To want B12 treatment?

[Chryst]

So my B12 levels have been dropping over the past few years. I’m now suffering from many B12 deficiency symptoms including hair loss, headaches, tingling limbs and absolute exhaustion. I mean I have no energy at all. I’m barely functioning.

My B12 level is now 163 and dr says it’s “normal”. Anything under 155 is deficient.

I just want treatment for it, I’ll pay for it! I just want to feel normal again!

I have b12 injections every 12 weeks as my level was 93. I started with b12 every other day for 2 weeks.

there are private options for b12 if your surgery won’t do them.

Also if you are low in b12 u may be low in other b vitamin's as they work together so when one is low another is normally low too such as b6 .

I also felt that my low b12 was a factor in a relapse of depression and anxiety. Whether it was or not who knows.

If you have had supplements of b12 and then go for a blood test for b12 it will show higher numbers as there is inactive and active b12 in your system. So be wary that the recommendation is not to take b12 supplements for at least 3 months if you want to have the test for b12 in future.

Our cat suffered a few bouts of pancreatitis, and later she was behaving kind of old and depressed (she was about 8), so was taken to the vet where I requested a B12 test. She tested positive for deficiency. She had weekly injections for about 6 weeks, and then top ups every month or so. The difference in her was unbelievable. It was like a reversal of the aging process. She'd fly about like a kitten and want to play all the time. We knew when a top up was due because she'd slow down a bit, but she'd come home right as ninepence once she'd had the jab. Don't know if it was coincidental, but she also never suffered from pancreatitis again.
Yeah I know you're not a cat, but is shows what treating deficiency can do.

I buy my own b12 from Germany an online pharmacist
10 vials are 7.50 euros
I normally order 3-4 packs and get it in a few days
I self inject - watched a few you tube videos on how to do it 😂😂and bought the neaes and syringes and sharp box on line
if you want the name of the German pharmacy let me know

Timely thread for me. I have been having balance problems and blood tests show Im low in B12, starting injections today. Would this cause balance problems though,Im more convinced its my ear as gone partially deaf in one ear.

It’s so frustrating isn’t it. My thyroid function has dropped significantly, I’m told I’m ‘borderline’ but if I lived elsewhere as on the continent or US I’d be treated for it.

My vit b12 deficiency was caused by medication (metformin). I had the loading doses and now have it every 12 weeks. I Do have nerve damage as it took a while to be diagnosed.

DD's GP said the same, but that's completely wrong.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-b12-folate-deficiency/diagnosis/interpreting-investigation-results/

You can buy vit b12 tablets over the counter from a pharmacy. I've just finished a high dose to bring my levels up and am now on a lower dose. They worked as well as the injections I had a few years ago.

DH eats meat, fish, eggs and dairy he also needs regular B12 injections from the GP as he doesn’t absorb it properly.

I buy the b12 sublingual spray on Amazon as I didn’t find tablets helped at all

You have neuro symptoms which means you need injections. Nice guidelines say every other day until no further improvement, you'd be lucky to get that though
I also order from Germany and self inject, you must have the first one under medical supervision though in case of an allergic reaction.
B12 is water soluble so you can't take too much.
Get your folate checked as well, needs to be in the top of the range for your b12 to work.
B12 is not supposed to be rechecked after starting treatment, you will get a false high

Could those who say they order from german pharmacies possibly share the name? I am struggling to find one that delivers to the UK

I have pernicious anemia so need injections - I order the b12 from German amazon as its freely available there - its about £1 / £2 per ampoule and then just get the injection kit in the UK

I have had pernicious and megaloblastic anaemia for decades. Apparently many people are diagnosed without the actual test. So whilst my B12 levels were so low I was nigh on catatonic and I don't absorb it plus I know (via dx) I have megaloblastic anaemia, I was still asked to try without the injection in line with updated national guidelines. At the beginning of the first lockdown I had my last B12 injection and was advised to buy 1000mcg B12 tablets and to take 1 a day. After 4 moths I had my B12 levels tested and they were well in range. I have been on the tablets since.

I no longer have the swinging levels of energy that I used to get towards the end of the 12 week intervals (I often went back at 10 weeks). And my CFS is also better managed now. I wouldn't go back to the injections, even though I was bloody terrified when they told me to stop and see what happened.

West Suffolk have a great visual guideline

www.westsuffolkccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Guideline-for-the-management-of-Vitamin-B12-deficiency-in-adults-November-2020.pdf

I buy these, £10 for over a year's worth.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XLC1YVQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sorry, that should have said "without the IFAB test"

I thought I had been tested, but it seems that back in the 90s/00s they often didn't bother, cos it costs too much!!

Have you tried taking a vitamin b supplement?

I’m celiac and had b12 deficiency and sub lingual b12 worked very well. Just put it under your tongue every day. Don’t need to digest. And you can buy it without prescription

Have you tried oral supplements first? For most people they lack B12 from their diet rather than absorption issues so first line is oral supplementation.

Try that for a few months and then see how you are.

As an aside the idea that beauty therapists can inject people with medication is horrifying.

Incorrect

you urinate excess out.

I work in endocrine

you’re absolutely right. You need to be almost actively dying with thyroid before we treat. Trust me endocrine doctors all over the uk are trying desperately to get this changed.

i think the mouth spray supplements are better absorbed through cheek lining, might be worth getting one of those ones instead.

That's terrible. Yours is lower than mine when I started NHS treatment. It really is a postcode lottery, isn't it?

I'm still recovering - have moved from jabs to pills now - but the effect on my health has been shocking. I'm hoping the damage to my heart will reverse.

I honestly had no idea how much of a big deal B12 was until my body just stopped working.