u/kilogplastos-12

I’m honestly 50/50 on what form of B9 to use right now.

I know I have a severe folate deficiency, but I’m unsure which form makes the most sense if I need a high therapeutic dose, like 10+ mg/day, while recovering.

Would you guys choose folic acid, folinic acid, or 5-MTHF for high-dose treatment? I’m mainly looking for experiences from people who had a serious/long-term folate deficiency and actually had to use higher doses to recover.

I’m honestly 50/50 on what form of B9 to use right now.

I know I have a severe folate deficiency, but I’m unsure which form makes the most sense if I need a high therapeutic dose, like 10+ mg/day, while recovering.

Would you guys choose folic acid, folinic acid, or 5-MTHF for high-dose treatment? I’m mainly looking for experiences from people who had a serious/long-term folate deficiency and actually had to use higher doses to recover.

I’m honestly 50/50 on what form of B9 to use right now.

I know I have a severe folate deficiency, but I’m unsure which form makes the most sense if I need a high therapeutic dose, like 10+ mg/day, while recovering.

Would you guys choose folic acid, folinic acid, or 5-MTHF for high-dose treatment? I’m mainly looking for experiences from people who had a serious/long-term folate deficiency and actually had to use higher doses to recover.

I’m going to trial **high-dose 5-MTHF: 15 mg/day (5 mg 3x daily)**.

I’m recovering from what seems to be a **long-standing severe B12 + folate deficiency**, probably going back many years. 10+ years. I’m already doing **methyl-B12 injections**, iron, B-complex, magnesium, zinc/copper, trace minerals and the other cofactors, and my diet is also very nutrient-dense. The cofactors are in check and i get everything needed to heal.

So at this point I strongly suspect **folate is the main bottleneck**. I was already taking folinic acid + lower-dose 5-MTHF, but I don’t think it was enough for the amount of recovery my body is going through. (Inflammation needs healing and my body needs to create RBC and everything that comes with the healing phase requires high dose folate in beginning atleast?)

I’m going to keep the rest of my stack stable and see what happens with **5 mg 5-MTHF 3x daily**.

I’m going to trial **high-dose 5-MTHF: 15 mg/day (5 mg 3x daily)**.

I’m recovering from what seems to be a **long-standing severe B12 + folate deficiency**, probably going back many years. 10+ years. I’m already doing **methyl-B12 injections**, iron, B-complex, magnesium, zinc/copper, trace minerals and the other cofactors, and my diet is also very nutrient-dense. The cofactors are in check and i get everything needed to heal.

So at this point I strongly suspect **folate is the main bottleneck**. I was already taking folinic acid + lower-dose 5-MTHF, but I don’t think it was enough for the amount of recovery my body is going through. (Inflammation needs healing and my body needs to create RBC and everything that comes with the healing phase requires high dose folate in beginning atleast?)

I’m going to keep the rest of my stack stable and see what happens with **5 mg 5-MTHF 3x daily**.

I’m going to trial high-dose 5-MTHF: 15 mg/day (5 mg 3x daily).

I’m recovering from what seems to be a long-standing severe B12 + folate deficiency, probably going back many years. 10+ years. I’m already doing methyl-B12 injections, iron, B-complex, magnesium, zinc/copper, trace minerals and the other cofactors, and my diet is also very nutrient-dense. The cofactors are in check and i get everything needed to heal.

So at this point I strongly suspect folate is the main bottleneck. I was already taking folinic acid + lower-dose 5-MTHF, but I don’t think it was enough for the amount of recovery my body is going through. (Inflammation needs healing and my body needs to create RBC and everything that comes with the healing phase requires high dose folate in beginning atleast?)

I’m going to keep the rest of my stack stable and see what happens with 5 mg 5-MTHF 3x daily.

Why can folate requirements become so high during recovery from a long-standing B12/B9 deficiency?

I’ve probably been deficient for 10+ years. I’ve been taking 800 mcg folinic acid 3x/day + 250 mcg 5-MTHF 3x/day, but I’ve come to the conclusion that this may still be too low for my recovery.

