B12 Injections

[Justpondering12]

A routine blood test found that i have a B12 deficiency. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, muscle weakness and abysmal memory.

GP has prescribed course of 6 B12 injections. Friday was number 4. If anything, i feel worse. i mentioned this to the nurse and she said ‘i think we’re all just very tired. i know i am, perhaps i could do with having some B12’.

Am i expecting too much? i was anticipating feeling the benefits by now. I just went to have the energy to get back to the gym!

DH has a B12 deficiency and is on injections for life but tested negative for PA.

They aren't always linked?

not always.

ive been on iron tablets since i was 13, just after I started my periods. Been off and on for years.

i was 44 when i really got fed up of feeling tired. Test showed i have macrocytic anaemia. Tablets didn’t work so its injection every 6 weeks.

im convinced if they checked me over years ago I would not have had to struggle.

when i was pregnant my platelets shot up. So high i had to see a blood cancer specialist, who said it was my bone marrow being in overdrive. Hearing this was not something i wanted seeing both my grandmothers have had blood cancer.

my dad and his mother were on B12 injections for years. I think its hereditary.

i was negative for PA and thyroid and coeliac. But i do have IBS which certainly doesn’t help

You need to ask about folate and iron tablets. If you’re B12 deficient your stores of iron and folate will be depleted.

Not necessarily. I get my iron checked regularly when I give blood, and it has always been fine. Based on symptoms, my B12 was low for at least three years before it was tested for.

Not necessarily but the protocol/nice guidelines for treatment are the same. The test for pernicious anaemia is quite unreliable.

The information on the Pernicious Anaemia Society website is for those who are deficient not just those diagnosed with pernicious anaemia - and it explains why they don’t differentiate. It’s a good source of general information and I found it more useful than me GP or randomly trawling the internet.

@Willyoujustbequiet just passing on information that was useful for me. I took several years to finally be diagnosed and gave blood throughout this time. Iron test always fine. I was however borderline iron aneamic when I started lading doses and my folate levels were very low.

After getting some advice from other people found out much more than the very basic information I got from the GP practice.

I’ve used b12 patches with some success, did not expect it to work.

That's helpful to know, thank you.

Can anyone tell me what needles to get to draw and inject? Did you get them on Amazon too?
It's intramuscular, so I know where it should go, but not sure if I can draw up with the same needle I'll use to jab.

Thoughts?

Where from? I'm.about to do the same.