B12 Injections

There shouldn't be a problem with you being late for it, but you may be more tired if you are running low.

I should have them but I am too much of a wimp. :dft004:

I have to take three Cytacon (B12) tablets every day.

You should speak to your doctor again if you are still tired all the time.

hiya

i am exactly the same, was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia nearly 2 yrs ago, and i have the B12 injections every 12 wks. although they are now saying i am "normal" :p i have had to have iron tablets and also folic acid. I cant see there would be any problems with it being late especially if your test results have come back normal, apparently the injections work progresively so the B12 level would have built up over the period of time, that is probably why you no longer feel the effects after having the injections.

lilyflower 🙂

As Louisa says, it won't make too much difference with a break of a week or two, but it is possible to take vitamin B12 tablets that you suck (daily) so that it is absorbed through the mucus membrane in the mouth which is how I take it.

Also, I don't know what age you are, but it is quite likely that you are not producing enough stomach acid. This is because the parietal cells in the stomach that produce acid also produce intrinsic factor causes absorption of B12 from food. If that is the case then you will have digestive upsets as well. This could be a cause of your tiredness. Taking digestive enzymes could make all the difference to your health. A [url]nutritional therapist[/url] will help sort that out for you.

Wishing you the best of health

Thank you for the information everyone. I have a needle phobia which if I'm honest is why I 'forget' to have it, the last time was with a new nurse and it hurt like hell, it didn't hurt at all with the last nurse. I did ask if you could take it any other way and she said no it had to be injections 😡 Is it worth eating iron rich foods, would they help as I was told that the injections were necessary because I could not absorb the B12 any other way.

Hi Susanna

Iron-rich foods will not help your B12 levels - they are different things, although you normally get B12 from meats. If you have no intrinsic factor in your stomach then you cannot absorb B12 from your food.

You can get sublingual tablets, 1000 micrograms, from a good healthfood shop. You need to suck them for as long as you can, so I tuck them up into my cheek and forget about them (after a meal). For some reason most doctors don't know this, but that is how I was prescribed them, and my levels came up nicely and have remained up. It is absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

Thank you very much Caroline, I'll go on the hunt for them tomorrow 🙂

I will try and get some of those too Caroline.

Also, susanna if you can't find any of those, most good chemists will have Cytacon - they cost around £10.00 for 50.
When I was told to get them by GP a few years ago (4 I think) they were less than £3.00

But I will pay it too avoid the injection. 😮

Is pernicious anaemia hereditary? Both my late parents had it and my sister has the condition. I'm wondering if I might develop it also.

As such Pernicious anaemia is not hereditary, but the ability for the parietal cells to function or not may have a hereditary element to it. Poor function is always tied up with gastric problems and later with bowel problems.

Lack of stomach acid reduces the ability to digest proteins, meanwhile the food sits in the stomach waiting to be digested and the starches will start to ferment - causing burping and 'indigestion'. This is why some advocate the separation of protein and carbohydrates at meal times. The semidigested proteins passing lower down the bowel provide food for the 'wrong' type of bacteria which can cause bloating, cramps, diarrhoea or constipation. All of this can be rectified by taking digestive enzymes with betaine HCl - if lack of them is the cause of the problem.

The enzymes, however do not help with the absorption of vitamin B12. You need 'intrinsic factor' to do this, so one has to take B12 as a supplement or have injections.

Too many of us in these stressful times end up being short of stomach enzymes and acid (stress causes the production to shut down, or sometimes the opposite, to overproduce) and the Framingham study showed that 25% of adults are deficient and 50% have sub-optimal levels of B12. It is vital for energy production, blood formation, DNA synthesis and for the formation of myelin which protects our nerves among many other vital functions.

If you want to read more about it look here and there are many more articles lsted here.

Wishing you the best of health

I developed it while I was pregnant with my second son then I had to have injections in my back every day - didn't hurt half as much as the arm one 😮 although I had a black and blue back. I had mild iron problems after that then it came back with a vengence in my forties. No one else in my family has it.

Actually - if anyone is still looking at this thread - I saw a disturbing interview on you tube, a young girl saying that the latest thing in the States was B12 injections to lose lots of weight in a short time. I thought I had gained weight - oh lordy don't tell me I haven't got that excuse for putting on the weight 😮

Actually - if anyone is still looking at this thread - I saw a disturbing interview on you tube, a young girl saying that the latest thing in the States was B12 injections to lose lots of weight in a short time. I thought I had gained weight - oh lordy don't tell me I haven't got that excuse for putting on the weight 😮

That's a new one on me! Anyone else aware of it? I can't see any possible weight loss mechanism involved (other than fraud):

"Vitamin B12 is needed to prevent anaemia. It aids folic acid in regulating the formation of red blood ceels, and helps in the utilisation of iron. It is required for proper digestion, absorption of foods, the synthesis of protein, and the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. it aids in cell formation and cellular longevity. In addition Vitamin B12 pevents nerve damage, maintains fertility, and promotes normal growth and development by maintaining the fatty sheaths that cover and protect nerve endings. It is linked to the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that assists memory and learning. B12 supplementation has been shown to enhance sleep patterns, allowing for more restful sleep." Phyllis A Balch. She goes on to list the problems from B12 deficiency.

I can't find any other information elsewhere to link B12 to weight loss other than on You-Tube!

The only possibility I can see is that if one is vegetarian or vegan and therefore (more likely to be) already vitamin B12 deficient, and eating a protein deficient diet (high in fat and carbs and therefore very overweight), then by replacing the B12, one is better able to make use of food and less likely to crave and pig-out on 'wrong' foods that are high in calories and nutrient-deficient. We can only have a small part of this story and surely if someone is that B12 deficient there will be other signs of deficiency involved?

Interesting!

Here it is

There is another article here.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Vitamin-B12-and-Weight-Loss&id=333129

I can see it working if you have been sluggish due to the deficiency and as the supplement boosts metabolism, you'll feel like doing more and will do more, therefore there will be some weight loss if you are on a healthy diet too.