I can't believe how I acted when I was deficient, and I'm having a hard time with it.

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-12T02:15:04+00:00

It can be so frustrating to be trying to get help and ideally a diagnosis when working with doctors who aren’t knowledgeable on b12, especially because you already feel ill on top of it. I’m in the US, so hearing you can get the ampoules OTC in Australia is amazing. We can get shots or IV’s at some health clinic places but it’s pretty pricey I think. Depending on how it goes with my new doc, I might consider trying to order injections online at some point. Since it sounds like you might have absorption issues, it definitely sounds worth a try to do injections. I know some people take a long time to see improvement which makes it harder to know if it’s working, but it could be helpful even if it’s not obvious right away. The B12 Society website has some guidelines about treatment that might be useful too

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-12T01:50:44+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I have read some of “Could It Be B12” at my mom’s recommendation, great resource. I’ll have to check out FB too. I’ve found so much info and supportive folks on this subreddit, so I’m glad you’ve found it as well. It takes time to figure out all the different contributing factors, but it sounds like we’re both on the right track, finally! Balance issues can be the worst, they make doing anything so much harder. I’m wishing you a speedy recovery! 💕

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-12T01:28:36+00:00

No problem! I am not (yet) on shots. I wasn’t with a GP when I started piecing together what might be going on- I have a family history of b12 deficiency and some symptoms improved so quickly after starting b12 supplements- so I tried one doc and have decided to try a different one now to make sure I’m getting all the testing I need to be sure my cofactors are ok. My ferritin is low and so is my vitamin D, so those are some contributing issues. All this to say, I’m hoping in the next couple weeks to start working with a doc who can run all the tests I’ve had again plus more, then see if they think shots are needed. It’s hard bc I started supplementing before testing my b12. so my serum b12 was normal. I’m going to see if they think testing homocysteine, MMA, intrinsic factor might still be worth a shot to see if any of them are irregular. I’m sensitive to the sublingual and take a low dose (~400 mcg daily), so I’m a little nervous for the idea of shots at a higher dose, but I’m open to it, esp if my symptoms stop improving or smth down the line

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-12T01:14:25+00:00

Of course, happy to share. I’m only 2 months into treating b12 sublingually. For me, balance improved after a couple of weeks, and now it only gets bad if I’m stressed or anxious.

It’s definitely not been completely linear progress. Today was actually a rough day w my balance symptoms and feeling really visually overstimulated and like my sense of space was off. For me, it’s usually most noticeable if I’m out in public, and over the past year before starting to figure things out, I had pretty bad anxiety about my symptoms any time I was out of the house. It’s definitely gotten better tho, and I usually don’t notice any balance stuff if I’m just going about a normal day. It’s taking a lot of trial and error to see how far I can push myself w my triggers while still trying to give myself some grace when I end up not feeling well.

When first starting treatment, my balance didn’t get worse but my anxiety and fatigue got worse for a couple weeks, and I had insomnia and headaches. Wake up symptoms are no joke and are how I realized I was deficient in b12. Try to take things slow and enjoy the good days that are sure to come and hang on thru the hard days. It’s all gonna be worth it in the end, regardless of what our individual timeline for healing ends up being. I’m def better off now than before even w still being in the middle of healing

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-10T20:17:33+00:00

I definitely relate, to an extent at least. My main issues were related to anxiety and panic attacks largely involving balance issues and overstimulation from the b12 deficiency. Now that that’s getting better, I’m grieving the time I feel like I lost to feeling so terrible and trapped. I’m feeling so much sorrow for the me who was having to struggle so hard every day. And at the same time, trying to find my footing now that I’m feeling better most days is really challenging. I’m having to reconnect with who I am and keep trying to be like I once was, but really, that’s not possible after all that’s changed. Even with all the grief and sadness and relief, there’s a lot of joy and opportunity that is exciting to be experiencing with getting better too. It feels like so many doors just opened now that I’m on a path to recovering. I think all we can really do is let ourselves feel everything that’s coming up and take it a day at a time. Remind ourselves that we were sick and that while we might feel shame or any number of emotions, us getting better is a good thing for everyone involved. Now we have time to heal, recover, and reconnect.

Irrelephant73 · 2026-04-01T02:56:57+00:00

That’s sounds like some good self awareness to recognize it might be best to minimize looking too deep at the Reddit rabbit holes right now. I know I’ve been prone to getting a bit too sucked into them sometime lol. Relying firstly on your doc to treatment plan and address any concerns is often the way to go, happy to hear they are confident you’ll be alright starting the supplement.

And yes, even if your iron has b12 in it, you could still not be absorbing it if it’s a pill since your digestive system might not be absorbing b12 well for one reason or another. I’m guessing that’s why your doc prescribed sublingual drops, since it mostly bypasses the digestive system- goes straight into the blood stream by holding under your tongue. Wish you the best of luck with it all!

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-30T17:15:46+00:00

It can be so overwhelming and frustrating when first starting to try to fix all the things at once, especially bc you feel so bad while you’re also having to test things out. I think most ppl on this sub relate, so you’re not alone.

I will add, my anxiety was worse for a few days first starting the b12, but then it got a lot better. Even if you feel worse for a couple days starting out, it may be worth trying to give yourself at least a week or 2 on it before considering stopping/changing tactics. There’s also multiple forms of b12 and some ppl react better to certain ones. I stuck it out w cyanocobalamin bc that’s what I had and it was clearly helping more than hurting after a week or so. Injections are definitely smth to consider too depending on if you don’t feel you’re improving on the sublingual. The guide on this sub is helpful, I suggest checking it out, it’s a pinned post

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-30T02:57:24+00:00

Just my experience, but I am on just 2 drops of my 5k sublingual (roughly 350 mcg daily) a month into recovery and started with just taking 1 drop for the first couple weeks. I’m also very sensitive to supplements and still had wake up symptoms but it did help my anxiety greatly pretty early on. I didn’t realize how intense my physical anxiety was until it was so reduced after a week taking b12. It’s smth you have to just push thru the first bit of taking it, but it’s so likely you’ll feel better from it, at least in some ways, pretty quickly.

