Just had my 3rd injection and I feel awful...?

[Ctb567]

This is sort of a continuation of my last post from a few days ago. I've had a borderline b12 for a year now, it was usually around 145-160 (ref 150-1000), I don't know what my latest result was that got me the injections but it must have been <150. I've started my injections this week and I've just had my 3rd one (out of 6) and I feel bad :/ I just feel so exhausted and achy and have done since my 2nd injection. It doesn't help I've had a bit of a stressful week with uni exams and stuff but still it shouldn't make me feel this bad.

I'm just getting worried now that perhaps these injections aren't going to do anything for me at all. Has anyone else felt worse after the injections? When would I expect to start feeling better?

Thanks

[Sukiwarrior]

Hi Carly's,

I am also new to all this I have had 8 out of 9 loading injections as I convinced my GP to give me 3 more. I have so many symptoms and I now believe I have been B12 deficient for many years. I have been on antidepressants on and off for 20 years when I believe it was all down to B 12. After my first few I still felt awful but my energy is now getting better. I went a a meeting last Saturday run by Martyn from the Pernacious Anemia org and it was fantastic in London I found out so much info.

I have decided to start self injecting I have got my B12 Methylcobalmin and just waiting for my insulin needles and then I shall continue every other day until I feel a difference.

You can not rely on your doctor as they have not got a clue so you have to take your health into your own hands.

Best of luck,

Bee.

[Hidden]

Hi Carly,

It can take some time to feel any benefit of the B12 injections, months for some. Your body is doing hard work with the added B12, I felt terribly tired, feverish and headachy initially after my B12 jab (still can get it some 4 hours later). It took me 3-4 months to notice the improvement B12 made, and from then on started to rely on B12 to keep me well, so you may just have to give it some time. Give your body the rest it needs now to get better, eat well and sleep as much as you can,

Kind regards,

Marre.

[alex2000]

Hang in there. I felt a bit like you but after seven or eight shots I'm slowly starting to improve but still a long way to go to full recovery if that will be possible. Best wishes.

[Lily73]

I didn't start to feel better until at least 2-3 weeks after my first B12 jab.

Just a thought: do you know your folate levels/had them checked recently? I was B12 and folate deficient, and I started to feel a lot better once my GP added in the folic acid shortly after I had had all my B12 loading jabs.

[Happy-go-lucky]

I felt less tired straight away but was still unbalanced I feel that has got better 2 months into it. I even feel warmer. It does take a while for it to store into your liver then it releases when your body needs it. So hang in there. Things will settle down

[engels in reply to Happy-go-lucky]

I disagree with your comment on liver storage. It is generally accepted that, in a healthy person, the liver can store up to about 5mg of B12 (mainly as adenosylcobalamin) and that when someone develops PA, or for some other reason stops being able to absord B12 from food, that store of B12 is used up over a period of several years until deficiency becomes apparent. If B12 supplementation, either by injection or some other means, were able to replenish those stores then all that would be necessary would be for us to take large doses of B12 over a short period of time to replenish the stores in the liver and then everything would be fine for another period of several years until the B12 in the liver was depleted again. But it just doesn't happen like that. Many of us need massive (compared to the amount of B12 absorbed from food) doses of B12 on a very regular basis which leads me to think that either none of the B12 we take actually reaches the liver or for some reason cannot be used. I could be wrong (not for the first time) but this just seems logical to me.

[Hidden in reply to engels]

I am sure you are right engels, I now know I do not recycle much B12 in bile, as I do not take up much bile, so that to me explains why my serum levels will never be high, its very different per person what they can recycle and or store I think, and that is reflected in the very different serum levels of B12 people achieve after the same B12 injection, well my simple explanation anyway!

Marre.

[Happy-go-lucky in reply to engels]

No you are right and you make a lot of sense. The doctor gave me that info but as I have learned on here. Doctors are not very educated on b12 matters x

[stellahall]

Hello! I certainly didnt feel better during loading injections and felt worse shortly after - now its several weeks and things are getting better.. so - stay positive!

[cefjarth]

Hi carly, your level is very low. Would imagine that's why you feel awful. Get yoursel suzy patchalock's book could it be B12. Make sure u raise ur level to at least 300. Lack of b12 has SERIOUS health consequences.

[Hidden]

It is early days for you, don't stress, it takes time for our bodies to heal, and we all heal in our own good time.

I was told when starting my injections of B12, to take extra good care of myself, not to stress,

eat good food and rest.

[Hanneke12]

Thanks for your story - and all the replies, quite helpful as I am right at the 3 injections-feeling-awful point (headache, dizzy, and oh that fatigue...). So I am curious: how are you NOW?

[Ctb567 in reply to Hanneke12]

I felt ill for the first 2 weeks of injections. I found that after about a month I had more endurance, usually after going to the supermarket or something like that I would have to lie in bed for a while to recover but at around the month mark I felt like I could just carry on with my day. After my 3 month injection I started to notice some other improvements too. For me it wasn't this amazing recovery, I just slowly started to feel a bit more normal as time went on. I think the issue is the injections are just stopping the b12 deficiency, it doesn't really repair all of the damage left behind, that can take a lot longer.

Hope this helps and don't worry, you should start to feel better soon.

[Hanneke12 in reply to Ctb567]

Thank you for your reply - which is reassuring. And it makes sense... I'll be more patient.

Hope you're back to a normal level of energy now!