Hi, My delivery from Germany has arrived and I'm about to delve into the world of self injecting in the hope of feeling better after my loading dose gave me a brief glimpse of the old me.
I ordered the ampoules recommended by the lovely folk on here and was wondering if anyone who self injects could suggest or enlighten me on how frequently is the norm?
I was thinking of weekly SI which will take me up to my next dose from my GP (I ordered 10 to start with)
Is this too much? I don't want to mess this up, so any insight much appreciated.
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Bees88
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Thanks for your reply, I will go with weekly and just judge it by how I feel. How do I up my folate please? Is it possible to do through tablet folic acid?
best form of folate is from the diet so check that you have plenty of folate rich food in your diet. Short of that you can also get folic acid tablets.
A lot depends on how you feel and how often you are going to be having injections via your GP. I noticed you complained of brain fog in previous posts... have all neurological symptom cleared up after your loading doses?
My GP injections are 10 weekly, obviously I will be keeping those to remain in the system and all depending on how I feel.
Naively, I expected to feel like Wonder Woman after one dose, however I did notice an improvement briefly after the loading dose and could have danced a jig, but was disappointed that by the weekend I was shattered and still forgetful and dopey.
I feel much more positive and proactive than I have in a very long time, I don't know if that's a placebo effect after being continually dismissed with depression and anxiety every time I tried to speak to a doctor about my symptoms.
I am going to try weekly, for the time being, and see if there's the same life changing improvement that other lucky ones have experienced.
I must admit it is depressing sometimes dealing with the negativity and sometimes feeling patronised... I SI weekly myself and It feels much better to be in control. It can take a while to feel better and as Clive said you do need healthy level of folate to process the B12.
You will get help and support on here if you need help with doing the injections...do let us know how you get on and hope you feel much better soon. Warm wishes.
The BCSH guidelines state that you should have every other day injections until all your neurological symptoms are resolved so you could use that as a guide.
I personally think that a steady approach (such as once a week) is good as it seems to keep some of your body's system trying to work, rather than just relying on the jabs it gets, but I have no real evidence for this and I also know that if your body needs it, it needs it!
Don't worry too much about how often you inject as I need 1.5 mg in 1 ml hydroxocobalamin daily and there are several people who inject twice a day.
If you do inject more frequently you will need other supporting supplements to make the extra B12 work properly and you will probably need a least a broad spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement plus extra folate, potassium and magnesium, maybe iron.
I suggest you Google these to see what symptoms a deficiency and excess of these causes so you can judge what you might need. Ideally you will get them from your diet but be aware that you may need to take extra supplements.
Listen to your body and let it be the guide. If you get any other questions, please ask!
Good luck!
I found my frequency of s.i I needed changed over the months.
I started with alternate days & some of my symptoms disappeared within 5 injections--- the tinnitus, dizziness, brain fog began to lift.
I went to 2 days between injections, then 3. After 6 months since starting s.i I'm now on every 2-3 weeks. I do another injection when I feel any symptoms returning. I suspect I have P.A but GP not interested so I'll go on treating myself for ever if need be.
I'd say see how you feel and go with your body on when you need another injection.
I started on weekly injections also as time has gone on I have tried leaving it a bit longer and now that brain fog has disappeared inject 3 weekly at moment I find that around 4 weeks symptoms start to return. Good luck I am sure it will change your life.
Thank you all so very much for your wealth of knowledge and experiences, it's been such an eye opener to see how people take control of their own health like this and has inspired me. I've spent so long just plodding along feeling rubbish and you've all inspired me to invest some time into looking after myself.
A good friend of mine is a nurse, and after initially being skeptical she spoke to colleagues and researched and has agreed to do the injections for me.
I have a protein and veg based diet, due to weight issues (which I hope will alleviate with functioning metabolism again) but have Crohns so will be looking online for some supplements today.
Thank you all again, will update in a few weeks with progress!
I do every other day (gathered from advice on here) and after 3 months could nearly change my name to MuchBetterNearlyNormal instead of shattered & fed up which I was before! So. I'd say you're in control for the first time, experiment with how you feel, like GPS are supposed to do.. treat to the symptoms - good luck.
Good luck! I read this post and replies with interest as today I've had shot number 4 of the 6 loading dose shots, and asked my GP how often he intended to keep me topped up. 'Oh, every twelve weeks!' he said merrily, and my heart sank. I've already ordered some B12 ampoules from the German site recommended here, and will soon be looking on amazon for the needles etc. I think I'll try once a week too, and see how I get on. So far, there's been no improvement from the loading dose, which is so disappointing, but to be expected I suppose. I hope your weekly shots work out!
I was disappointed too, I had hoped I'd feel great. The ordering was really simple, I only ordered one box of ten because I don't know how long they store for and didn't want to chance it incase they don't work! My nurse friend is showing me what to do tonight, I wish you well with your order and I'll definitely get back to let you know how I feel with weekly and to compare notes 😂
Thanks very much - I'd really appreciate that. I've ordered a box of ten for the same reason! My son has recently qualified as a nurse and he's offered to help with the injections - think I'll go for SC rather than IM though. Do keep in touch - and I really hope it works out well for you!
hi, I am looking for your experience and wisdom again very shortly after my initial post.... had injection on Friday and again today, trying to feel normal. Have noticed both times very frequent urination for most of the day. As in, 'ore frequent than usual.
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