B12 injections

[PennywisePoundFoolish]

I've had blood test results back, and got an appointment next week to discuss them

My B12 is noted as borderline at 126, reference range 120 - 900
The note says to start oral supplements.

My vitamin D is also a little low at 25 (says 20 < is deficiency)

And transferrin saturation is 9% (low) [15-45]
Serum iron 7.5 (low) [10-30]
Serum transferrin 3.5 (normal high)
Folate 4.2 (ref range 2.5 - 9999)

With these other lowish results, will it be pointless paying for private B12 injections?

Worst symptoms are brain fog and fatigue, but I also have a permanently red face which I find really embarrassing

If you start to pay you’ll always need to pay as future blood tests will have to be”false” results.

Nice guidelines are that if symptomatic treatment should be given.

Have a look at the Pernicious Anemia Society website. They have tons of information including how to speak to Doctors to receive treatment.

My sister has pernicious anemia which results in low B12. When she was first prescribed the injections it was life changing, she says her mind cleared and her energy levels improved enormously.

However, she could only get injections every 3 months and she could feel herself fading again as each one became due.

She did her own research about having extra injections but now takes high dose tablets, which she buys quite cheaply herself, and finds that's much better for her because she can keep levels even.

Apparently because B12 is water soluble, high doses are not a problem.

I have 3 monthly injections of B12 at my surgery but also have private top-ups in between appointments. You can’t overdose on B12. But agree that your surgery needs to be giving you injections

I buy b12 ampoules from the German Amazon site and I inject myself. Easier and cheaper.

I want to do this to top up but cant make head nor tail of what needles to buy or where from ot what b12 to buy. What needles do you use and where do you get them ditto for b12.

As a clinician, I would be more interested to know what’s causing it as much as treating it. There are some missing blood tests that I would need (ferritin, Hb, RBC…), would also need to have a chat about your gut health and overall symptoms.

vitamin D, you need a reloading prescription rather than the usual 10ug.

In summary, definitely go along to your appointment with your GP to discuss more. There is no need to go privately. Your GP may just give you a course of IM vitamin b12. Good luck

If you can’t absorb b12 oral supplements won’t work. They are only any use for people who don’t get enough b12 via diet, generally vegans, as opposed to people with absorption issues

With a recent blood test result you can go to Superdrug or your local chemist that does jabs and get one for around £30. Then at least in two weeks time you can report back to the gp that you feel a bit better or whatever.

Youll likely also get put on folic acid tablets and potentially iron tablets. You could buy them just now too to start building up your levels.

It feels so awful when you’re low in all of those that I’d do anything to feel better fast tbh. If I had the money.

I reckon the tablets will be about £6 total for iron and vitamin d and about £8 for cyancobalamin (b12 not sure of spelling) if you don’t get a jab. Until you get your prescription.

Thanks everyone

I had my follow up appointment, told no chance of injections as that's only for pernicious anaemia, which i don't have. My HB is in range, so I just have an iron deficiency.

Haemoglobin : 126 normal (120–150).
Ferritin: 7 low (15-300)
MCH: 26 pg slightly low.
MCHC (concentration inside cells): 299 g/L slightly low.
RDW (distribution width): 16.8% High
MCV (cell size): 87 fL normal
RBC count: 4.84 slightly high
TSH in range (I'm medicated for hypothyroidism) 3.34
T4 ok too 10.4
Folate OK 4.2 (2.5-9999)

She's prescribed Ferrous Sulphate as it's difficult to get the right ones OTC. and told me to buy high strength B12 and take 3000 vitamin D daily.

So about as expected it to go. I'm also prediabetic and have been for a 4 years. Said we'd discuss that in 3 months along with my cholesterol (also high).

Hopefully the supplements will help with the brain fog as it's really getting me down

I would get a B12 jab through Vitajab, its only £29. I do have absorption issues but GP stopped my jabs in covid and would not reinstate even though I had been on them for 15 year till that point

I had my follow up appointment, told no chance of injections as that's only for pernicious anaemia, which i don't have. My HB is in range, so I just have an iron deficiency.

When I was diagnosed with low B12, I was tested for pernicious anaemia, and it turns out I don’t have it. But my GP said that some people are simply not good at absorbing B12 through digestion, even if they eat the right diet, and this is particularly the case as you get older. And these people need injections.

So whilst the root cause of my B12 deficiency is unclear, the only thing that works is injections, I tried high dosage tablets but they didn’t help.

A lot of people seem to struggle to get injections from their doctor, so it’s a good job there are plenty of private options.

You can buy it yourself I get it from an online pharmacy in Germany. It costs roughly 90p per ampule
If you do self inject you will have to stop 4-6 months before any further blood tests. This is the same for oral supplements as the test will show the total serum b12 in your body which will be artificially high because of the supplements, but if you have absorption issues the b12 won’t be utilised on a cellular level so it won’t make you feel better.
unless you’re vegetarian or vegan there’s no real reason for you to be deficient in b12 other than absorption issues so you should push your gp more and state the NICE guidelines on treatment which is anything under 180 is a confirmed deficiency

Could you possibly give me a link to this please?

B12 has to be administered Intramuscularly, personally Unless you have been shown how to delivery an IM injection safely I would not recommend people just buying stuff off the net and self administering.

So the retest in 3 months wouldn't be a true reflection? I'm not vegetarian, going back to test results about 6 years ago my B12 was in the 400s. I've improved my diet a lot since then, as I've been trying (very unsuccessfully) to lose weight. I don't have any gastro symptoms, I just generally feel exhausted and extremely forgetful, to the point I can't write down a phone number being read out to me etc.

The vet practitioner did say my low ferritin and Vit D were probably responsible for the worst symptoms and basically the B12 wasn't the greatest concern.

Nurse practitioner! I didn't go to the vets 🙈😂

My understanding is that in Europe it’s licensed for sub cutaneous injections, just not in the uk.

I saw a private b12 and anaemia specialist.

He showed me how to self inject and where to buy the ampules from/needles etc.

I self inject twice a week into my belly.

Private B12 injections are one of the biggest wellbeing scams going IMO.

The unregulated, untrained industry has convinced people they need these jabs at 30 quid a pop and they rarely do - and if they do, their GP will give them.

The guidelines now are to have REGULAR, high dose oral supplements first along with dietary advice and use injections where clinically indicated.

You can get high strength sublingual tablets if you have reason to think you're not absorbing through your digestive system. They're still tablets, but you just hold under tongue/in cheek etc until they dissolve, and the b12 is absorbed straight into the bloodstream

Exactly what I came here to say

oh also I get them every two weeks from the GP and I don’t have PA. Just an understanding GP

@SeptaUnellasBell Sorry I’ve only just seen this
I will give you the link how can I do this can I send you a message?

Yes definitely this is correct you cannot just go around sticking needles in yourself randomly you need to know how to give an IM injection in the right place and safely.
I can do this as can my dh, but it’s my understanding that it can be administered sub cut too but I’m not too clued up on this.

Also to say it’s vital that the first injection is given in a supervised setting in case of reaction. Even if it’s one of the places which offers it for a fee.

VitaJab Vitamin B12 injection at your local pharmacy

I dont absorb B12 through my stomach due to other medication. I take high dose (1000ug) in orally dissolveable tablets. It pulled my B12 from 108 to over 250. It took a while though.