B-12 Shots

[SassyLassie]

Hi~My doctor has prescribe B-12 shots, 1mg daily in the Hydoxycobolamin form. Well, I have been on it for over 10 days, and I do NOT feel different. Have any of you done the shots, and if so, how do you feel? Mine are preservative free and they do not hurt too badly when I inject them. I feel I should feel some better, but, I don't, any ideas?

[laura1967]

How often are you doing them Sassy? You have to build up for a while before you can go weekly or bi-weekly. I give myself B12 shots....it took a little while before I felt a definate difference. Now I feel a difference if I do not give myself a shot! :)
It also depends how low your level was. Do you know where it was at?

[SassyLassie]

Right now, she wants me to give myself a shot everyday and then later, start to taper off. I have not been on them too long, just maybe 10 days. I had a gap in between when I had to get more, and this batch is not agreeing with me, it is burning and such. I asked the compounding pharmacist, and he said it could be the buffer solution, so, I am to stop the shots and see him this week and he will make a trial shot with a different amount of buffer and one without, the one that feels the best, is the one he will use. Also, he said that the Methylcobalim is better than the hydroxo, what kind do you use?
I don't know my B-12 level, it was not too high, and I do not assimilate anything I take orally, so, that is why we are trying the injections.

[Paxiled]

Have you tried the sublingual B12?  It usually works pretty well, since it goes pretty quickly into the bloodstream.   Just asking, since the shots are proving uncomfortable.  Source Naturals also makes a coenzymated B12 that should be pretty absorbable.  The methyl is supposed to be the most absorbable, the cyano the least.  And you should feel some energy from a shot of B12, at least, if nothing else.  That's a pretty healthy dose.

[laura1967]

Yes the Methyl is the best form.....I use the Cyanocobalamine, because that is the only type the Pharmacy carries that I order from.
The progress of how you feel absolutely is determined by how low your levels were and how long it takes to build up in your system.
For some if you have a very low level, it can take a little while before you see results.
I myself tried every sublingual B12 on the market I could find and taking 5,000 mcg every day and could not obtain a mid normal range.
Where are you injecting? I do mine in the thigh and rub the area as soon as the injection is in....helps keep it from getting sore.
Us thyroid patients have a tendency not to absorb things as well as most.
See if you can call your Dr's office and ask what your level was.  :)

[SassyLassie]

I tried a good sub lingual form, it did nothing but make my wallet empty. It seems like no matter what I take, it does not help. I mean, no matter what, the problems I take a certain thing for are not helped by anything, I think I have an absorption problem, I would like a test to find out. Like I said, I feel absolutely nothing after a shot, no energy, nothing, if anything, sometimes my depression is made worse by them, see how weird I am?
My level was in the normal range, but, she said the labs have lowered that as so many people are low, so they made low the normal range, sounds dumb to me.
Are there any pictures that show where to give a shot, I do the thigh, on the side, but, I am not sure if that is right.
I am in the process of looking for a new doctor, she has not answered any of my e-mails and has virtually ignored me, I need help, and if she is tired of helping me, then it is time to move on.

[SassyLassie]

I just found my blood work for the B-12, the value is 475, which the lab says is normal. They say normal is between 247 to 911.
My Folic acid is normal too, it is 12.3 and normal is 5.4 to 24.0
These were drawn in May of this year.
As I said, my doc said that it was low and the labs have changed their values as the entire population is low.
Oh, and isn't Folic acid needed to help B-12 work?

[Paxiled]

B12 tends to work synergistically with Folate and B6, so too much of any of them can deplete the others.  However, when you need more of one temporarily, you do go higher for awhile.  Doing it for a lengthy period of time can cause depletions of the other two.  But if your level is normal, that could explain why you're not feeling anything.  B12 stores in the body for awhile, so you don't actually need to eat it every day for a normal person.  Most people who get shots aren't sick, they do it for the energy burst.  If you don't feel anything, maybe it's just not what you need.  

[laura1967]

Make sure you are taking a B100 complex every day as well. Actually I take a liquid B complex so i absorb properly. I would say that 247 is too low as well.....the top normal range in my lab is 1100.
If you go to youtube you can find RN's on there that will show you how to give a intramuscular shot properly. My fiancee's mom is a nurse, so she watched and taught me properly and then i watched the video's as well.
Your Dr is right....a lot of the population is much lower in B12 than they should be.
You should definately have follow-up lab work done to see where your B12 level is at now.