Amalgam fillings and B12

melbury

I have been worried for years about amalgam fillings, but read this today and it really scared me as I have been taking sublingual methylcobalamin b12 for well over a year to try and combat paresthesia/tingling in legs and feet.

https://healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/posts/131288005/amalgam-fillings-and-b12

Surely nearly everyone in the country has some amalgam fillings, so are they all precluded from using this supplement? It has to be the sublingual one for me as I have positive parietal cell antibody and cannot absorb it through my stomach.

Has anyone else heard of this?

summerspring

No I haven't and while I have my doubts about amalgam filings I also have one or two doubts about that website. Is it a blog? If you take their advice garlic and coriander will help purge mercury from the body :undecided

brook2jack

There are no peer reviewed scientific studies to back this up what so ever. http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chelation.html is an excellent article to start to explain some of the science.

I trust the b12 was prescribed by a doctor after blood tests and you are being monitored because excessive intake can cause problems and has risks in itself.

melbury

brook2jack wrote: »

There are no peer reviewed scientific studies to back this up what so ever. http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chelation.html is an excellent article to start to explain some of the science.

I trust the b12 was prescribed by a doctor after blood tests and you are being monitored because excessive intake can cause problems and has risks in itself.

Everything I read about B12 says that you cannot overdose on it as it is a water soluble vitamin and any excess just gets flushed out of your system if not needed. However, please could you tell me what problems and risks there are in taking B12?

I am very cautious about taking any supplements and always read up thoroughly beforehand, but was getting desperate having to wait 7 months to see a neurologist (which turned out to be a complete waste of time anyway).

Saw GP last week and he is sending me for more blood tests as tingling is getting worse:(

BTW I did tell him that I had been taking B12 supplements.

melbury

summerspring wrote: »

No I haven't and while I have my doubts about amalgam filings I also have one or two doubts about that website. Is it a blog? If you take their advice garlic and coriander will help purge mercury from the body :undecided

It is a website I joined when I was diagnosed hypothyroid as there are a lot of people in the same boat on there. It also seems to cover many other health issues, but have to admit that sometimes some information posted does sound a bit odd.

Toothsmith

melbury wrote: »

I have been worried for years about amalgam fillings, but read this today and it really scared me as I have been taking sublingual methylcobalamin b12 for well over a year to try and combat paresthesia/tingling in legs and feet.

But from here...

http://vitamins.lovetoknow.com/Side_Effects_of_Too_Much_Vitamin_B12

In rare cases, excess B12 supplementation may cause some numbness or tingling in the arm, hands and face.

There is an awful lot of rubbish on t'interweb about amalgam fillings. Any free mercury coming from them is quickly removed by the kidneys anyway (And we are talking incredibly tiny amounts).

If you are really worried about mercury being taken up and stored in your body - then the thing to avoid is fish! They have mercury compounds that aren't excreted, and are taken up by the body. The levels are still tiny though - and really not worth worrying about.

brook2jack

There are also studies showing both an increase in rates of cancer and an increase in death rates from cancer in those taking b12 supplements http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20091117/folic-acid-b12-may-increase-cancer-risk

There is also an association with increasing deaths from heart attack,stroke and all causes in those with problems with kidney function taking b12 supplements.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/study-links-high-dose-b-vitamins-with-kidney-decline-in-people-with-kidney-disease/

However if blood tests reveal you have a problem such as pernicious anaemia then you will be prescribed b12 in a controlled and safe fashion which will have positive effects on your health.

melbury

brook2jack wrote: »

There are also studies showing both an increase in rates of cancer and an increase in death rates from cancer in those taking b12 supplements http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20091117/folic-acid-b12-may-increase-cancer-risk

There is also an association with increasing deaths from heart attack,stroke and all causes in those with problems with kidney function taking b12 supplements.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/study-links-high-dose-b-vitamins-with-kidney-decline-in-people-with-kidney-disease/

However if blood tests reveal you have a problem such as pernicious anaemia then you will be prescribed b12 in a controlled and safe fashion which will have positive effects on your health.

That is really scary, especially as I am an ex-smoker:eek: Why is there always so much to worry about?

I only started taking B12 supplements in desperation, having tried Osteopath, Chiropractor and even Bowen Therapy, just to try and sort out the tingling numbness in my legs and feet. The neurologist didn't seem at all interested in my concerns and the only outcome was that it was discovered I have that positive parietal cell antibody.

My B12 level from blood test was towards the low end at 238, so I don't think I will be overdosing by taking 1000mcg per day. I also take ionic magnesium (Mega-Mag), as I heard that this is something a lot of people are deficient in, which again can result in tingling.

