B12 Shots

[surfgirl14]

Hey guys. Was wondering if anyone on here gets B12 shots and if you do how did you get the doctor to perscribe them for you? I heard they can work magic on some people when it comes to energy. I was wanting to talk to my doctor about them even though I am not low in it. I still know others who get the shots even with their levels being fine.

Any info would help

Thanks.

[Katybug]

Hi potsgirl93,

I did get the shots but have been "down-graded" to just taking an oral B12 supplement. There are newer standards for B12 that say that people testing under 400 may experience symptoms of B12 deficiency even though the normal standard is 200. It is pretty widely accepted in the medical community at this point so you may want to check what the actually reading was on the bloodwork to see if it was between 200-400. That may give you some ammunition to talk to the doctor. But, my levels were between 200-400 and they gave me 3 shots and then I was kind of over-dosed on it...my levels went way high. If you are in the normal range, you may want to try just taking a B12 supplement you can get from the drug store if your doctor says its safe for you. (Take with a meal cause you need fat to absorb the B12.) Plus, the shots are pretty painful as shots go so if you can take the oral version, you can save yourself some pain.

Katie

[surfgirl14]

Thanks.

[Csmith3]

I developed B12 deficiency. The injections are only needed if you cannot absorb B12 normally (which happens if you have an autoimmune reaction which destroys the cells which are required for B12 absorption). If you can absorb B12 but don't absorb enough (e.g. from general malabsorption, being coeliac, vegan diet etc) the oral supplements will still more than compensate and give the high readings of B12 which are also seen with injections. You can't overdose on B12 so it doesn't matter if the readings are 1000+.

B12 deficiency happens over a long period of time because the body retains a 3 -5 year back up supply. I found I gradually felt worse and did put some it down to POTS getting worse, but in the end, the neurological symptoms made it clear that something else was going on.

The B12 shots or pills will only give you energy if you have anaemia, and the resulting tachycardia, caused by B12 deficiency. If you think it is worth pursuing this, as Katy says, just get the supplements from the pharmacy and see if you feel any better. Here, the B12 supplements are behind the pharmancy counter but available without prescription. They aren't the normal vitamin piils you see on the shelves in the store.

It took 4 weeks of oral supplementation for my B12 level to reverse from very low to twice the normal level. It probably took another 4 - 6 weeks to reverse most of the B12 deficiency symptoms and therefore feel the benefit. It took another 6 weeks to reverse the nerve damage which had given me numbness - this is only a feature of very low B12 levels so hopefully you wouldn't need to wait this long.

[Katybug]

Sorry, Cath is right...I should have explained when I said overdosed I just meant that my levels were then over 2000 (way high) but I didn't have adverse effects from it. The docs were just like, "Oh...you don't need the shots, just take the oral supplement."

[ramakentesh]

Vitamin B12 is a potent scavenger of nitric oxide at least according to some sources.

[surfgirl14]

ok thats good to know. I will just get the oral supplement