Hello,
I've bought B12 oral spray 500mg and it recommends one spray per day. Will this dose be enough or should I up the dose? My serum B12 is low at 239 (190 - 600) and I have Hashi's and Ulcerative Colitis. I feel dreadfully tired all the time.
Any advice welcome.
Jo x
You can have as much as you want, or need! It's non toxic so you can't overdose on it. As b12 is water soluble so excess is excreted away. I had the spray about 3 times a day when I was also taking the lozenges, upto 10 a day. I suppose there may be other chemicals in the spray form that may change that? I don't know, other people on here have better knowledge. It didn't cause me any harm anyway. I self inject now but still take the occasional lozenge. I suppose it's a case of trial and error. Good luck. 
Dont forget you will more than likely need a broard spectrum multivit/ minerals to go along with it.
I use spray as well as sublingual b12 lozenges in between injections and the spray I use is 1000mcg. I spray about 3-5 sprays. I think you might have meant micrograms as well? Mcgs as opposed to mgs.
As LtAngua52 wrote, you cannot overdose on B12.
I assume your doctor won't give you shots as your level is not technically low enough but definitely low enough to cause problems and symptoms. I was in the "grey" area also at 290 with lots of symptoms and go to a naturopath in order to get the B12 that I need. She prescribes, my husband gives me injections.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Hi ndodge, thank you for your reply. You are right it is mcg :o). I've started spraying 3-4 times a day now and have ordered B12 ready to start injecting myself. I've never done this before and hate needles so I'm not sure how I'll get on but I am going to try until I've done it! It's such a relief to know other people are like me as my GP would not do a thing and basically left me to rot. Jo xxx
Hi Jostaffird0,
I didn't see your reply to me so that is why I am so long in answering. I used to get notifications when I had a reply but not so much lately. Hmmm.
I was very nervous at first, but now it is very fast and easy. It would be a good idea to go to internet sites to look up injection site areas to be clear on where to inject. Are you doing it yourself?
If so, I think the thigh is a good place and but it has to be a certain place on the thigh, so it would be good to check it out.
Others here can help with needle size but I use a 25 gauge 1inch needle for arms. I think that would work for thighs also. But you might want to ask other forum members. My husband gives me the shots and I swear, I don't even feel them!
Just be sure to wipe the top of the vial of B12 with an alcohol swab. I used to use a drawing needle and then switch to an injection needle but now I just use the same needle to draw and inject. When you draw it up make sure the air is out if the syringe-tap the syringe until the air bubbles come to the top and then you can push the plunger to get rid of them. Hope I'm not making this sound more complicated than it is! Best of luck to you! You are very brave.
Hi Ndodge, I'd already ordered my needles before your message so I hope I have ordered the right ones: 0.5ml insulin sterile syringe with needle from Amazon? Thank you for the advice, I'm going to try and do it myself although my boyfriend has offered to help. I will let you know how I get on. Jo xx
That might be the right size syringe depending on the b12. Most doses are 1mg of B12 in 1ml of solution. Which means you would need a 1ml. Syringe. If this is the case, then you would have to give yourself 2 shots since your syringe will only hold 1/2 a mg in1/2 a ml. But I get 2mgs in a 1ml solution so your syringes would work for in my case since I get 1mg in 1/2 a ml of solution. Be sure to check the b12 to solution ratio! Best of luck and keep me posted!
Another thought, Jostafford0, is you might do fine on a 1/2 mg dose if that is all that will fit in your .5 syringe - even that amount is so much more bio available than the B12 in lozenges or sprays.
I didn't mean to alarm you with my last post on the size of your syringe. You might find that even on a half dose ( if your solution is 1mg/1ml) will be very helpful to you!
Also, if you planned on injecting once a month, and you find you need the whole 1 mg, then you can inject two weeks later or if you were planning on doing it once a week, you can inject twice with a few days in between injections.
It's all an experiment anyway- everyone has to find the right amount and timing for their injections.
If you discover that you need the whole enchilada, so to speak (1 mg) then next time you order syringes you can order the 1 ml. No need to waste the ones you have bought already or wait for another order!
okay, just wanted to clarify.
Let me know how it goes!
Hi Ndodge, thank you for your message - I was hoping my needles would be here by now so need to check on Amazon where they are. Your advice makes perfect sense and I will try the 0.5 dosage before I order any more needles. When did you start to feel a difference? My tiredness is awful and I feel like I drag myself to work every day and I am just existing. Jo xx
Hi Jostafford0,
I totally know how you feel! Hang in there, you will fell better soon.
As far as injections go, I think you will feel better right away. The key is to give yourself enough. I felt better after each injection but it was only when I injected once a week that I felt consistently better.
Then I started swimming as I finally had enough energy but that upped my need for B12. I posted on this forum about it and people agreed that exercise really uses up B12 . My naturopath agreed.
So now I inject twice a week. I also have another autoimmune disease in my eye, Uveitis. I had a bad flare recently and then a tooth extraction and I had to inject 3-5 times a week because of inflammation with the Uveitis and stress and pain with the tooth. Its amazing to me how physical, mental or emotional stress seems to use up all my B12!
So, if I had to do it all over again, I would have done a loading dose-every other day for 2 weeks as is done in the U.K. It makes a lot of sense to me and I think I spent a lot of time messing about before I finally got enough B12!
You might want to consider doing that especially since you will be doing half doses. It's good to get the levels up and then do a maintenance dose. The maintenance dose is so individual, you might have to experiment with it. Maybe keep a log of how you feel after injections so you can note when you start feeling tired and /or experiencing other symptoms. You could start with once a week or every 2 weeks (after loading) and then go further between or you go could start with once a month and go closer together if you find you need to.
One other thought: I was also iron anemic at the same time as I found I was low on B12. Getting my iron up also gave me more energy. Have you had your ferritin levels checked lately? For some reason B12 deficiency and Iron deficiency often go hand in hand.
I'm not a nurse nor am I as knowledgeable as many people on this forum, so you might ask others what they think, too. That way you get a other input also.
I'm happy that you will soon be getting the B12 you so desperately need and I promise, you will feel better!
xo
Hi Ndodge, It's really interesting you say exercising depletes B12 as I exercised a lot before I was taken ill and completed a 26 mile overnight walk charity 2 weeks before that (although I felt extremely tired weeks prior to this). I found exercising alleviated the tiredness especially if I exercised at lunchtime but couldn't exercise in the evening as I just didn't have the energy. I stopped exercising altogether when the symptoms were really bad as for one, I did not have the energy to do so but also I was scared it would make me feel worse as the chest pain, breathing problems and heaviness were severe. My iron score is 16.7 (7.2-28.7) and folate is 6.98 (4.6-18.7) so I am trying to raise the level by taking B vits with folate. I can't wait to do my first injection and I am hoping the needles have arrived when I get home tonight. Jo xx
Hi Ndodge, I did my first injection this morning! It took me ages to snap the ampule, drawing the B12 was ok and I tapped the needle to disperse the air bubbles although I couldn't draw all of the liquid. The injection was ok but I think I did it too slow so it hurt a little bit. When you started did you inject every day? Also how do you draw up all of the liquid? Thank you for all your help and advice, it is so much appreciated. Jo xx
Hi Annonymous21, I bought the spray from Amazon. Jo x
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