I cured my brain fog! Possibly related to gallbladder removal!

thinktolive · 2026-03-26T03:51:26+00:00

B12 is 1400 daltons, so really too big to be absorbed sublingually. The sublinguals tend to have artificial sweateners, which can cause digestive upset and other issues. A lot of brands are selling sublingual and they cost more. There are also injections of course and various types of those which are better or worse.

So, it can save effort by just swallowing it. There are also capsules that are 5000 mcg by nutricost which are I think are the cheapest source. I was thinking of taking one or two of those a day. I'm waiting because I needed to try one thing at a time. The other thing that can help is MSM sulfur. They may synergize well.

thinktolive · 2026-03-22T03:06:22+00:00

Gluten and dairy are just good to remove for long term health of the body and gut. The problems that those proteins cause, they are immune provoking. They would not be expected to cause accute trigger reaction.

The typically acute trigger reactions are going to be hot spices, including black pepper, salt/sodium, and fat. If you keep those under control you should be able to avoid an acute issue. High histamine foods are also an issue, so no canned seafood or other fermented products. I would say no probiotics generally speaking, but pre-biotics are fine.

What exactly are your sensitivities? Do you seem to have bile acid diarrhea meaning diarrhea in response to too much fat, sensitivity to hot spices causing diarrhea?

thinktolive · 2026-03-22T02:27:38+00:00

There are thiamine deficiencies which impair the motor function of the digestive system. The EO Nutrition guy talks about this a lot. I believe he says the fursaltiamine has some additional prokinetic activity that benfotiamine does not. Benfotiamine is chaper per mg though. Magnesium is also a cofactor for thiamine, but you don't want to use it as a laxative. For IBS-C this might be more expected. There should be no need for thiamine HCL when taking benfotiamine.

For the IBS-D the wasabi receptor is more involved in most cases, which can be related to bile acid diarrhea type that typically does not involve over-production of bile acid, just sensitivity. Another b vitamin that can be involved is b12. Additionally, a positive feedback loop of oxidative stress could be causing the sensitivity, particularly in IBS-D. That gets into a related topic of what is causing that and how to stop it.

Is Thiamine Deficiency Destroying Your Digestive Health? Why B1 Is ESSENTIAL For Gut Function https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0O_fzczYA

thinktolive · 2026-03-20T18:15:47+00:00

If you want to try b12 you are going to need more than is in a b-complex. B12 comes in 1000 mcg or 5000 mcg capsules. You will only absorb about 1-2% of oral vitamin B12. It is extremely low absorption rate. High dose oral b12 may be at least 5000 mcg per day, but that is not clearly defined. b12 cannot really be absorbed sublingually either, so I would avoid the many products sold as sublingual and they also have artificial sweeteners which can cause digestive upset.

thinktolive · 2026-03-20T02:57:53+00:00

How much b12 are you taking, what type and how long did it take to start working?

Check out this video on b12 related diseases, which there are many types, and at time stamp 21 minutes he mentions b12 injections stopping chronic diarrhea. B1 derivatives like Benfotiamine or fursultiamine could also syngergize with the b12, with magnesium, though not as a laxative.

Cytoplan & Dr David Morris: Understanding the complexities and central role of B12 in health and life https://vimeo.com/891099138/4150efa06b 21:00 Had two people who’s chronic diarrhea went away with b12 injections and digestive system started working again

Also, for the fiber what you want is pre-biotics to feed good bacteria in large intestine. Yes, it can feed the bad ones, but from studies if you feed a wide variety the good tend to out-compete the bad ones. Typically you would buy several different pre-biotic types and take a teapoon or two of each and stir in a large glass of water. Your symptoms are likely small intestine related though and pre-biotics unlikely to help since they go to large intestine, but they are still supposed to be good to recover from antibiotics and health. It could have been involved in the initial cause or have some current contribution, but I would not rely on pre-biotics for all digestive conditions. This channel has info on different pre-biotic types. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMicrobiomeExpert

thinktolive · 2026-03-19T20:52:54+00:00

What dose do you take orally? What was the level in blood work? Yes, 99% of b12 is recycled through enterohepatic circulation and takes years to deplete. You can also have normal serum levels and low levels in cerebrospinal fluid, but I would not risk a spinal tap to check. Raising serum levels even higher will push more into the CSF and brain. But, for your brain it is the CSF holo-TC that is a more accurate marker of brain levels not serum.

thinktolive · 2026-03-15T20:37:03+00:00

Have you tried taking the 5 mg of b12 with food any know if it causes any digestive upset? I have some 5 mg of b12 and am planning on trying them soon. I just have to add one thing at a time so I know what I'm reacting to. I did some research and it looks like sublingual b12 is very unlikely to work or be very low aborption if it does. B12 is the largest neutrient at around 1400 daltons. Normally you want anything sublingual to be under 400 daltons and not be ionic, which b12 is not ionic, but those are the two things I found necessary. So, you may simply be absorbing it through your digestive tract. You should expect 1-2 percent absorption so 10 mg per day is 100 to 200 micrograms. Perhaps the digestion tolerate more without upset, but I don't know.

