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Self Injecting B12

23 replies

MaryBoBary · 11/08/2020 12:52

Is there anyone here who already self injects b12 and can give me a link for where to buy it please? I am getting desperate now but can only seem to find tablets or patches online.

OP posts:
Fatherbrownsbicycle · 11/08/2020 14:40

Most people get them from Germany it’s discussed on here a lot, I can’t see newer posts without joining which I don’t want to do.

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/posts/137257352/link-to-german-company-that-supplies-hydroxocobalamin-injections

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/posts/138318431/where-can-i-buy-b12-injections-in-the-uk-i’m-struggling-to-understand-the-german-websites

MaryBoBary · 11/08/2020 15:54

Thank you, I didn't want to sign up for an account on that website either but you've managed to find enough info Smile

OP posts:
Fatherbrownsbicycle · 11/08/2020 16:07

It’s awful so many people can’t have injections at the moment. I’m lucky my surgery let me have the prescription because I have a family member who is a nurse and will inject me.
Good luck!

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blindmansbluff · 11/08/2020 16:10

My Dad couldn't get his injections so he ordered some drops off Amazon that go under the tongue and you take them every day. He says now he'd never go back to the injection as the drops work better plus there's no crazy up the week after and the down the week before. They were about £25 for a 6 month supply.

LillianBland · 11/08/2020 16:14

My child has a friend whose dad prescribes all his menopause patients regular B12 injections. Lucky women. I’m so jealous. Are they safe to self prescribe?

picklemewalnuts · 11/08/2020 16:27

How do you know if you need them? Are the blood tests done by the GP testing the right strength? I know that thyroid function isn't treated in the U.K. until it's worse than in other countries.

Sorry that's muddled. Hopefully someone will know what I mean! My last blood test didn't raise a B12 issue.

Girlonatubetrain2 · 11/08/2020 16:33

@blindmansbluff pls could you find out the link for me?

AnneLovesGilbert · 11/08/2020 16:45

I self inject.

B12 vials:

www.versandapo.de/vitamin-b12-depot-rotexmedica-injektionsloesung-100x1ml-pzn-03862305 Pop this into chrome and you can translate to English.

Needles:

www.exchangesupplies.org/shopdisp_12_week_cycle_kit.php

Draw up with the bigger one, inject using the smaller. I do it in my thigh. There are some good YouTube videos for tips and the B12 Facebook groups have useful pointers too.

HerRoyalNotness · 11/08/2020 16:54

@blindmansbluff

My Dad couldn't get his injections so he ordered some drops off Amazon that go under the tongue and you take them every day. He says now he'd never go back to the injection as the drops work better plus there's no crazy up the week after and the down the week before. They were about £25 for a 6 month supply.
I’d love to know the one he takes too. My dr stopped my injections even though I can’t absorb b12 for some reason. I’m on multi v and patches but they don’t really help. Would like to try this method
blindmansbluff · 11/08/2020 16:56

@Girlonatubetrain2

They're away in the caravan with patchy signal but I've just had a quick look on Amazon and there are several in varying strengths to choose from. He's honestly like a different person after switching to these drops

picklemewalnuts · 11/08/2020 16:58

It would be good to know exactly- some of them have very mixed reviews, and seem a bit unreliable.

blindmansbluff · 11/08/2020 16:59

@HerRoyalNotness

My Dad can't absorb through the gut either after stomach cancer which is why he was on the injection but he gets on with the drops much better and his mood is now stable. I'm not sure exactly what strength he uses but put b12 drops into Amazon and there's a few to choose from

MaryBoBary · 11/08/2020 20:27

@picklemewalnuts B12 isn't tested for in routine blood tests so you have to ask for it to be checked. In the UK I think the acceptable limits are anywhere from about 180 - 900, but in Japan you are classed as deficient if you are under 1000 which I think is interesting. I had to have injections from GP before as I was deficient and had all the classic symptoms. I have them again now and although Dr has said my levels are currently OK at 250, I'm not happy with that. I've been taking 1000mcg tablets for 12 months and no improvement so I'm going to start self injecting. You can't overdose and it is water soluble so I think I have nothing to lose. I can't carry on sleeping for 11-12 hours per day and still being exhausted, and Dr isn't willing to investigate further. I also take medication for depression and anxiety which I would like to cut out, and think higher B12 levels may help me do this. It feels a bit surreal to be ordering needles and self injecting but honestly I'll try anything now just to feel my age (30) and not like an 80 year old!

