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It always pays to ask - B12 shots

Well, I had an unexpected experience today!

Went back to my GP as SOOOOO tired and having some sleep/anxiety issues as well.

We decided that B12 may help, even though my last test for it in July came up fine. I gather from some of you that it helps regardless?

Anyway, I have to have injection weekly for 4 weeks then every two and see how it goes.

I kinda thought, thats a bit of a nuisance having to make an appointment with the nurse every week and so I asked in jest 'Could I just do the jabs myself as I had a diabetic cat a while back and I gave him lots of injections?' And the doc said 'Sure, no problem.'

So, the nurse showed me how and I gave myself my first injection today! Quite proud. Hardly even hurt at all.

So, it definately pays to ask. I can save myself a lot of time and cash this way, and what fun playing doctor to myself :)

For those of you who have had B12 injections can I expect to have boundless energy now? Even a tad more would be a blessing.
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
I haven't noticed 'boundless' energy, but I am more fatigued if I get off my faithful schedule. I usually do it right after my period. Congratulations on giving it to yourself. I make my husband do it. (I think he enjoys helping me/ inflicting pain):)
 
Have you tried taking B12/Other B's Orally Yet?

My PCP wanted me to get B12 shots after i got out of the hospital, i asked him what he thought about taking an oral supplement and he was a bit hesitant, but basically told me that i should start there and if i was still tired, to go get the shots.

I consulted my GI, he said there was no real need to get shots when i could take a pill.

I would ask about taking a pill daily vs. the injections, it's probably cheaper, and probably going to be easier on you.
 
If you look on the net it does appear that vit B12 tablets arent as effective as shots, I went to my doctor yesterday requesting vit b12 injection as my consultant suggested and the doctor who has about as much personality as a wet sock said that my levels looked fine, however I insisted as I am finding that I am exhausted pretty much all of the time - definitely need something to get me moving again. so will be interesting to see if it works for us!
 
paragraph said:
I would ask about taking a pill daily vs. the injections, it's probably cheaper, and probably going to be easier on you.
Actually it is FREE!!!!! I have reached my maximum number of scripts this year and after that they are free so I don't have to pay for the B12 and the nurse gave me the needles for free. Don't feel any different today - was hoping for a miracle!
 
Here is a nice article on B12; they mention that oral B12 may be as effective as injection. They also say that low normal B12 is not optimal and you shoul daim for a level of more than 350 pg/ml.

My last test was normal but with 237 pg/ml. Maybe I should check with my doc on this?

http://www.jfponline.com/Pages.asp?AID=4692

Oral vitamin B12 at doses of 1000 to 2000 mcg/d is a simple and cost-effective treatment option for any B12-deficient person, and may actually be superior to intramuscular replacement.5,6 A Cochrane Collaboration review of oral vitamin B12 replacement found that these high doses seemed as effective as intramuscular vitamin B12 in all B12-deficient patients—even those with pernicious anemia, Crohn’s disease, ileal resection, or malabsorption states. The authors of the review recommend a “further large, pragmatic trial in a primary care setting” to determine whether oral vitamin B12 is effective for patients with major common cases of malabsorption and to provide additional evidence for cost effectiveness
 
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My gp just got me to have a blood test today to check my b12 levels, so should find out in a few days as to the outcome
 
B-12 is interesting. The US has differnet acceptable levels than the UK/Japan.

I take Vit B-12 injections every two weeks. It gives me the boost in energy!

Here is a link to Absorption that may help....http://www.innvista.com/health/nutrition/diet/absorb.htm

Stomach absorbs 20% of the alcohol ingested, as well as some short-chain fatty acids.
Duodenum absorbs Vitamins A and B1, iron, calcium, glycerol, fatty acids, monoglycerides, amino acids, monosaccharides, and disaccharides.
Jejunum absorbs glucose, galactose, amino acids, glycerol and fatty acids, nonoglycerides, diglycerides, dipeptides, copper, zinc, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, iron, fat-soluble Vitamins D, E, and K, most of the B complex, Vitamin C, and the rest of the alcohol.
Ileum absorbs disaccharides, sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, Vitamins C, D, E, K, B1, B2, B6, B12, and most of the water.
Colon absorbs sodium, potassium, water, acids, gases, some short-chain fatty acids metabolized from plant fibers and undigested starch, and vitamins synthesized by bacteria (biotin and Vitamin K).

I had my Primary Care check every one to see if it's causing my fatigue. So far, its been Vit B-12 and Vit D.

If your body doesn't absorb the nutrients, IM is the way to go, hopefully.

jeffrey
 
kskitt said:
My gp just got me to have a blood test today to check my b12 levels, so should find out in a few days as to the outcome
well im finally gunna find out today what my levels were -i dont think there could have been anything too major as i would have thought they would have let me know
 
I have B12 shots every 4 weeks as well. I am not as tired as I was once before, but it has not given me boundless energy.

Where does everyone do their B12 shots?
 

farm

Captain Insaneo
DanM said:
I have B12 shots every 4 weeks as well. I am not as tired as I was once before, but it has not given me boundless energy.

Where does everyone do their B12 shots?
In the hip at my doc's office when I used to get them. Now I eat a B-12 vitamin from GNC that disolves in the mouth so I actually absorb it.
 