I’ve got iron and the other cofactors covered, so I’m mainly wondering about folate now.

For people who had a long-term deficiency: did you also need much higher folate doses, at least in the beginning of recovery, before you started improving properly?

Why can folate requirements become so high during recovery from a long-standing B12/B9 deficiency?

I’ve probably been deficient for 10+ years. I’ve been taking 800 mcg folinic acid 3x/day + 250 mcg 5-MTHF 3x/day, but I’ve come to the conclusion that this may still be too low for my recovery.

I’ve got iron and the other cofactors covered, so I’m mainly wondering about folate now.

For people who had a long-term deficiency: did you also need much higher folate doses, at least in the beginning of recovery, before you started improving properly?

I’ve tried folate already, but it seems like my current dose may just be too low for recovery from a long-standing B12/B9 deficiency. I’m now looking more at higher-dose folinic acid or 5-MTHF.

For those who had a real folate deficiency, what doses/forms worked best for you and how did you increase them?

I’ve already had some helpful advice from people here, but more experiences/tips are always welcome.

If somebody has been struggeling with chronic mitochondria issues ( low enegry , anemia etc etc )

TTFD or benfothiamine should be taken?

Hi beautiful people,

I’m currently 7 weeks into daily methyl-B12 injections. I’m now 25 years old, and looking back I honestly think I’ve had a chronic B12 deficiency for 13+ years. It all started with low blood counts ( Chronic low-normal hemoglobin , hematocrit , RBC) and severe shortness of breath during soccer. No matter how much I trained, my cardio never improved.

About a month after starting methyl-B12 (together with high-dose folate and the other cofactors), my MCV suddenly increased to 99 fL. Before treatment it was always around 90–92 fL. I actually think it may have gone even higher because I didn’t test at the peak. My latest CBC showed it slowly coming back down to 97 fL.

My ferritin and cofactors intake through supplements also look optimal. Because i know alot of people are going to ask about this. But trust me this is covered on my part.

To me this feels like a positive sign that my bone marrow is finally responding, but I’m curious what you all think.

I still have plenty of symptoms like dry facial skin, low energy at times, and I haven’t properly tested whether my exercise intolerance has improved yet.

For those of you who recovered from a long-term B12 deficiency, what did your healing timeline look like? When did you really start noticing improvements in your symptoms? Any tips or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Beautiful people,

I’m 6–7 weeks into methyl-B12 injections, and the last 1–2 weeks I’ve been insanely tired. My muscles feel so weak, like I have no energy at all.

My cofactors are all in check, so I’m pretty confident that’s not the issue.

It’s pretty much confirmed that I’ve had chronic low B12 (and low B9), which likely caused downstream issues like anemia and possibly thyroid problems and more issues.

One thing that stood out was that after starting B12, my MCV suddenly increased to 99 fL, making me think the macrocytosis had been masked before.

Could this just be part of recovery, or could I be burning through to much iron thinking i am taking enough? while making new healthy red blood cells? I’m currently taking 30 mg elemental iron. Has anyone experienced something similar?

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how much elemental iron everyone took during recovery from a B12/B9 deficiency.

I believe I've finally found my root cause, which was primarily a B12 deficiency (with low folate as well). Interestingly, after starting methyl-B12 injections, my MCV actually increased, suggesting the macrocytosis may have been masked before, possibly by low iron availability.

My Hb, Hct and RBC had always been at the low end of normal for years rather than showing classic megaloblastic anemia.

From what I've read, the first few months of recovery can be a period where the bone marrow is producing a lot of new, healthy red blood cells, which can increase iron requirements.

I'm currently taking 30 mg elemental iron liposomal bisglycinate daily, but I'm unsure whether that's enough during this recovery phase.

For those who recovered from long-standing B12 deficiency, how much elemental iron did you take, and did you find you needed to increase it while recovering?

I’ve been trying to understand why MCV can increase after starting treatment for chronic vitamin B12 and folate (B9) deficiency.

For years, my CBC was very consistent:
MCV: 91–92 fL
Hemoglobin: consistently at the low end of normal

About three weeks ago I started treatment with daily methylcobalamin injections, adenosylcobalamin, 5-MTHF, folinic acid, a B-complex, B1, B2, iron, and other supporting cofactors.