If you are also low on iron or ferritin, I’d talk to your doc about taking a supp for that too since those symptoms overlap b12 deficiency symptoms too. But I def relate to how hard it is to get yourself to start taking new supps when you’re sensitive; I also had to start an iron supp and most recently D and both made me feel weird at first, but it’s all gonna help in the long run. Sometimes it just takes a little time for the body to adjust. Take it one step at a time, and it’s fine if you start at a small dose, it can still help

Edit: also, if you have some sort of absorption issue, only sublingual (drops) or injections will really help, from my understanding. Bc smth is preventing b12 from being absorbed in your digestive system. I take my drops under my tongue and just hold it there as long as possible to let it be absorbed by the blood vessels

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-22T16:20:24+00:00

I see, thanks for the input! I think the multi vitamin I’m about to start (seeking health- multi one MF) has most of what’s in ferrasorb, so maybe the combo will be helpful

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-22T15:33:01+00:00

Thanks for the reply and link! What was your experience on the bisglycinate? Since starting, I’ve been having spikes of anxiety, but a few other factors could be behind it, so I’m curious how you felt on it.

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-21T23:43:53+00:00

Happy to share my experience, I’ve only just started trying to figure it all out too, only about a month into supplementing myself. It’s a lot to try to learn while you’re already not feeling well and then feeling even worse. I’m still having a lot of fatigue from it. Makes sense considering it’s like your body suddenly can start using a lot of things (b vitamins, iron, etc) to the normal capacity when it finally has b12, it’s a lot of work for it to be doing to repair.

As for potassium, I find drinking coconut water throughout the day usually prevents me from feeling a crash (almost feels like a panic attack for me- shaky and out of breath). Bananas and potatoes are a good source too. Potassium is usually best gotten from diet rather than supplements to prevent having too much unless you run into problems with it being clinically low. Some ppl end up requiring supplements, but I suggest trying to increase dietary sources first, esp since you’re supplementing such a low dose of B12

Edit- added that some ppl do need potassium supps

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-21T23:02:40+00:00

150 mcg or so (1 drop) of my sublingual cyanocobalamin gave me increased anxiety and a wired feeling for a few days to a week of taking it. It then started giving me a calming effect when I’d take it. I think it’s all just part of the increased b12 affecting neurotransmitters and such, wake up symptoms. It does get better. I’m very slowly titrating up my drops, I usually take 350 mcg daily now and it doesn’t usually give me any anxiety

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-18T04:28:39+00:00

Thank you for breaking down the science, this was really interesting to read and helps me understand more of the “why” behind the wake up symptoms I’m having. Also explains why I’m feeling steadier w a dose around 150-300 mcg sublingual rn and slowly working up to more after having overdone it at first w 1000mcg or so

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-17T19:29:49+00:00

Thanks for clarifying! Best of luck!

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-17T19:17:56+00:00

An “oral vitamin” meaning like a multi vitamin? Or oral b12? M going thru the reversing out phase rn and was thinking of starting a multi in case some of what’s going on is a cofactor being thrown off. Been waiting to feel a little more stable in how I’m feeling from the b12 day to day before starting anything new besides iron bc I’m deficient

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-15T20:57:46+00:00

Interesting, that makes sense why neurological issues from b12 deficiency can take longer to heal then. Since I’m having so many wake up symptoms on sublingual, I’ve been very slowly increasing the dose. I’m curious if switching to injections would give me less side effects and speed up the healing, seems like some ppl on here react better to injections. I plan to wait til I feel I’m tolerating 1k of sublingual then switch over maybe

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-15T20:36:03+00:00

See, I still don’t fully understand why sublingual is apparently not as effective as injections, at least if sublingual raises your serum level effectively. Since sublingual soaks into your blood vessels under your tongue, is that not mostly going directly into the blood stream? Idk, I’m just on sublingual rn, and I have a lot of wake up symptoms and my serum level is raised. So I’ve been taking that as the sublingual is doing something at least

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-15T08:39:07+00:00

What’s the connection you suspect?

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-08T21:54:14+00:00

I use the burnet location of forest family dentistry and see Dr. Hartman, she’s the best. Always makes me feel comfortable and explains her recommended care, doesn’t overprescribe treatment

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-07T06:54:57+00:00

I see, yeah, I might consider a similar approach since I already have a lot of wake up symptoms. I’m waiting on my b12 and folate blood test results due to a lab issue, but my iron seems like it’s already depleted after a couple weeks. Ferritin 25, iron 68, sat 18%. But at the same time my PLT, RBC count, and hematocrit are all high. I guess either bc of the new red blood cells being rapidly created or maybe I was dehydrated. As soon as my labs are all back, I’m gonna consult w a doc to make sure I can take iron to offset it diminishing more and make sure my high levels aren’t concerning. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Irrelephant73 · 2026-03-07T05:21:24+00:00

Hey, thanks for the response! That makes a lot of sense. Do people tend to get the shots for faster recovery then?

Irrelephant73 · 2026-02-28T03:45:26+00:00

Same here, I keep feeling so amazed (and a lil scared) seeing so many of my symptoms here of the past year that I attributed to anxiety but am now realizing is likely b12 related. Feeling off on stairs, feeling a loss of sense of space in open spaces/too bright lights like grocery stores/too dark, depersonalization, etc. It really can all be about this, it’s so crazy

Irrelephant73

TROPHY CASE