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From
Charlotte, Oxford, UK
Listerv responses:
There is no harm in even high doses of B12. There is much literature to support this. Bi-monthy injections would be fine and cause her no sideeffects. Your doctor should know this. No contraindications, just besure she is getting adequate folic acid as well as b12 and folic acid work in conjunction.
I get a B12, B6, and folic acid injection once every 5 days. According to my naturopath and according to my sister (who is an MD) there are no contraindications. These vitamins are water-soluble and your body just eliminates what it doesn't need. I'm sorry that I don't have any literature on the subject. But when I miss an injection I start to feel moody and tired. I hope this helps a little.
I am Director of Community Health in our small town. We have clients that get B12 injections anywhere from weekly, biweekly, and monthly. I am aware of rare instances of pregnant women taking it daily, but I am not familiar with the circumstances around this treatment. Since I am not a physician, I would imagine it would depend on the diagnosis, but it does not "hurt" the system to get them more frequently than monthly. Maybe she needs something that will help build her RBC's quicker/more effectively than the B12 is able to do for her. Here in the States, we have EPO injections (by the names of Procrit and Epogen, to name a few.) They are used frequently for chronic anemia in patients with renal disorders, and in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy for example. They seem to build up the system quicker - in my experience, anyway.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000574.htm might help give you a little information on B12 deficient anemia.
A PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) site that I like to use has a wealth of knowledge on the B12 injections: http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/vit_0262.shtml
It tells of the medication reactions, side effects, and contraindications for use.
Hey! I have had B12 shots for about 10-11 years and at the time of diagnosis, was deficient in B12. I got an injection at the beginning every 2 weeks. It helped but not enough. I then went to weekly. Then my doctor and I both read that at the initial diagnosis to get a shot daily for a week so we did that. From then on..I was much better. I currently and for about the last 7 years have gotten a shot every 2 weeks. It is the difference maker for me! Hope that helps....By the way...too much B12 does not hurt
you. It does take some convincing!
Our dau. takes Solgar bonemeal with B12 and their B100complex and has done well but she is not anemic, just tired and it seems to help. The phosphorus in the bonemeal is good for energy release too.
Not a medical person, just a Mom who reads........Perhaps your mother should increase her intake of liver (pork liverwurst is good) and some desiccated liver or brewers yeast too. Maybe she is not getting enough beef. Vegetarians often have anemia problems.
My md started by giving them once a week..gradually went to every 2 weeks, then once a month. He said that I would know when I needed it
Actually I have it prescribed for every 3 weeks. I'm 46 years old and I self-inject. Sometimes I double it up when I do it, depending on my mood. It is my understanding that any excess B-12 that the body doesn't use, is just urinated out of the system. Also sometimes I do it before 3 weeks if my symptoms crop up or if I'm heading out of town, etc. I've been at it since @ 1996 with good results.
We take B-12 sublingually. It works. We use a product from www.wonderlab.com
One small pill under the tongue daily seems to do the trick. Without it we suffer from memory loss and joint pain, even sleeplessness. This way we don't have lows and highs. The dosage we use is 1000 mcg. But originally we used 2500 mcg.
She would be better off to try sublingual B12 daily...Walmart carries the Rexall brand which is g.f. & cost ~$5.00. Since it's aborbed under the tongue (like nitro-glycerine for heart pain), it isn't affected by the GI system. One of the members of our group who was getting B12 shots & iron pills still required tranfusions every couple of months for anemia. After starting the Rexall sublingual, she no longer needs the transfusions...MUCH IMPROVED!!!
I notice you are in the UK after replying. I'm sure there are probably sublingual brand there as well.
The best food source of B12 from animal sources and absorbption in the GI tract decreases w/ age.
I had injections daily for two weeks and then I had injections of B12 every two weeks. I felt much worse and I was having very odd symptoms. I ruled everything else out and I was only able to come to
the conclusion that the day after the injection. I had to go to a hematologist, but no one has heard of the symptoms that I was having -or even of feeling worse after the B12 injections. It is odd, because I know second hand of other women who have had similar reactions to the injections. However, I have not been able to find anything out about it, other than personal anecdotes. I have not been able to find anything but the overwhelming majority of people that get good reactions to the injections.
However, one thing that you might want to look into is her potassium levels, as I have heard that B12 injections can make a person's potassium levels down, which can make a person feel much worse.
I do hope that your mother starts to feel much better. I wish that I had more information to give you. I can say that the first time I heard that someone else had the same reaction, it made me feel so much
better. So maybe this will help her! Please let me know if you find anything out about this issue. I will continue to do the same. So far I have visited two hematologists, and both have been only somewhat
helpful. Right now, I am closely monitoring my B12 levels and attempting to wait as long as possible before I need another injection. I have heard that pills work better for some people, and both hematologists said that the idea that certain individuals can only absorb injections is a myth and the pill form works just as well.
I find it so interesting that your mother has had this reaction, as I know that everyone thinks that I must be wrong when I tell them, as most people feel much better on the B12 injections. I hope that you find some help. I will try to find some information on the value of the pill form of B12 (as equal to the injection) if you think that your mother might find value in that. Good luck to her - I know what it is like!
I don't have any literature on the subject, but for the first month of my B12 injections, I got one a week in order to bring my levels up and get me feeling better quickly. I've now gone to once a month, but if your mother needs them more often, I don't see why her doctor would be unwilling to allow that.
I can give you my personal experience. I am 54 and get my B12 monthly. I have a great doctor in Cherry Hill, NJ. He has received awards for his work in geriatric medicine. When I first started taking the shots, over 3 years ago, I asked him about needing them more often. He said that he had many
elderly folks who got the shots once a week. He told me to just judge by my energy level to decide if I wanted them more often. So far, I've only done them once a month, but sometimes I think I would really benefit from getting them weekly. So, as far as my doctor tells me, once a week would not be a
problem. There is also B12 in sublingual form, which is over the counter, and you just do drops under your tongue. This apparently gets the B12 into your system faster than muscle injection...but I
have not tried it myself. Hope you will summarize because I sure am interested in what responses you get.
She may want to take an oral supplement. At least 1000mcg of methylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin is ready to use by the body - Cyanocobalamin has to be converted to the methyl state.
Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC
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