For the past few months it seems like my energy levels have been down. I take b 12 pills everyday and I have been tested for anemia (which I have). I have been taking the pills for about a year and a half (when I was diagnosed with CD). I also had surgery in 2013 to remove a section of my colon. I am wondering if I should talk to my GI about switching to injections or something else. I don't see him again until middle May (that is the earliest time I could get in to see him). When I do see him in May I will be having blood work done then. So I was just wondering if anyone has taken the pills vs injections. Thanks all!
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B12 pill vs injections
- Thread starter guitarjamie03
- Start date
just got my results back for b12 and they are normal, i have b12 methylcobalamin everday in my b multivitamins, and every 2 weeks i take b12 adenosyl cobalamin. all oral doses no injections. i have inflammation present but my diarhea is controlled, apparently this has worked for me and my disease severity hasnt caused many issues in the absorption of these vitamins. adenosylcobalamin form i take is sublingual tho and its absorption has little to do with the state of the intestine.
There are several effective options outside of injections. Sublingual is good, I read a lot about it but never actually tried it. I switched to transdermal patch from pills and my b12 levels have been high ever since. I noticed a big differencr after about 5 days. I started sleeping much better and my fatigue slowly started to dissipate.
nogutsnoglory
Moderator
If your bloods reveal low b12 after oral supplementation you may very well want to try sublingual at a high dose which works for many people. If that still fails most people report great success with the injections. The schedule will depend on how depleted you are and how quickly you deplete but if shouldn't be too often.
Bump.
I had my first injection 6 weeks ago, but only one. I'd read somewhere the normal thing was to have something like 8 in 2 weeks, then once a month, then every 3 months. The nurse was surprised too and double checked with the doctor, but he said once every 3 months.:confused2:
But I've been feeling quite tired again, so I found some pills in the supermarket that are 20,000% RDA ("for brain function"). On that basis, then although the terminal ileum absorbs 99% of B12 and I don't have one, I still ought to get 2x RDA. I did feel a little better, but it's hard to be sure about these things.
I'm now trying a patch. "No more feeling tired or sluggish" it says in the ad - wouldn't it be great if that were true? We'll see.
Haven't tried sublingual, but something I read said it was nonsense and it in fact just went down into your stomach and was absorbed in the normal way.
I've no desire to go back to the doctors any more than is necessary, so maybe a split strategy is a good answer.
I had my first injection 6 weeks ago, but only one. I'd read somewhere the normal thing was to have something like 8 in 2 weeks, then once a month, then every 3 months. The nurse was surprised too and double checked with the doctor, but he said once every 3 months.:confused2:
But I've been feeling quite tired again, so I found some pills in the supermarket that are 20,000% RDA ("for brain function"). On that basis, then although the terminal ileum absorbs 99% of B12 and I don't have one, I still ought to get 2x RDA. I did feel a little better, but it's hard to be sure about these things.
I'm now trying a patch. "No more feeling tired or sluggish" it says in the ad - wouldn't it be great if that were true? We'll see.
Haven't tried sublingual, but something I read said it was nonsense and it in fact just went down into your stomach and was absorbed in the normal way.
I've no desire to go back to the doctors any more than is necessary, so maybe a split strategy is a good answer.
nogutsnoglory
Moderator
Please keep us posted on the patch. I also heard of several shots first but my doctor is having me do one weekly.
I have b12 anemia too
They started me on weekly injections, then switched to monthly
Believe me when I tell you I have no need to look @ the calendar when my jab is due, as my tail starts really dragging about the 3 week mark after
Had the same prob with mtx
Started on injections for 6 months then got switched to 10 tabs @ a time that did nothing
Rheumy insisted I go back to injection & flat out told me 60 tabs wouldn't absorb
They started me on weekly injections, then switched to monthly
Believe me when I tell you I have no need to look @ the calendar when my jab is due, as my tail starts really dragging about the 3 week mark after
Had the same prob with mtx
Started on injections for 6 months then got switched to 10 tabs @ a time that did nothing
Rheumy insisted I go back to injection & flat out told me 60 tabs wouldn't absorb
On the patches, it's a bit inconclusive. 24 hours after the first one I did feel a bit better, but then really crashed the following evening - I was feeling so bad I was thinking about going to A&E. The second one definitely did work, and I felt a lot better for a weekend. Then I went back to see my GP who did a test and agreed to give me monthly injections for a few months starting straight away, and that really did work. The test showed my levels were "at the low end of the normal range" - normal being 200 around here, and that my iron was low again (so I'm back on iron tablets).
2 1/2 weeks after the injection I was starting to feel a bit lousy again, so stuck on another patch which helped, and today I have on #4.
So I think they do work, but although they're meant to be the same amount as the injections (1mg), they're not an alternative to the injections. Obviously it needs to get through your skin, and that must vary enormously from person to person. The other thing is I bought these off Amazon, and they look like stickers you'd use on a chart rather than anything medical. So who knows what kind of quality control is involved.
2 1/2 weeks after the injection I was starting to feel a bit lousy again, so stuck on another patch which helped, and today I have on #4.
So I think they do work, but although they're meant to be the same amount as the injections (1mg), they're not an alternative to the injections. Obviously it needs to get through your skin, and that must vary enormously from person to person. The other thing is I bought these off Amazon, and they look like stickers you'd use on a chart rather than anything medical. So who knows what kind of quality control is involved.