curious

[SHORTY12345]

WHAT IS A B12 SHOT

[Barb135]

Skydivediva gave a very good description of B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia.  Pernicious Anemia is, in fact, an autoimmune disease.  I have it and mine got to the point where I had a lot of the tingling/numbness.  I now have permanent damage because of it being left untreated.  

Having one autoimmune disease increases the likelihood of having/getting another.  I also have autoimmune thyroid disease.

I was started out at one shot per week for a month, then dropped to one shot per month.  After a period of time, it was increased to a shot every 2 weeks; I am currently on one shot/week in order to maintain my levels.

I might also mention that you may hear about Vitamin B12 shots in relation to weight loss; I will tell you from experience, vitamin B12 is NOT a weight loss aid.  The  most it will toward weight loss is give you more energy to exercise!!  

[skydivediva]

Here's a couple of links to good sources of info on pernicious anemia and vitamin B12:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/vitamin-b12-deficiency-anemia-topic-overview
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000569.htm
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec01/ch004/ch004i.html
http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/1280/Pernicious-anemia

Also, if you go to this page and scroll down about half way, there are a number of topics (B12, intrinsic factor, pernicious anemia, megaloblastic anemia, Schillings Test [a test that can be done to assess whether your body is absorbing B12 properly], that may be useful to you.
http://www.medhelp.org/search?query=B12&camp=top_nav_search

Also, since the stomach cells are sometimes damaged by an autoimmune process, you can search MedHelp for the Immune Disease Community and probably find info there. MedHelp has a number of experts in different areas. You could search for the nutrition expert (a dietician named Renee), the hematology expert, or an immune disease expert.  Any of them, but especially the first two, would be able to give you more info.

Have a great day, Shorty.

[skydivediva]

Hi Shorty,

Vitamin B12 is a vitamin that is needed to build red blood cells and for normal brain and nerve function. You can become B12 deficient if you do not take in enough of this vitamin, but this is not common since many foods contain B12 so most people get enough in their diet (vegans, however, may not always get enough). You can also become B12 deficient if your body can't absorb or use the B12 that you eat. This can cause megaloblastic anemia meaning a type of anemia where your red blood cells are large but don't have enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen around your body. This can be caused by some surgeries to the small bowel, diseases of the small bowel (Crohn's, sprue, infections), or gastritis---inflammation of the stomach that damages the cells lining the stomach. When these cells are damaged, they can't make intrinsic factor, a substance needed to absorb B12 from your food. When this happens, it causes what is called pernicious anemia. Some of the symptoms of pernicious anemia are fatigue, depression, poor memory, pale skin, constipation/diarrhea, and activity intolerance or shortness of breath. If the body's B12 levels stay low for a very long time, the person may also begin to have numbness, tingling or pins & needles in their fingers and toes as the nerves there are not getting the vitamin that they need to be healthy. With very low levels over a very long time, psychiatric problems may be seen. Since the problem is USUALLY not one of taking in too little B12 but rather one of the stomach not being able to ABSORB what is taken in, pernicious anemia is most often treated with a B12 injection so that the vitamin can be absorbed into the blood without going through the stomach. Commonly you will be given a B12 shot into a muscle in your arm or buttock once a day for a week then once a week for a month and then once a month. I hope that you find this information helpful.