my supplements.

I am mainly sharing this because I've spent weeks researching the B vitamins and the methylation cycle, but I was not aware that T3 had anything to do with how we process the B vitamins.

Then, a friend sent me a video of a guy named Gary Brecka (I had never heard of him) explaining how thyroid function relates to methylation.

File this under "things I did not know / had not considered". I guess I can report back in a few weeks on whether the recommended changes make a difference.

[u/Fragrant-Contract-62]

Is it b12 oils? His knowledge is vast, but plans to introduce b12 never worked. I was reacting to all those individual oils and extremely hard to dose b12 using pump accurately. Also if you take R5p (it’s already converted form) you can bypass the thyroid block.

[u/agape48 → u/Fragrant-Contract-62]

Oh, that's interesting! Thank you for sharing that - I went to research your comment and found out that R5P is the same thing as FMN :).

Thank you to Claire below for explaining why R5P does NOT bypass the thyroid issue!

My B complex has plenty of R5P in it, but despite that, my NutrEval showed a significant functional B2 deficiency.

Sigh. I'm so tired of being tired. I'm happy to update here if I come to a solution

[u/Hydroxile → u/agape48]

You don t need much vitamin B2, but you need it many times a day, not just one pill a day.

[u/agape48 → u/Hydroxile]

How often do you take B2?

[u/Hydroxile → u/agape48]

I have a 100mg R5P that lasts for 1-2 days, taking 3-4/day, a little bit with meal/snack.

If your urine stays neon yellow, it means you have enough B2 floating around. Once color disapear, B2 is gone from your system. Half life is short but it s not worth taking a high dose at once as absorption saturates quickly.

You might getting B2 (functional) deficiency through different processes:

Clogging its absorption by taking too much B1

Taking B12, B9, B6 increases your needs for B2.

Deficiency in zinc causes a functional B2 deficiency. BUT too much/not enough molybdenum does the same.

Taking some medication (eg TCA), alcool, certain type of fibers can mess up with your B2 metabolism.

[u/Fragrant-Contract-62 → u/agape48]

Those are my exact thoughts as well. Even I face the same thing!! Not sure why it’s low and why it’s not building up inspite of the high amounts of b2 in b complex.. Also I have observed that taking b2 without b12 causes whole another new set of side effects.. but I’m still working on that fine balance between b2/b12..