B12 - does anyone else get tired when due

Why does she tell you you can only have it every three months? I get mine every 4 weeks... I definitely notice when I'm getting close. And the next day or 2 after I get it I'm noticeably LESS tired.

I also need a B12 shot every two weeks, or I start getting very tired after about a month. I also take iron supplements orally - the B12 is needed to help absorb the iron, so the iron pills are not much use without the shots.

Littlemissmuffet, I suggest following Suzanne's advice and doing your own B12 shots. That's what I do. You only need to inject yourself IM (not IV) and this is not so difficult. If you've never done it before, it would be good if a nurse showed you how. I'm not sure what the rules are in the UK about buying needles and syringes and B12 in ampules - here in Taiwan that is all available across the counter. I reckon it costs me about US$1 per shot.

cheers,
Robert

Thanks for all the replies - I will have to see how I perk up after the next shot. Here in th UK I dont think yoiu can buy B12 to administer yourself, You have to take what the NHS gives out. I will certainly consider asking my doctor though about the possibilty of every 2 months

Just an update. Have just had my B12 shot, my nurse tells me I was 3 weeks late for it ! I got my appointments mixed up. She said this was why I am so tired. I can still only have it every three months but the nurse said I could get away with two weeks early - so I mite try that. I am hoping to be full of energy this weekend. Ha ha - well you never know.

HI LMills

I had a blood t st to check my B12 levels and ferratin (iron) levels as a routine check at the doctors. Although I have blood tests every 8 weeks this had never been checked before. I was lacking in B12, B12 helps you to absorb iron. I now get B12 shots every 12 weeks. Normally pepele get B12 via food but us crohnies - our body wont absorb it. I was told your body can keep going quite a while on the stores it has. I also take an iron supplement - although I know not everyone can tolerate this.

umm ...You can get out of bed, even when you are late? I am kinda of making light of the situation. I have gotten so low I could not stand up without passing out.

My G.P. watches my B-12 very closely...
He is aware and almost over protective of my B-12,and rate to absorb.
Wondering why your Dr's don't let you have more...
I've complained to my gastro about being tired all the time and he said
"Of course your tired, you have active Crohn's..."
Grrrr...

I just love you folks!! This weekend,I could NOT hardly get out of the bed. Even stong will and fussing at myself did not do it. Yep, you guessed,4 weeks since my last B12 injection. I thought 2cc would last a little longer. Well,it does not heal that abcsess, however I am up and about. I honestly am not sure what I would do without all of you!

Hi!  I get B12 injections every 3 weeks - 1500 mcg.  Please everyone, if you are having difficulty with exhaustion - inisist that your doctor gets a blood test done to see where your levels are at.  Lack of B12, can cause some nasty side affects besides just feeling tired.  You need B12 to thrive physically and mentally.  Its also known as pernicious anemia --- look it up. 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000569.htm

 

Littlemissmuffet, you are quite right that you can only get B12 injections through a prescription in the UK. At least, that was the information I found when I was trying, yet again in vain, to get B12 to relieve my severe chronic fatigue. The answer I have always gotten is that you only need it if you have had your bowel removed.
However, while searching to see if I could get the nasal spray that I had heard about, I discovered that the sublingual variety of B12 pill, that dissolves straight through the membrane under the tongue into the bloodstream (not through the gut, which is useless to us), is now available from health food stores. I got some of that, and what a difference !
I don't know if this is the same as the B12 in the injections - I believe there are different forms it comes in - and it may not work as well, but it is certainly worth a try. What I have found is that it works best when I have all the other nutrients I need - miss any of them and its effect is much diminished. This is probably because it the body uses it as a catalyst in reactions, so if any other ingredient is lacking then it can't do the job.
The next time your medical care provider tells you that you store a water soluble vitamin that is composed of cyanide and cobalt stuck together, please ask them where and how it is stored, I was under the impression that medical dogma stated that watersoluble vitamins not needed straight away are excreted through the urine, this is why taking most supplements is supposed to be a waste of time !
You might also want to tell them that the Mayo Clinic did an experiment years ago, where they rated patients for severity of symptoms against the clinical deficiency scale for B12, took blood samples to check blood B12 levels, then gave them B12 supplements. What they found was that even when in theory the blood levels were only at the low end of the "normal" range - not officially deficient - symptoms of deficiency were still clearly present. Their conclusion was that the clinical deficiency scale used was incorrectly calibrated (it dated back to the 1930s when the technology was primitive and readings likely to be inaccurate)and needed updating.
I guess the word just didn't get out to the general medical population, the paper must just never have been cited.