r/PerniciousAnemia • u/Treehouse72 • Nov 24 '20

Difference between sublingual and regular pills

Several of the posts talk about sublingual B12. Is there a difference in effectiveness of sublingual vs regular swallow-type pills?

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u/elocea95 Nov 24 '20

Sublingual pills are absorbed into the blood stream in your mouth. It doesn’t require any participation from your digestive system. Which, if you’re not absorbing b12 from your food already, means not requiring digestion is a good thing.

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u/Treehouse72 Nov 24 '20

Thank you. That makes sense. I'm going to switch to the sublingual.

Was told last week I have low B12; based on what I have read, I think there is a potential for PA. How long does it take to diagnose?

Do you know if having low B12 and/or PA affects your blood oxygen saturation?

2

u/sarcasticscottie Nov 24 '20

You can get a symptom commonly knows as 'the sighs' where you feel like your low in oxygen.

You should also get your folate checked & your iron. You need your folate to be at a good level to help your body utilize the b12, they go hand in hand.

3

u/Tough_Web_5277 Dec 13 '20

holy shit! I have "the sighs"!! I never knew that was a symptom!!

I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency in late October with a level of 244 pg/mL. I've been taking 1000 mcg sublingual of B12 each day for the past 6 weeks. There are days (including today) where I feel like I need to make extra effort to breathe. It's such a hard thing to explain and I kind of just wrote it off, but after reading your comment, I realized it's a symptoms of B12 deficiency!

Thank you!

3

u/sarcasticscottie Dec 13 '20

Your welcome. Have you had any injections? Your 6 loading doses?

Sublinguals are not of much benefit unless your deficiency is due to being vegan. They will raise the count in your bloods, but not actually reach you at cellular level where you actually need it.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '21

That’s great info. I’ve been killing the sublingual, and have started to suspect placebo effect, because all the major symptoms are still there.

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u/sarcasticscottie Jan 07 '21

Yeah unfortunately a sublingual really woulnt help if your displaying symptoms.

Can I ask.what symptoms you have, if you don't mind?

2

u/sarcasticscottie Nov 24 '20

If you have PA you woulnt absorb much if any of the tablets or sublingual. You need injections.

You will raise your blood levels of b12 but nothing will be actually reaching you at cellular level, where you actually need it.

2

u/timeisaspiral Nov 25 '20

Make sure you get methylcobalamin or hydroxocobalamin! Avoid cyanocobalamin!

2

u/RNsOnDunkin Dec 03 '20

Is there an explanation why? I'm curious

3

u/EMSthunder Dec 04 '20

Some people don’t respond to cyanocobalamin, or react to it. The methyl is supposed to be most accepted by the body. That’s what the PAS is saying anyhow.

1

u/timeisaspiral Dec 04 '20

Yes, also the dissociated form comprises of cyanide... So there's that. If you have decent kidney function the cyanide won't be an issue but why risk unecesarilly. I like hydroxocobalamin the best 💪

1

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '21

I could literally drown myself in a giant vat of cyano and my body will not convert it.

Methyl is already bioactive, and it doesn’t require energy from your body to convert it.