Are you still doing great with B12 ?
I am! I just self-injected 1mg hydrocobalamin this morning. So far I've had a half-dozen shots at the doctor's office (5mg methylcobalamin, $35), and ten shots self-injected (1mg hydrocobalamin, $1.50).
My energy isn't constant, but I'm able to easily exercise every day, and even jog until my leg muscles tire. I have much more stamina and clear-headedness, and I don't find myself fighting to stay awake at odd moments. I can handle more noise and activity without feeling depleted (I can almost shop comfortably at Walmart now. Ha.) Before, if I tried to exercise, my brain would shut down and try to send me to sleep; I never was able to exercise to the point of my leg muscles feeling tired or my lungs aching. It's hard to explain-- but, for example, if I went on a walk with my family, I'd soon feel an almost-irresistible urge to curl up on the edge of the trail and fall asleep. I'd have to fight to stay awake and keep up. And I'd get weirdly out of breath. Or I would try to make myself exercise for 20 minutes, but then would have to spend a half-hour passed out on the couch. I managed, but life was more difficult than it should have been. I was dependent on a large number of supplements just to feel okay. I also had tingly feet and hands that would get better and worse throughout the day. And memory was iffy-- If I wanted to retrieve something, it would often stay just out of reach, on the tip of my tongue, behind a veil. I became adept at immediately substituting words as I talked, which is okay but tiring in itself. Scents were very strong-- I would get a headache from strong perfume in the room. I looked into ME/CFS, MS, narcolepsy, Pall's NO/ONOO, Buteyko breathing, genetics, thyroid, many elimination diets (gluten, casein, oxalate, AIP, etc). Many things helped a little (B12 subliguals, Metafolin, potassium, calcium, Allithiamine, cinnamon, minerals, Naturethroid, increasing CO2) . I thought my B12 was fine because my blood markers were fine (not just serum B12, but homocysteine, MMA, MCV, iron, etc.). So glad I kept reading and experimenting after all these years.
I still have some tingling, still have some breathlessness and a little fatigue at odd times, but everything is much better. I'm starting to recognize the signs for needing a B12 shot-- I feel a little depressed, a little tired and overwhelmed, get breathless climbing stairs, feel a little foggy-brained.
Probably more info than you wanted, but I'm hoping someday someone will find this post, and figure out their problem in 15 minutes instead of 15 years.
*edit: In case it helps someone else, one clue may have been my bilirubin level. When it first became elevated, my dr tested me for hepatitis, which was negative. She then told me I had Gilbert's (Zee-beahr's) syndrome. However-- my bilirubin didn't stay high all the time. It would descend to the normal ranges sometimes-- when I was taking a lot of folate, I think. On my last blood test, my bilirubin was normal. I had to change my makeup shade because now I'm more pink and less yellow (i.e. I'm back to cool instead of warm shades).
