B12

[Restaurantcritic]

I had some bloods done recently. B12 was 250 which seems to be at the bottom of the ‘normal’ range. GP not concerned but I have been tired and have some mild hairloss. Wondering if that B12 is a bit low and should start a supplement to see if it helps.

Will do no harm, there are oral preparations

You can get injections via the pharmacy also. I find that easier than taking a pill everyday. They are around £25-30. You can't overdose on b12, as any excess you just wee it out.

That’s interesting. How do I go about doing that?

thanks

Go on Google and type vitamin b12 injections and put name of area you live in, then look for a pharmacy that do them and book online.

Following

A beauty treatment centre close to me does them. £30 a shot, but worth it to me. I get B12 injection on NHS every 12 weeks. The first time I went for a private injection I told them I got them every 12 weeks. They finished my sentence by saying "and it's not often enough".

but that's the NICE guidelines. But I'm no longer prepared to spend three to four weeks out of every 12 feeling washed out. So £30 four times a year it is.

I just looked at Superdrug as it came up in a google search, they offer these but want evidence of a deficiency. I wonder if they would offer it if you have just low levels but not an actual deficiency.

Why don't you just take a supplement?

I was on the lower side of normal and the go suggested supplements from the pharmacy. They do make a difference to me in not as tired

The supplements cost £5 for a months supply

Mine was 181 and the gp just recommended supplements that I could buy off of Amazon and said they will retest in 4 months.

You are better off ordering from Germany where it’s sold over the counter - it’s much much cheaper to buy the ampules from there it works out as pennies per dose. Very simple to jab yourself using tiny needles into fat

Buy from overseas! You can get hundreds of ampules for £70

The recommendation is intramuscular isnt it?

Intra muscular or into fat - muscles requires longer bigger needles so non medical self injectors often feel more comfortable
with injection into fat. Result is just as
good

Mine was 128 doctor advised oral supplements retest in 3 months including intrinsic factor antibodies, he said if 120 or below i'd get NHS injections but implied I might want to look privately. I got one at as local pharmacy through treatwell , and take oral supplements, still feel exhausted and my hair has thinned badly. My ferritin was also low.

The pharmacist did want to know why I wanted them, I showed him my results on the NHS app and he said no wonder!

@TheShiningCarpet I'm much too nesh to inject myself. After 30 years of B12 injections, countless flu injections and all the covid injections recommend I still don't like to even look at the needles.

Yeah I was a bit wobbly but I did the first one but then I realised I couldn’t feel it at all as the needle so thin, I was surprised!

my level was so low and they try to fob me off with oral supplements when it was so clear that I was having absorption problems.
Even the injections on the NHS is just piss poor you’ll be lucky if you get two weeks of loading injections and then they fob you off with a couple a year - honestly it’s so much easier to buy them overseas from countries where B12 is just an over-the-counter supplement like any other vitamin The risks are incredibly low and the benefits that I’ve had have been absolutely incredible. I look at my calendar and I realise that I get a vibe when I feel I need a top up and I’m now averaging about one jab a month and that seems to work really well.

New NICE guidance came out in March. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng239/chapter/Recommendations#diagnosing-vitamin-b12-deficiency
250 is classed as indeterminate and if you have symptoms, further testing might be appropriate.

Ok @TheShiningCarpet you've nearly convinced me. Can you give me details of the website for getting the B12 and needles (shudder). You can PM me if you'd rather. Thanks, though my toes are curling just thinking about it 😀

Something like this:
https://www.apohealth.co.uk/products/zentiva-vitamin-b-12-lichtenstein-ampullen-100-st-ampullen

needles you can buy in the uk:
you need:
drawing up needles to get it into the syringe (search on Medisave site)

1ml syringes and then these small needles:

https://www.medisave.co.uk/products/b-d-microlance-3-needles-yellow-30g-x-05-inch-per-100-p-3684

these needles are suitable for using into fatty areas - I jab into my fat abdomen
let me know if you need any further info

the only contraindication for b12 is if you have a copper allergy (rare) so for the first time just do with someone around

I have regular b12 jabs. Initially, my levels were low enough to need a loading dose, which was 6 injections spaced over two weeks. Supplements had not touched it, hence the injections.
I get a boost with a private jab now and again - all makes a real difference.

Hope you soon feel more like yourself.

You can get B12 vitamins as tablets you dissolve in water to make a fizzy drink. I started with Berocca which is orange flavoured and quite pleasant, Lidl do a multi vitamin version which includes B vitamins and is much cheaper and I find does the job. I dissolve one of their vitamin C tablets in at the same time.

Iron for hair loss. Ferrous sulphate. Iron needs to be over 50/70

With b12 you may need to take folic acid to aid absorption. Best enquire what your folic levels are.