I was diagnosed yesterday and had my first injection. I now have to have one every week. I was just wondering how long it may be until I see the effects (muscle aches/twitches, tiredness, wound healing etc will improve)? I was hoping to see an instant improvement, but all I got was an upset stomach and a feeling of having been stabbed in the leg
Anyone here ever suffered from a vitamin B12 deficiency?
AFAIK, it takes months before B12 is fully absorbed into your body and levels are restored if you have been really low.
Are you vegan or how did you figure out about the deficiency?
I take a B complex tablet every day which covers B12.
I had a blood test, due to muscle aches, doc was looking for signs of rheumatism but found the B12 deficiency (which it appears can cause all sorts of issues). Not a veggie but don't eat a vast amount of red meat, not really sure how it got so low.
I have a B12 deficiency.
I remember feeling a bit less lethargic in a few days, felt much better after about a week - but it took a good month for the tingling/numbness in my hands and feet to stop.
I had the shots once a week for a month, then once a month for four more months.
Four months is the limit, so I can't get the injections anymore. Unfortunately, as soon as the injections stopped the tingling/numbness and fatigue started right back up.
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Hope the injections work for you.
Why is that? From the reading I've been doing, I was led to believe that some people have injections long term. What are your options now?
I've never had a B12 injection, though a doctor once told me I might have to have them because I was diagnosed with low iron, which I guess can be caused by a B12 deficiency. I now take some potent B12 supplements instead... and be sure to eat more red meat.
Did your doctor also check your iron levels?
Also, out of curiosity... did the B12 injection hurt? I've heard they can be quite painful, because the needle has to go deep into a muscle.
A vitamin B12 deficiency can happen when your body is unable to absorb it in yoursmall intestine. In this case it will not matter how much of the vitamin tablets you take. If you are seeing a doctor now you are probably very low on B12 in your body, hence the injections every week. This will most probably tail off to once a month, then every 2 to 4 months. But as it’s an issue with your bodies ability to absorb B12 from foods you will need to take shots for the foreseeable future. The good news is that they can be done by the nurses at your local doctors, so no need to see them every time, and are very quickly.
Good luck, and hope you start feeling well again soon.
My Iron is border line.
The Dr warned me it was very painful, but actually it was ok whilst it was done. Afterwards though it bled a fair bit and was quite swollen, now it just feels bruised.
Thanks.
Sometimes I take Berocca vitamins, which contain a lot of B12, and I often notice a spike in my energy level when I take one. I've been tempted to get an injection, but I was kind of afraid of them.
It is not bad at all, maybe 2/10 on the pain scale.
Just out of curiosity, Did the doctor also screen you for coeliac disease ?
Berocca in my opinion is overpriced crap. I wasted money on it may years ago and it did not dent my B12 levels. I think most of these water soluble stuff also have shit load of salt in them.
Even though my B12 levels were always normal (lower side) I decided to do something about it and took Vitamin B12 1000ug tablets . My levels have doubled in no time.
I don't mean to upset/offend you, but I just remembered an episode in Dr. House ( ) where the patient was deficient in B12 because of parasites ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis ). Is that something to consider, especially if you have been outdoors/hiking?
I'm not sure, it seemed to be standard blood tests.
He did ask me though if I'd had any stomach issues, so he was considering reasons from the deficiency. I'll ask him next time I see him, as I'm not convinced that it's lack of meat that has caused it.
Vitamin B12 injections do have a "burning/warm" feeling when injected, this is due to the nature of the compound itself, this is why many companies now include Lidocaine (a local anesthetic in the ampoule) to relief this sensation.
The muscle penetration pain itself is minimum or in-existent if the person injecting is experienced enough.
I have been take Vit B12 tablets sub-lingually so it by-passes the gastro-intestinal tract. This seem work for me. Also, it is known that alcohol interferes with the absorption of vitamin B12.
We have found magnesium tablets to be effective for muscle twitches.
I recommend buying these from http://www.justvitamins.co.uk (no affiliation with them). They ship fast and the tablets come in a plastic bag so they just drop into your mailbox without any problems.
Hope this helps.
Now you could even have vitamin B complex in the form of patches. Sold on Amazon UK (no affiliation with them)
Not a big fan of the show but I'd like to see that episode. I suffered a lot from Giardia (a lot of time in Latin America) and I have remained lactose intolerant since. There have been some studies lately showing that some people have problems years after, even though they have been "cured". Though I can't prove anything, I think it has been the source of a lot of food allergy/intolerance issues for me. Apparently, among other things, giardia interferes with the body's ability to absorb B12, even long after it has been cured - in some people.
I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency and had the shots. (Breathe out really hard during the shot and it isn't too bad.) That was over two years ago. I am a vegetarian so upping my meat consumption isn't going to happen. About three weeks ago, my blood work showed normal B12 levels, though not much has changed in terms of my diet and I haven't had any shots in a very long time.
Here's to a daily B complex tablet. I take one too.
In the leg? Mine was always in my upper arm. I started feeling better in a few weeks - unfortunately no magic, which I was also kind of expecting. I hope you start feeling better soon.
My doctor told me I'd have to have it in my butt.
My grandmum, who is worse than a child when it comes to taking drugs or anything medically related, got B12 injections repeatedly for the past year, and she never mentioned any pains or side effects. And believe me, had she had any we would have heard about it