B12 injections + B12 supplements?

[gherkin93]

Hi everyone, I have just been given a course if 1mg of Hydroxocobalamin once a month for 5 months after having a blood test which came back with very low B12 (but normal folate) levels.

Before being properly tested I thought of taking B12 supplements because I've been following a vegetarian diet (and don't have a love for eggs) for the past 10 years. I was going to purchase nutrional yeast with 2.2mcg of Vitamin B12 per serving.

Would there be any risk of including this additional B12 amount to my diet? I wouldn't eat it every day but some days I could have more than one serving. I wouldn't be taking actual supplements in the form of pills whilst I am on my course of injections.

Many thanks!

[clivealive Forum Support]

You really cannot have "too much" Vitamin B12 as any excess is excreted via your urine. Hopefully the injections you are having will boost the amount stored in your liver so that unless you have an absorption problem or are on other medications which affect B12 levels you can continue to happily "tick over" with the nutritional yeast supplement as much as you like.

I wish you well

[gherkin93 in reply to clivealive]

That's really interesting to know and thank you!

[Hidden]

Hi, are you having five months worth of top-up injections before moving to the full course? I had top ups for about six weeks before moving to the full dose. I've been told that there's no such thing as too much B12 though, by my GP, so he opted to keep me on it for life in case I fall ill again (I have other issues that might have contributed). It turns out that I do still need it though, so I'm glad he made that decision!

[gherkin93 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Tarantulagirl, I don't know for sure as I'm very new to officially knowing about my B12 deficiency and am unaware of all the types of B12 deficiency treatments.

My deficiency is more than likely a result of my diet, if I can take oral off-the-shelf supplements to keep me topped up for the rest of my life I assume as long as my B12 levels are in the 'normal' range after these 5 months then I won't go on to a further full course of injections.

It's unfortunate that you still need B12 injections but on the plus side you've at least found a solution that is keeping you feeling well! Best wishes

[Hidden in reply to gherkin93]

For me this is a lifelong thing and not just a blip. When my GP found out that my B12 levels were dangerously low, he'd been looking for something else entirely and called me back for an emergency blood test, in which my levels had plummeteed once again in a very short space of time. I can't make or store B12 myself, but there are worse things in life. Hopefully, for you, this is just temporary

[gherkin93]

Great thank you