B12 side effects

[Fiona1039]

Had my B12 injection on Wednesday ( my first after waiting 3 months after loading dose ) . It is now saturday and since yesterday gave had really upset tummy feel really nauseous and very windy! How long do side effects last for! Also had pain up my arm around my shoulders and at base of head

[Sleepybunny]

I think side effects are a very individual thing. Some people are fortunate and have few if any and others are less fortunate.

I have read that some people can react to additives in the injections. Perhaps you could ring the PAS? 01656 769467

My personal opinion is that increased pain can be a sign of the nerves "waking up".

What has your GP/practice nurse said about the side effects?

patient.info/medicine/hydro...

I've assumed your injection is hydroxycobalamin.

[Fiona1039 in reply to Sleepybunny]

Yes that is the injection I get! When I have told the nurse about how I feel she basically has said that she thinks it very unusual to feel unwell after a B12 injection almost get the feeling she thinks am making it up! It's now over 72 hours since injection and maybe I don't feel as bad as I did in the first 48 hours but I still feel queasy and just not right is so putting me off getting my next 3 month one when its due

[Gambit62 Administrator]

Sorry to hear about the tummy and the flatulence.

sometimes people find that going gluten free can help - I know I find that a pro-biotic yoghurt helps me a lot with flatulence.

It is possible that it isn't actually related to the B12 jab - things just happen occasionally.

Agree with sleepybunny on the pains. Know I went through a phase when my pins and needles in the hands seemed to be a lot worse which made me reflect back on how things had actually been worse at a period in the past - so sometimes the healing process means that things feel a bit worse for a while.

Hope you are feeling a bit better today.

[pvanderaa]

The feeling of hunger and of nausea is the repair of the vagus nerve. Unfortunately it can be quite strong.

The wind and gut issues are typically the result of the rush of metabolic byproducts when the cells in the body finally get B12. Toxins have been building up and they all end up getting filtered out by the liver and organs and end up in the bile in the gut where they react and cause loose stools and wind.

You may also get a brain fog type symptom after 12 to 24 hours as these toxins pass from the small intestine into the large intestine.

For me this all lasts until in have a large poo the day after the injection.

These detoxification symptoms indicate you were low on b12 before your 3 month injection.

Start keeping a logbook of food, drink and meds against the symptoms and when they appear. The logbook helps with the short term memory loss and builds up evidence that your GP will eventually need to persuade him/her that you are not a hypochondriac and you need more frequent injections.

Print out all your symptoms and their severity and give a copy to your GP on your next visit. Take your logbook with you and show him/her that you are tracking your progress yourself and these symptoms keep reappearing at specific times after your jab.

Holding a piece of paper seems to work quite well to convince your GP that you are not looney for having all these symptoms.

Good luck. You need more frequent injections.

[faknowles in reply to pvanderaa]

Had my injection aweek ago and have same symptoms feel hungry but sick, acid reflux, wind etc didn't put it down to the injection, thank-you for the insight didn't put the two together!!

[Fiona1039 in reply to faknowles]

Hi yeah I had the same with my loading doses honestly felt awful it's a little bit better today but still not 100%! How long have you had the tummy symptoms for ?

[wedgewood]

I have been told by a gastroenterologist that Pernicious Anaemia pattients suffer with Achlorhydria or Hypochlorhydria(No or low stomach acid) There is no treatment he said. So we have to research ourselves. Many people find help with probiotics. and avoiding wheat, Some go as far as taking Hydrochloric acid capsules with pepsin(Amazon) , We have to find our own salvation with experimenting! Just google Achlorhydria and read all about it! This comes hand in hand with P.A.

[pvanderaa in reply to wedgewood]

I eat lots of salsa and drink OJ before going to bed. I'm gluten, dairy and soya free.

[wedgewood in reply to pvanderaa]

Thanks for that. I actually drink a lot of grapefruit juice(not from concentrate)I avoid wheat like the plague. I find organic rye sourdough bread doesn't cause any problems.

[Frodo]

Following on from the discussion I found a lot of informative stuff here (hope the link works) on PA and stomach acid and the effects. Quite enlightening. emedicine.medscape.com/arti...

[wedgewood in reply to Frodo]

Yes Frodo, I've just read that link, but no suggestions for treatment. We have to experiment I guess. Water-based probiotic helped me a lot,but I'm still experimenting! Thanks for passing that on.

[Fiona1039]

It's all so frustrating and really feeling like this puts me off going for another injection it's over 72 hours since having it and still feel so queasy and just not right!! How long should I feel like this for? Would it be worth asking GP to try different brand of injection ?

[Frodo in reply to Fiona1039]

Did you have the same thing with the loading dose?

[Fiona1039 in reply to Frodo]

Yeah I had exactly the same and also a terrible kind of anxiety with it! Think what am trying to find out is this common to feel like this or should I query a possible bad reaction ?

[Frodo in reply to Fiona1039]

The nurse gave me the info that comes with the injection so I could check out what is in it, and I couldn't see anything untoward in it so you could ask to see that.

There's someone else in the group who was given a different kind of B12, methylcobalamin, and had a terrible response but that does seem to be unusual.

I think you can ask for a smaller dose (but arrange this beforehand) and it may be that would not provoke such an extreme reaction.

My experience is that I've found I usually feel better but different symptoms do re-emerge as well, this week it was an old upper back pain, but it cleared over three days. At one point my migraines got much worse - after trial and error they seem to be improving with an added iron supplement (fingers crossed). That shows how individual our reactions are.

I also get extremely exhausted for a day or two after the injection (more than usual) and I do have upset stomach - but I have that anyway. The B12 really helps with anxiety though, I feel extremely calm afterwards even in the face of a stressful situation.

If you are really worried though, you should ask the doctor/nurse about it perhaps to rule out any kind of allergy type reaction.

[sweetnessandlight]

I have been getting jabs for 5 years. The only side effect I have that I'm sure is due to jab is extreme tiredness do a day or so. However I have had the most dreadful stomach problems which I think are more to do with b12 deficiency. I take an enzyme with meals and have gone lactose free and that has helped a lot. You really do need your jabs so wait to see if your stomach problems disappear completely. If they do then maybe it was the jab. If you still have them when your next one is due then it's unlikely. I would personally do anything to get my jab more often but we are all different and react differently. Hope you work it out and feel better soon.

[Heidiv]

Hi sweetnessandlight, sorry to jump in on this thread, but which enzyme do you take and where did you get if from (Anazon,...?)? My stomach has gotten progressively worse since I started weekly shots of Methyl about 3 monthe ago.

Thank you