I just thought I'd share that I've had a dramatic response to vitamin B12 injections from my doctor. He had told me I was deficient due to malabsorption problems and yeast from the mercury toxicity. I cannot believe how much it has relieved the debilitating fatigue I was experiencing. If anyone else out there is suffering from mercury induced fatigue, demand that your doctor start giving you vitamin B12 injections as it may greatly help.

Sandra

B12 methylates mercury (changes mercury into its more toxic form, methylmercury). Methylmercury is fat-soluble and because of this it can cross the blood-brain barrier, the placenta, and other cell membranes.

Ironically, mercury toxic patients are low in B12 and suffer as a result. Another mercury-related delima. What to do?

I forgot about the methylation issue. However, do you know whether only one chelator will take methylmercury out of the body or can all of them do it? For example, I think that ALA does not remove methylmercury, but DMSA does? I think since I'm going to be undergoing chelation soon, I will keep taking the B12 shots to alleviate my condition and be able to function since I'm hopefully going to get the mercury out anyway?

Sandra

More on B12...

Homocysteine: an amino acid which, when elevated, presents a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease; it damages the inner lining of arteries and promotes blood clots.

B12 is vital in regulating homocysteine levels. Without B12, homocysteine levels increase.

Mercury toxic patients often don't have the ability to process B12 in such a way that it can regulate homocysteine. What does this mean?

The rise in heart disease is probably due in-large to mercury toxicity.

Because of the B12-homocysteine connection, B12 can alleviate fatigue thus making mercury toxic patients feel better, emotionally and physically.

I have been only taking B1 and B6 because of the methylation issue, but now I am almost out of those and have been considering trying to go back to a B complex as I know they say it is better to take all the Bs. Cutler talks of the importance of methylation in the body, but how can one know which is the lesser of the two evils <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I've read that too much B6 can damage nerves. As much as 10mg a day taken for months is thought likely to lead to nerve damage. I'm wary therefore of taking any B6 Vit supplement that is a lot more than the RDA.

I'm not sure where you read this, but I've checked multiple sources and the above information is not correct.

B6 is considered relatively non-toxic. Intravenous doses of 200 mg have proved non-toxic, and daily oral doses of 100 to 300 mg have been given to alleviate drug-induced neuritis (nerve inflammation) without side effects.

Side-effects from B6 are rare. However, "huge doses" of 2,000 to 6,000 mg of B6 daily can cause side-effects such as numbness in the hands and feet, in which case supplementation should be stopped if such symptoms begin to develop.

Pregnant and lactating women usually will not want to take more than 100mg, while other adults can take 200 to 300mg daily (although occasional problems have been reported in this range).

It's important to note that B6 increases the bioavailability of magnesium. Mercury toxic people are often deficient in magnesium.

You might want to check out these references, which I use all the time:

The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book

Nutrition Almanac

The Natural Pharmacy

Laura, what are your thoughts on my B12/ methylation question?

I read it on the back of a supplement box. It had a warning, saying that prolonged taking of high amounts of B6 (i.e. 2000% RDA) could result in neurological problems. I checked this up on the internet, and found sites saying the same thing.

hi demi

i have read this also. I have seen a paper from the ministry of agriculture and fisheries which says that high doses of vitamin b6 can cause neurological damage.

Do you all take any B vitamins? if so, which ones.

I just read an indepth article on the way B12 works in the body and they also mentioned the importance of B6 and said that because of the process of B6 getting rid of homocysteine by the transulfuration pathway, that you could induce a neuropathy in giving VERY LARGE does to a HEALTHY individual. Unfortunately, probably no one looking at this site falls into that category.