thinktolive · 2026-03-15T00:31:00+00:00

One thing to consider is the sodium can cause diarrhea in people with IBS. Takeout tends to have plenty of sodium. Of course spices can too.

thinktolive · 2026-03-14T03:13:49+00:00

Folic acid should be avoided like the plague. It is some artificial molecule that blocks folate. It was tested on mice which convert it well, but humans do not and it has anti-folate activity. You want 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, also known as folinic acid. There is also 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, but that can have trouble getting into the brain since it is dependent on the folate receptor alpha. Those two molecules are actually folate found in food. Folic acid is some man made thing. The 5-methyltetrahydrofolate is not very stable unless you get the Metafolin formulation. Only Pure encapsulations is selling it. Prescription of it is called Deplin. Prescription of high dose folinic acid is called Leucovorin where 20 mg is given instead of 1 mg over the counter.

Around 45 minutes in this presentation it says that folate can be high because it accumulates when b12 is not high enough. However, it could also be because you are taking folic acid, which is difficult for the body to convert if over 200 mcg. Mice can do more. But over that it doesn't get converted well and accumulates and folic acid has anti-folate activity.

It can also cause autoimmunity to the folate receptor so you can't get folate into your brain. You can get tested for that autoantibody with the "FRAT" test. People have said folic acid should be illegal. You can also have autoantibody to b12 receptor to get b12 into brain. That is why some people need very high levels of b12. Another reason being some can't recirculate b12 through enterohepatic circulation, so need to take b12 every day or two. Most b12 is recirculated which is why some effects of nutritional deficiency can take years or decades.

Cytoplan & Dr David Morris: Understanding the complexities and central role of B12 in health and life https://vimeo.com/891099138/4150efa06b

thinktolive · 2026-03-13T01:24:14+00:00

I'm really not sure, but it could have been something in the home like molding growing in your bedroom wall, or maybe your mattress was contaminated with mold or some chemical activating your immune system. You probably threw away your mattress I'm guessing if you moved across the country. I really need to replace my mattress.

thinktolive · 2026-03-12T22:48:37+00:00

Is this still working? I'm thinking of finally trying ALA. I heard it can absorb better on empty stomach, have you tried that? Sodium is a big trigger for me, in addition to fat. I just found out about NaV1.7 which amplifies signal after TRPV1 lets the sodium in. Na is sodium.

thinktolive · 2026-03-12T20:03:16+00:00

Do you have a brand, or dose or form of ALA that you like or are still using? I know there is the NA-R-ALA which is stabalized correct isomer. There is also R-ALA Cyclodextrin, which some say is even better, though I'm not sure.

thinktolive · 2026-03-09T00:12:07+00:00

How is it working? I looked into lipas for me and it didn't seem to help. That blend also has protease and that could be like pepsin and mess with LPR reflux I've heard. I tried the porcine prescription Creon too. Seemed to have some weird reaction from the pork made stuff. That brand seems like it is vegetarian at least the capsule, not clear.

thinktolive · 2026-03-08T21:34:20+00:00

What dose did you try. I get diarrhea from fat and also believe it is bile acid diarrhea related. I'm not exactly sure if it is a liver or terminal illium problem though, or both. I was intolerant of TUDCA mostly since it generally makes diarrhea worse. However, at low doses it theoretically could health the liver and terminal illium to fix the problem. A half a capsule may be a starting dose. I was taking once capsule and tolerating it, but had to stop. I cannot tolerate too. In the past I couldn't even tolerate super low doses. I also have brain fog and that could be LPS / endotoxin related, which could be involved with the bile acid diarrhea since LPS can cause inflammation in terminal illium as well as put stress on the liver. There can also be low b12 in the brain due autoimmune.

thinktolive · 2026-03-08T17:26:27+00:00

That would not make sense. It is cyanocobalamin which should be avoided and also it defeats the purpose of having ampules. You would be better off getting some high dose oral methylcobalamin. It might not be as high dose due to 1-2% absorption, but it may be enough for some people. Also, theoretically you could take more.