I have my wife or my sis in law give mine in the arm. I'd heard that sublinqual B12 was not as effective as the shot from various sources. The shot goes directly into your muscle and spreads quickly through the blood. The sublingual dissolves under your tongue (and tends to give me a sore under my tongue) and then more than half of the dissolved "liquid" goes down your throat and never gets absorbed. With my terminal ilium gone, any of the B12 that's swallowed does nothing for me. I don't get near the benefit from sublingual as I get from injection.

Here's another happy thought to consider. Lack of iron can leave you feeling the same symptoms, tired, listless, pale, etc, and can also cause anemia if too low. Here's the kicker. Both are needed for the creation of healthy red blood cells. I've also read that people low on one can also be low on the other (my case), which is kind of a double whammy. I'm not saying take iron, because unlike B12, you can poison yourself if you take iron you don't need. Excess B12 passes in the urine, or in the case of pernicious anemia (those who can't absorb it in the ileum) possibly gets stored in the liver till needed. A healthy person is supposed to have a good 5 year supply stored in there, so I've read. It's always a good idea for Crohn's patients to get full blood work done frequently. My old doc always ran complete blood work every month if I was flaring and about every 6 months when I wasn't.

Fun thought about that B12 liver storage. I was low on my B12, I pretty much knew it. I hadn't had a shot in a while. Went out drinking a couple times and got terrible headaches in the morning. Finally got a dose of B12. The next night I went out. Woke up without a single headache. I found that interesting.
 
Are you saying, Dan, that if you don;t have low b12 and then take it you can cause problems? My levels were tested as fine but I am anaemic. Doc said b12 can help even if you don;t have low levels so she gave it to me but could I be in danger from having it?
Have had 3 shots now and don't feel any better. Worse actually since dropping pred dose.
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
shazamataz said:
Are you saying, Dan, that if you don;t have low b12 and then take it you can cause problems? My levels were tested as fine but I am anaemic. Doc said b12 can help even if you don;t have low levels so she gave it to me but could I be in danger from having it?
Have had 3 shots now and don't feel any better. Worse actually since dropping pred dose.
No, B12 is water soluble so whatever you don't need your kidneys excrete. It would be very hard to OD on B12. You can have excessive iron intake, but that usually occurs when little kids get into the vitamins and swallow a whole bunch. Or there is a disease called haemochromatosis(SP?) where people have extreme iron build up in their blood. I think it is genetic. The fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,K...are the ones that are stored in your fat cells. You could potentially OD, but I think it would be very difficult.
 
Pretty much what IMP said above.

"I'm not saying take iron, because unlike B12 (meaning the sentence doesn't apply to the B12), you can poison yourself if you take iron you don't need. Excess B12 passes in the urine (meaning it's nearly impossible to OD or hurt yourself with excess B12), or in the case of pernicious anemia (those who can't absorb it in the ileum) possibly gets stored in the liver till needed."

Yeah, I've pretty much read everywhere that it's pretty difficult to OD on B12 because it'll pass in the urine, meaning what your body doesn't use or store you just pee out.
 
That's good to know. Pity I don't feel any better on it, but perhaps the pred withdrawal would stop me noticing any benefits?
 
Dunno. Sometimes I feel it the next day, sometimes a couple days from the injection and other times I don't notice much of anything. No idea why. Could be that my body is just so drained that it just burns through it just building itself back up.
 
Am I the only person who thinks that the B12 injections really fffing hurt, I had my first one yesterday in my arm and was like very nasty bee sting, I have to have another two this week then three next week then after that one every three months, so do I have a low pain thresh hold or should I slap the nurse!
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
PERDITA said:
Am I the only person who thinks that the B12 injections really fffing hurt, I had my first one yesterday in my arm and was like very nasty bee sting, I have to have another two this week then three next week then after that one every three months, so do I have a low pain thresh hold or should I slap the nurse!
Mine don't hurt at all....I take them in the Rear...Maybe ask for it in a dfferent location.
 
Apparantly the ileum is where b12 is absorbed so if your ileum is fine and your diet is good I guess you should be okay. My crohns is in the ileum but my b12 levels are normal so either my damage is not that bad or, i dunno really. As I said it hasn't really helped but with so many things going in it's hard to tell whats doing what!
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
Peaches said:
Yay - that is great!

I have no idea if my B12 levels have ever been checked. Does anyone know if you don't have active disease in your ileum, does that usually mean you should be ok?
My B12 levels are on the low normal range...But my MCV( I think this stands for mean corpusal value) red blood cells are always enlarged, which signals that I need more B12....I think that's how it works. Been a while since I thought about lab values. Your hubby could probably give a better answer.??
 
I was having b12 injections for 5 months, but now my levels are normal and I can maintain it with just a pill form of a supplement. I did notice a bit more energey, but nothing compared to how I felt after my iron infusion!
 
PERDITA said:
Am I the only person who thinks that the B12 injections really fffing hurt, I had my first one yesterday in my arm and was like very nasty bee sting, I have to have another two this week then three next week then after that one every three months, so do I have a low pain thresh hold or should I slap the nurse!
i have mine in alternate upper arms every 3 months, and yesssss they sting!

because i'm trying to show my kid not to be scared of needles, i sit there smiling through the pain for her sake. what a brave mummy i am. lol
 
Peaches said:
Yay - that is great!

I have no idea if my B12 levels have ever been checked. Does anyone know if you don't have active disease in your ileum, does that usually mean you should be ok?
I have had my ileum removed and my levels are fine, i think a lot of it is how your body works. But yeah if i remember correctly then b12 is absorbed in the ileum
 
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