Thank you for the advice and links! I've ordered some and feel a strange sense of pride in myself for taking my responsibility for my own body and wellbeing and not replying on someone else to tell me how I feel.

OP posts:
MaryBoBary · 11/08/2020 20:29

Oh, and also the standard NHS B12 test doesn't differentiate between active and inactive B12, so you levels could come back within the acceptable limits but be 80% inactive. I feel quite strongly that B12 deficiency is mot taken seriously enough by some doctors and I feel that a lot of people are suffering needlessly.

OP posts:
Mumfymum · 11/08/2020 20:58

I had my B12 jab last week. My GP surgery stopped doing them at the start of lockdown and I got a prescription for the tablets (then found out I could have got the same tablets for £3 off Amazon ). They were only 50 micrograms twice a day. They had zero effect.
So I rang the doctors last week on the off-chance they were doing injections again - and they were. Had it done in a tent outside the doctors surgery. I can now stay awake for a full day, my joints no longer hurt and no mouth ulcers

picklemewalnuts · 11/08/2020 21:04

Thank you Mary. I'll try the drops. I've had fairly thorough blood tests- went private for a fibromyalgia diagnosis. I'd think he'd have checked.

That said, I'll try anything. I ache and have no energy. I've started collagen and b patches. You never know.

HerRoyalNotness · 11/08/2020 21:35

[quote blindmansbluff]@HerRoyalNotness

My Dad can't absorb through the gut either after stomach cancer which is why he was on the injection but he gets on with the drops much better and his mood is now stable. I'm not sure exactly what strength he uses but put b12 drops into Amazon and there's a few to choose from[/quote]
Thanks so much. I think mine is related to rheumatoid arthritis but I can’t be sure as they don’t seem to care about the cause

CCSS15 · 11/08/2020 23:10

Hi, i have 12 weekly injections from GP and luckily they continued doing them through lockdown but its not frequent enough so I give myself top ups. Got the B12 from German amazon - took about a week to arrive - you can translate the site into English so you can see what you are doing. Get needles etc from the same place as pp and they sell a b12 kit

superstar63 · 12/08/2020 09:53

blindmansbluff - Thank you for the link and I have ordered some and they arrive today. Am always tired, no energy and dont sleep well so going to try them as the reviews are really good.

Will update soon!

Lindatiger · 13/09/2021 13:18

I use to get my b12 ampoules from amazon.de but I couldn't order today when it tried. The United Kingdom is no longer in use dropdown list of countries to deliver to. Im very distressed to see this as I rely on those to keep me sane. I stopped having them at my doctors because they only allowed me one injection every 11 weeks and sometimes not then if my blood test was too high. Im already suffering effects of low b12. Tiredness, memory loss and falling over. There's absolutely no sense in holding back essential items and using brexit as a punishment. Ill have to keep taking the tablets even though they aren't as good as injections.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 13/09/2021 13:42

National guidelines are to move people with pernicious aneamia from the injection to something else, 50mcg isn't enough, 1000 - 2000mcg tablets/sub linguals etc are recommended, 1 a day. It isn't a Brexit thing, it's a medical Best Practice thing. Many countries, like Canada for example, have used sprays and sub linguals for years, all at high levels..

But the NHS bolloxed it up and the real objections, like there are no tablets that have been through the drug testing procedures, means that people like me have to take a punt and hope the manufacturer is honest!

The idea is that you have your injection as usual, then take a tablet a day until your next injection date arrives. Then you have a blood test and see if the tablets are working. If they are great, if not back on the injections.

If the tablets work then you won't feel worse, they work better than the injection as there is no slow wearing off. As long as you take the tablet your levels stay up and level. The massive daily overdose in a 1000mcg tablet means that the vast majority of people without the intrinsic factor for B12 will get just enough of the B12 crossing the blood barrier to keep their levels up, just 1% by passive absoprtion is enough.

After 20 some odd years of the injections. I was alarmed at first but did some digging. The PA Society has taken a hard line in its information, sensible but quite scary. They have recently updated their guidance, so I am currently looking at other supplements. I know the tablets work so sub linguals etc should be fine too, if far more expensive than the tablets I am currently on.

Pmen · 01/06/2022 08:28

I have had so many health problems and researched b12. Drs wouldnt help or give me injections even when i said they were cheap and you can not take too much of this as the body excretes the rest. Tests the drs do are not conclusive and many factors can give a wrong reading. If anyone is really interested please read/listen to the book 'could it be b12 by Sally Pachelok'. There is also a film about it if you search on utube. It is truly mindblowing and informative and really does make you question some medical advice. You will not regret reading it.

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