B12 side effect- Acne?

[arx]

Anyone else experienced/experiencing acne as a side effect of the active b12 protocol?
It doesn't seem to go away in my case. Please share your experiences and suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[Crux]

Hi Arx;

I've had this happen too; even with mb 12. I've been searching around to figure this out, and there's only a bit of science to support it, but it appears that the cobalt in B12 can displace zinc. So, if zinc is somewhat low, relative to cobalt, there could be side-effects, including acne.

Folate helps with copper metabolism, and it has been found in some cases with folate deficiency, there was a concurrent excess of zinc. ( This process is a real balancing act.)

It has been recommended that zinc and folate should be taken seperately. I've started taking B12,Folate, and B-complex in the morning, and zinc in the afternoon/ evening. This is working really well. I still have a small amount of acne on my back, but it's clearing away.

 

[Seven7]

I get the most horrible big painful pimples too. I will try that zinc theory!!! How much mg by the way?

 

[Crux]

Hi Inester7;

How much zinc a person needs to supplement daily is another tough call. ( Can't something be easy?)

Of course, diet, digestion, and medications must be considered. Typically, the RDA for zinc is 8-11 mgs. for females, and 11-15 mgs. for males.

I'm a female, but I'm finding that I need 15mgs of zinc in a supplement daily. ( absorption problems, medication, etc.)

When taking that amount, copper should also be supplemented, usually 1mg for every 10-15 mgs zinc. ( too much zinc with too little copper may increase fatigue, and possibly cause an autoimmune reaction. Too much zinc can lower cortisol. ( sorry to complicate this )

So, for now, I take the zinc alone in the afternooon/ evening. I divide a tablet, and take 7.5 mgs at a time, 2x daily. (It is really helping my sleep too.)

 

[Adster]

I get this also at higher doses, it's a known side effect apparently.

 

[arx]

Crux:
Thanks for the reply!
I'll work with Zinc and see how it goes.

I get this also at higher doses, it's a known side effect apparently.

Yes, I've read about it but as Crux mentioned, very little science to support it. How much do you consider a high dose?

 

[Adster]

I guess for me it's above 5mg, depending on absorption. There are papers about hydroxy causing this if you look for them, but I don't think they came up with a reason for it.

 

[place]

Arx,
Are you taking dhea? I know that it cause a great deal of acne for me. However, it could have been the raise in testerone or estrogen it caused? As soon as I stopped taking it my acne went away. Maybe the methylation has increased your hormonal production?

 

[arx]

I guess for me it's above 5mg, depending on absorption. There are papers about hydroxy causing this if you look for them, but I don't think they came up with a reason for it.

Hi Adster.
Yes, I've read about it. It is also said that mb12 gets converted to hydroxyb12 when exposed to light. So it might be the hydroxy causing it after all.

Arx,
Are you taking dhea? I know that it cause a great deal of acne for me. However, it could have been the raise in testerone or estrogen it caused? As soon as I stopped taking it my acne went away. Maybe the methylation has increased your hormonal production?

Hi place.
No, I am not taking dhea.It might be the methylation. I'll only come to know when I stop it for a while. Meanwhile, I'll work with zinc and try NOT to expose my sublingual to light. :-D

 

[arx]

Anyone tried B5 with the protocol?
I've read it helps acne.

 

[Marlène]

I had a lot of acne the first six months and then it slowly but steadily went away. As if a problem had been resolved naturally by taking B12.

 

[arx]

I had a lot of acne the first six months and then it slowly but steadily went away. As if a problem had been resolved naturally by taking B12.

That's good to hear. Freddd has mentioned increased acne as a symptom of induced and/or paradoxical folate deficiency or insufficiency.I'm 4 months in. Acne has decreased a tiny bit from the time I last posted. In this interval I've added more cofactors and upped the methylfolate dosage. Let's see how it goes.

 

[Lotus97]

The acne could be from toxins being released from methylation.

 

[Freddd]

Anyone else experienced/experiencing acne as a side effect of the active b12 protocol?
It doesn't seem to go away in my case. Please share your experiences and suggestions.

Thanks.

Please describe the circumstances, how and how often and doses of all b12s and folates please. They can all have bearing. And YES. I have had such acne dozens of times.

 

[triffid113]

Arx,
Are you taking dhea? I know that it cause a great deal of acne for me. However, it could have been the raise in testerone or estrogen it caused? As soon as I stopped taking it my acne went away. Maybe the methylation has increased your hormonal production?

DHEA (rise in testosterone) only causes acne for 1 day (and however long it takes you to recover from that one episode...for me it was 2 more days to heal). I have been taking DHEA for 4 years...only that 1 episode.

However, I was going to get in and put my 2 cents on the zinc shortage. It is very interesting that someone thinks cobalt replaces zinc?? I had never heard that.

However zinc is a REQUIRED COFACTOR of methionine synthase. I get mild breakouts when I am low on zinc (obviously not all the time since I am often low on zinc...it seems I have to be low on zinc for some time before I break out, and it's not on my face like it was from DHEA). I take high dose antioxidants and also 1g olive leaf extract (killer stuff) so maybe can fend off acne for some time before I succumb. Due to allergies I am frequently low on zinc but I always battle back and actually do not stay low except when alergies first start (until I become aware - uh, dummy, it's ALLERGIES AGAIN).

 

[triffid113]

I have been a witch doctor all my life. I should mention that in alt. med. circles, acne has always been said to be caused by either low zinc or low Vitamin A. I have been low A most of my life and yet no acne, so I tend to discount that potential cause. Although possibly a mild deficiency does not cause it.

 

[Freddd]

For me the fastest way to get acne is a HyCbl or light exposed MeCbl injection. A single injection will give me and others susceptable, acne. Folate takes me about 5 days in insufficiency to get the acne. It is after angular cheilitis and IBS for me.

 

[Johnmac]

Here is a bit of science on B12 as a cause of acne that someone on the forum showed me earlier today:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26109103

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27303708

 

[Hajnalka]

Hi, I´ve got the same problem with b12 and evil acne and recently started to take biotin. Don´t know if it helps, yet.

 

[Freddd]

I have had acne so many times it's not funny. It happens 100% of the times with "spoiled" MeCbl (HyCbl), folic acid, CyCbl, glutathione and other things that cause methyltrap. Then when I take MeCbl without enough l-methylfolate, acne results Then it becomes partial methylation block rather than methyltrap from . This can cause much confusion except that it is lack of adequate methylation that causes the acne outbreaks. Mfolate doesn't fix methyltrap causes. Mfolate only fixes those from partial methylation block. A person can move from methyltrap to partial methylation block in an hour. It is very much, a balance. If this is treated with the wrong hypothesis, it doesn't work. I haven't had an outbreak of acne since I figured out the difference between methyltrap and partial methylation block. I haven't had any trouble with MeCbl since using foil on vial and syringe or protecting any liquid MeCbl or AdoCbl from light and have been at 15mg to 30mg a day of l-methylfolate. Now if I have a partial methylation block it is low copper.and the acne isn't affected by lack of copper. Good luck. I have found a strategy that has worked 100% so far for me.

When I find the right solution, the acne loses the burn in hours and it is healing in a few more hours, gone in 3 days. When I do the wrong thing it starts appearing or worsening within hours.