My latest CBC now shows:
MCV: 99 fL (the highest it’s ever been)
MCHC: slightly low
Hemoglobin: still low-normal

From what I’ve read, chronic iron deficiency can keep MCV in the normal range by producing smaller red blood cells, potentially masking the macrocytosis that can occur with vitamin B12 or folate deficiency. Is that actually how it works? If so, why would treating iron deficiency allow the MCV to rise?

I’m also wondering whether the increase in MCV could reflect my bone marrow finally responding to B12 and folate treatment. As new red blood cells are produced, are they temporarily larger because DNA synthesis has normalized and because young red blood cells (reticulocytes) are naturally larger? Is it common for MCV to rise before hemoglobin starts improving?

Since my MCV has been stable around 91–92 for years and has now increased to 99 within a few weeks of starting treatment, does this generally suggest that my bone marrow is responding and producing a new population of red blood cells, or are there other explanations I should consider?

I’ve been trying to understand why MCV can increase after starting treatment for chronic vitamin B12 and folate (B9) deficiency.

For years, my CBC was very consistent:
MCV: 91–92 fL
Hemoglobin: consistently at the low end of normal

About three weeks ago I started treatment with daily methylcobalamin injections, adenosylcobalamin, 5-MTHF, folinic acid, a B-complex, B1, B2, iron, and other supporting cofactors.

My latest CBC now shows:
MCV: 99 fL (the highest it’s ever been)
MCHC: slightly low
Hemoglobin: still low-normal

From what I’ve read, chronic iron deficiency can keep MCV in the normal range by producing smaller red blood cells, potentially masking the macrocytosis that can occur with vitamin B12 or folate deficiency. Is that actually how it works? If so, why would treating iron deficiency allow the MCV to rise?

I’m also wondering whether the increase in MCV could reflect my bone marrow finally responding to B12 and folate treatment. As new red blood cells are produced, are they temporarily larger because DNA synthesis has normalized and because young red blood cells (reticulocytes) are naturally larger? Is it common for MCV to rise before hemoglobin starts improving?

Since my MCV has been stable around 91–92 for years and has now increased to 99 within a few weeks of starting treatment, does this generally suggest that my bone marrow is responding and producing a new population of red blood cells, or are there other explanations I should consider?

For those who had long-standing B12 and/or folate deficiency:

How long did it take to recover from symptoms that you’d had for years?

I’m not talking about symptoms that had only been present for a few months, but chronic issues that had been there for a long time.

Things like:
Brain fog
Poor concentration
Shortness of breath / poor cardio
Exercise intolerance
Fatigue
Vision problems or needing stronger glasses
Cold hands and feet
Dry skin

How long did it take before you noticed real improvements? Weeks, months, or even a year or longer?

I’d really appreciate hearing your recovery timeline and which symptoms were the last to improve.

Hey beautiful people with a good heart,

I think I’ve finally identified what may be the root cause of my health issues, and I’m currently addressing it with methylcobalamin injections, folate and the necessary cofactors.

However, I still feel like my thyroid is underperforming and I’m experiencing many hypothyroid-type symptoms (fatigue, cold intolerance, dry skin, low energy, etc.).

About 2 years ago I had a complete thyroid panel done:
TSH: 2.6 mU/L
Free T4: 16.5 pmol/L
Free T3: 5.5 pmol/L
Reverse T3: 309 pg/mL (reference 90–215)
Anti-TPO: 20 kU/L (negative)
Anti-TG: 0.97 IU/L (negative)

Do these results look consistent with hypothyroidism to you, or do they point to something else? My reverse T3 was elevated, while the other values were within the reference range. Still not optimal but atleast ok.

I’ve been reading about Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT/DTE) and I’m wanting to use it.
For those who have experience with DTE:
What dose did you start on (mg)
How slowly did you increase the dose?
Did you notice improvements?
Any tips or things you wish you had known before starting?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially from people who have successfully used DTE long-term.
Thanks in advance! 😊