Honestly it is all a minefield and I am getting nowhere with doctors, so just don't know what to do.

melbury

Toothsmith wrote: »

But from here...

http://vitamins.lovetoknow.com/Side_Effects_of_Too_Much_Vitamin_B12



There is an awful lot of rubbish on t'interweb about amalgam fillings. Any free mercury coming from them is quickly removed by the kidneys anyway (And we are talking incredibly tiny amounts).

If you are really worried about mercury being taken up and stored in your body - then the thing to avoid is fish! They have mercury compounds that aren't excreted, and are taken up by the body. The levels are still tiny though - and really not worth worrying about.

I agree about a lot of scaremongering on the internet. So many people are spending a fortune having amalgam removed, but this is probably even worse than leaving well alone.

I do wish though that dentists had been more honourable in the 1960's/1970's and not ruined what were perfectly good children's teeth just to make money. It is an absolute travesty and I just wish my mother had not bothered to take us to the dentist.:(

However, thanks for the reassurance about the tiny amounts.

brook2jack

widespread use of fluoride in toothpaste in the UK only came about in the 70s.

Even today when decay rates are supposed to have fallen in my area 50% of children will have had decay by the time they are five.

In the 70s that decay rate would have been higher in 1973 78 % of 8 year olds had active decay. Not only that but the materials and techniques that are available today would not have been available then. The average 35 year old had 13 teeth left.

The rates of dental decay in the 60s and 70s was massively higher than today the average 15 year old had 10 missing,decayed or filled teeth. This was world wide not just in the UK http://www.scanderra.com/homepage/assets/3.pdf

The high rates of fillings had very little to do with "dishonourable" dentists and a lot to do with increasing consumption of sweet things (decay rates dropped dramatically during the war and then rose after rationing ended) and no fluoride tooth paste.

Interestingly decay rates are rising again in the young because of the increasing amount and frequency of sugar eaten.

As to not going to the dentist....... Today the biggest reason for a child to need a hospital stay is dental decay. I don't have the figures for the 60s and 70s but certainly the rates of general anaesthetics needed for children needing teeth out for decay would have been far higher than today.

Here is a bit of information on the recent history of decay etc https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=K035mlSXAAsC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=caries+children+1960s&source=bl&ots=LSHTI22hqk&sig=tH0sOkWbQqjahPQH-aL15f7LQSQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEEQ6AEwCTgeahUKEwiIn8Oi47DHAhVtcNsKHWtHBnA#v=onepage&q=caries%20children%201960s&f=false

melbury

brook2jack wrote: »

widespread use of fluoride in toothpaste in the UK only came about in the 70s.

Even today when decay rates are supposed to have fallen in my area 50% of children will have had decay by the time they are five.

In the 70s that decay rate would have been higher in 1973 78 % of 8 year olds had active decay. Not only that but the materials and techniques that are available today would not have been available then. The average 35 year old had 13 teeth left.

The rates of dental decay in the 60s and 70s was massively higher than today the average 15 year old had 10 missing,decayed or filled teeth. This was world wide not just in the UK http://www.scanderra.com/homepage/assets/3.pdf

The high rates of fillings had very little to do with "dishonourable" dentists and a lot to do with increasing consumption of sweet things (decay rates dropped dramatically during the war and then rose after rationing ended) and no fluoride tooth paste.

Interestingly decay rates are rising again in the young because of the increasing amount and frequency of sugar eaten.

As to not going to the dentist....... Today the biggest reason for a child to need a hospital stay is dental decay. I don't have the figures for the 60s and 70s but certainly the rates of general anaesthetics needed for children needing teeth out for decay would have been far higher than today.

Here is a bit of information on the recent history of decay etc https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=K035mlSXAAsC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=caries+children+1960s&source=bl&ots=LSHTI22hqk&sig=tH0sOkWbQqjahPQH-aL15f7LQSQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEEQ6AEwCTgeahUKEwiIn8Oi47DHAhVtcNsKHWtHBnA#v=onepage&q=caries%20children%201960s&f=false

I hear what you are saying, but my point is that I didn't actually have many sweets and always brushed my teeth twice a day, so really believe I would have fared better if I hadn't been taken to the dentist.

Someone I know the same age as me was not taken and they haven't got a mouthful of amalgam like me. My current dentist was telling me that amalgam weakens teeth over and I have had quite a few fractures because of this. It just seems such a crying shame to me that perfectly healthy teeth were ruined.

BTW the dentist we were taken to was a complete and utter !!!!!! - as children we NEVER had any injections to numb our mouths (this was only for adults) and if you moved he was really nasty and shouted at you to keep still, even though that drilling caused pain. My brother used to be physically sick before a trip to the dentist he was so terrified.

I would also say that my own son who is now 33 years old has just one small white filling in his mouth, which was done last year. He always went to the dentist every six months, but the difference was by the 1980's dentists didn't drill for cash, it was far more about keeping teeth intact and healthy.