• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

High dose vitamin B1 (thiamine)

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
I just got some cocarboxylase. I don't think I'll try mega doses but we'll see if it does anything.
 
Messages
14
Thanks halcyon!

As cocarboxylase doesn´t need to be converted by the body, it should be absorbed a lot easier and more, i.e. it could very well be that it takes a lot less than 1500 mg to have the same effect as the synthetic preparation.
At http://www.raysahelian.com/thiamine.html I found this:
"…
Q. I've read that thiamine has to be converted to cocarboxylase in the body. My question is would thiamine supplements already in the cocarboxylase form and sub-lingual (let's say 25 mg) be as effective as a much larger dose (maybe 100 mg or more) of Thiamine HCI (hydrochloride) in a capsule? Swallowing the cap would be subject to stomach acid, but sub-lingual would be absorbed directly into the bloodstream would it not?
A. Yes, most likely the sublingual and cocarboxylase form would be more potent than thiamine hydrochloride in capsule form. However, as the benefits may perhaps be better, there is a potential that the side effects would be more pronounced. A high dose or quick absorption is not necessarily healthier. But each person and each medical condition being treated is different."


Please keep us posted about your experiences.

The only (mainly) vitamin B1 product with the active form I can find, is the one from Source Naturals. Do you use another?
 

halcyon

Senior Member
Messages
2,482
I haven't noticed anything groundbreaking but I've only been on it a few days. Definitely no negative effects so far. I am using the Source Naturals 25mg sublingual.
 

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
I think the sublingual should work a lot better than other forms (except for injections, which are really pricey).

This study mentions that only 4.5 milligrams of regular oral thiamine is absorbed, even in healthy patients (Edit: but see study 2 posts below -- this one may be incorrect):

http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/40/2/155

"In normal subjects, the absorption of thiamine does not exceed 4.5 mg even when large doses of thiamine are administered orally…"
 
Last edited:

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
Should note however that that's just one study -- don't know if it's true. Doesn't seem to make sense…

???
 

Rand56

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Myrtle Beach, SC
Not true according to this study:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6904/12/4

"In conclusion, our study demonstrates that high blood levels of thiamine can be achieved rapidly with oral thiamine hydrochloride. Thiamine is absorbed by both an active and unsaturable passive transport mechanism up to 1500 mg."

hi Danny

Who knows which study is more accurate, but I've been taking 1500 mg's of thiamine HCL lately. I tried it on it's own awhile back with no great effects, but I am seeing good progress when I couple the thiamine with riboflavin.

Edit: I need to add that I don't believe I have CFS/ME nor do I believe I have methylation issues. Been there, done that before with methylation supps. So..YMMV and anyone else's for that matter. I'm not saying for anyone to automatically jump up to taking 1500 mg's of thiamine HCL, although I had no issues ramping up to that amount quickly. Better sustained energy is what I'm noticing.
 
Last edited:

Rand56

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Myrtle Beach, SC
@heapsreal
@adreno
@Hip

Do any of you guys know if allithiamine would still be good past it's expiration date? I recently went thru my "Mt Everest"<LOL> high stack of supps I've used in the past and I found some allithiamine. Exp. date on it is 05/14 and it has not been kept in a refridgerator. It's not a cheap supp and I still have about 2/3rd's of a bottle left. If any of you guys or anyone else for that matter doesn't know, that's cool. Thanks
 

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
hi Danny

Who knows which study is more accurate, but I've been taking 1500 mg's of thiamine HCL lately. I tried it on it's own awhile back with no great effects, but I am seeing good progress when I couple the thiamine with riboflavin.

That's important that you're taking riboflavin with it, as there is documented evidence that high-dose thiamine can deplete riboflavin. (From a book called "Nutrient Interactions".)

I've backed off on the thiamine I was taking -- and was recently taking the high-dose 500mgs/wmagnesium -- because my eyes were getting worse (dry, then watering, goopy, and extremely sensitive to light). Am trying to increase vitamin A as well, and possibly methylfolate/b12 to lower histamine levels.

p.s. I'm glad I"m not the only one with a Mt.Everest-high pile of supplements. I really need to get rid of at least half of them, if not more. :)
 
Messages
14
Thanks for all the inputs!
I have taken the thiamine as recommended in the article for the past two weeks - except that I´m not taking the tablets which include the magnesium. But I´m supplementing magnesium with the "Mezotrace, Calcium / Magnesium, Powdered Minerals".
So far I can´t notice a big difference - though possibly a slight improvement in my energy levels.
One thing I do notice is that after the first week my sleep has very much improved to a level, where I can call it almost normal (or rather: healthy) - meaning: from an average of 5 hours of irregular sleep, to an average of 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Even though last night was again more like the previous unhealthy pattern.
To put all this into perspective, I must admit that I had better sleep and energy for days in a row before (since my sudden breakdown with CFS-like symptoms).
Still, I want to try the V1 tablets with the magnesium included as soon as possible.
BTW, there are ones from Source Naturals for a much lower cost than those mentioned in the article, and with the exact same composition.

I will keep you posted on my further developments.
 

Jammy88

Senior Member
Messages
163
Location
Italy
Hi,
I take 200-300 mg Allithiamine a day. It really makes the difference with my condition, as my legs where deeply involved from the beginning.

My CFS trigger is viral (unknown).

Best
 

presently_distant

Everywhere and Nowhere
Messages
20
Location
Denver, CO
I've taken the source naturals sublingual cocarboxylase (coenzyme B1/thiamin) And took a bit too much the first day...5 of the tablets (figuring at 25mg per, I'd be within a reasonable dosage). There wasn't any other huge detrimental effect other than restless sleep...woke up what felt like every 20 minutes.

Without sufficient magnesium (I'm deficient, and I'd bet many others on here are) the enzymes thiamin (TPP) work through aren't nearly as effective. And maybe this accounts for why it's not as effective for some?

I hope the effect I receive from thiamin is more of a "start up" reaction than anything else and if it isn't maybe there's some way to mitigate it? Although maybe I REALLY just need to take half a tab sublingually instead of five, lol.
 
Messages
14
Thanks presently_distant!
At what time(s) of the day did you take them, did you take any magnesium with it, and if so what sort and how much?
 

presently_distant

Everywhere and Nowhere
Messages
20
Location
Denver, CO
I take 1 magnesium taurate (125mg per capsule) while taking one of the Source Naturals cocarboxylase sublinguals. what I do is crush up their sublinguals into a powder and put it on the bottom of my lip...it works much better and dissolves pretty fast. But I'm a bit unsure of the results. It isn't exactly a straight forward energetic feeling for me, but I know I definitely need it.