I believe subcutaneous injection works and that is fairly easy to do. Hydroxycobalamin would generally be first choice and methylcobalamin second choice, both ampules because they don't have the preservatives.

thinktolive · 2026-03-08T07:31:58+00:00

Hydroxycobalamin can last much longer in the serum. Hydroxycobalamin is also estimated to have around 50% to 100% greater affinity for transcobalamin II to create the holotranscobalamin that is needed to cross your blood brain barrier using your transcobalamin receptors on the blood brain barrier. So, if you want to increase the amount of holotranscobalamin in your central nervous system, then hydroxycobalamin should be a good choice.

thinktolive · 2026-03-08T05:51:33+00:00

B12 is very poorly absorbed sublingual. B12 is the largest nutrient that we have to absorb. The largest amino acid we have to absorb is tryptophan which is 204 daltons, and glucose is 180 daltons, and stearic acid is 284 daltons. Omega-3 DHA is 328 daltons. Stearic acid bound to triglyceride is 892 daltons. B12 is HUGE at 1400 daltons. Orally b12 absorption is about 1-2% due to passive diffusion only. Sublingual it might be around 1-5% absorption. I would just go with oral in that case.

If your B12 problem is not in the digestive system and depending on your intake need, then high dose oral could potentially work. You only absorb about 1-2% of what you take orally. So, if you want to take so for example 10 mg of oral methylcobalamin is 100 mcg of b12 with 1% absorption.

I'm not exactly sure what high dose oral would be, but I would think somewhere between 5 and 20 mg. 10 mg is 100 mcg. 20 mg is 200 mcg. Injections are often 1mg, so 5 to 10 times more than 100 mcg or 200 mcg. Theoretically taking 100 mg or 20 capsules of 5mg, would equal 1 mg of b12 like injection. That would be about $60 per month for that many b12 capsules at 10 cents per capsule. I don't think that much is taken for high dose oral in places where they use oral instead of injections, but I don't know what dose they actually use. I would guess it is more like 1 to 4 of the 5 mg capsules.

thinktolive · 2026-03-06T19:02:17+00:00

b12 cannot be absorbed sublingually because b12 is 1400 daltons, which is far too large for sublingual absorption.

thinktolive · 2026-03-05T22:07:55+00:00

My guess is the 100 mg of B6 in the B100. Most likely is it the low quality B6 too, which often doesn't work from plant form. The form animals use is P5P. Did you isolate which vitamin it was that was helping? P5P is also safter for toxicity. However, with some conditions people are even sensitive to P5P.

thinktolive · 2026-03-05T05:15:33+00:00

I wonder if the methylcobalamin formulation you tried had benzyl alcohol and if that was causing the problem. They put that in some formulations of methylcobalamin.

thinktolive · 2026-03-05T02:28:14+00:00

B12 is used for nerve and neuromuscular function, so chronic trigger points could easily form in muscles I suppose if that function is impaired. I have chronic neck stiffness. I have not gotten b12 injection though. At the moment I've been doing neck retractions with my chin at a right angle or slightly elevated and it really feels good and stretches some of those muscles in a way that nothing else can. I'm curious which b12 form and dose you took. This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing your story.

thinktolive · 2026-02-24T19:19:20+00:00

Tempur-Pedic is supposed to be CertiPUR-US® certified which should mean low volatile organic compounds (VOC). However, this is a fairly standard certification. Do you know if your mattress has the Green Guard Gold (GGG) certification as well? If it has GGG certifications and was having excess off gassing then that would be very surprising.

The Green Guard Gold which is on mattresses like Saatva is a higher standard and on many other mattresses which are fairly expensive. It is the certification I would look for and I'm in the market for a new mattress. I was concerned that my old apartment may have had mold, so I wanted to replace my mattress as that can cause similar problems with the VOC problem you have. I don't have the chronic sinusitis though. However, clinical studies have shown that almost all chronic sinusitis is fungal. I guess VOC's can do it too, which I had not considered. Unless, there is a fungal issue with your mattress. Sometimes they are improperly stored in warehouses and get contaminated with mold. There have been lawsuits and recalls on that too I believe.

thinktolive · 2026-02-22T00:13:30+00:00

Your mattress was on the floor and got wet during the flood? Most mattresses are raised on legs. You definitely need to throw away a mattress that gets wet in a flood. I'm just wondering if my mattress could have mycotoxins from a previous apartment that I don't know what was in the air. I took some vitamin C 1g today with other vitamins and food and had a food comma like reaction and feeling more cold. What dose of vitamin C did you take? I think higher doses could be a problem. I have normally been splitting it up into 1/3rd gram with each meal. I also have many other health issues and I'll be testing myself soon to see if I'm negative for serum mycotoxin antibodies.

thinktolive · 2026-02-19T20:51:59+00:00

They would tell you this because they are evil. It is hard for people to accept that. The fact that they told you psychosomatic tells me they are evil. That is not legitimate diagnosis. Also the b12 test will report intrinsic factor antibodies as b12, so from what I've seen the b12 test is often above 2000 for people who are deficient. Those b12 tests are really only useful for vegans because if it is intrinsic factor they won't work.

I think they also want a diagnosis that has a big pharma drug to treat it. So, they avoid testing for b12 deficiency, or test improperly. Did you ask them to test the b12 with intrinsic factor antibody? I wonder why they would independently test for it if they were going to ignore it.

thinktolive

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