Self Injections

[kennedy333]

I have been suffering from symptoms that have taken me out of work and school and have reached my breaking point. Doctor after doctor refuse to listen to me. So I am taking things into my own hands and need as much info as possible on self injecting b12 where to get, what to get, EVERYTHING! Please I just want my life back, huge thanks in advance!

[xeena]

Hi there - please go on to Facebook and go on to the B12 thread and pernicious anemia/B12 thread there you will find everything you need to know and where to get your B12 injections and needles - they are lovely people who really make a difference to our lives - just ask for help and it is there in abundance. Hope this helps.

[Marz]

If you are on a phone - then scroll down and down - where you will see the Heading - RELATED POSTS - there you will find 10 more posts about B12 injections and hopefully information that is helpful. Also the PINNED POSTS - further down. On a computer - these headings are to the right of your post

[Frodo]

If you've never had a B12 injection before, I think it's best if you can have your first one with a medical practitioner as there's a very slight possibility of an adverse reaction. As your doctors won't listen, you might have to look for someone private.

[Johnathan]

You are doing the right thing. My wife would be dead now if the trend had continued that we were on before we self-injected. Her doctor refused an injection more than once per three months even though her symptoms were getting severe. Getting a doctor to oversee a self-injection might be a real challenge. However - if you are going to do this I would advise you try to find a friendly nurse to show you how to inject properly. You do not want any prospect of injecting air into yourself.

[Jo55]

You definitely need the first injection under medical supervision, do you have a health spa anywhere near you as many of those give b12 injections. As Exeena said, the Facebook groups are an excellent source of help

[Hidden]

I went to a friend's house to do my first injection. I explained there was a slight risk of an adverse reaction and she's the type used to coping in an emergency ! It was fine. I'd never injected anything in my life, only ever had theoretical training for an epi pen.

I googled Goldpharma and chose 3x5 vials initially. Later I bought a box of 60. Needles you can buy off Amazon. Pack of 10 syringes, 10 blue needles, 10 green and 10 wipes for about £4. Medisave do each in packs of 100.

You can buy a sharps bin off EBay or Amazon or Medisave.

On the vial, locate the white dot on the neck. Tap or flick the vial with your finger to make sure all the liquid drops from the heck and snap with the pressure going against the white dot.

I watched a couple of YouTube videos on self injecting. The first few you do can be a bit daunting but it's almost painless, and will have the fastest results for you.

[Polaris]

I started self injecting sub cut around six weeks ago and have not looked back since.

order mine from: mycare.de/en#

Easy to use - just press Union Jack for translation

Search for 'hydroxocobalamin' and select: B12 DEPOT ROTEXMEDICA (10x1ml). Pay through PayPal.

Syringes, needles, sterile wipes and Sharps boxes from:

medisave.co.uk/instantsearc...

BD Plastipak 2ml syringes

TErumo Agani 21G x 1 1/2 " green needles to draw the solution up into the syringe

BD Microlance 23g x 1.25 "Blue needles for the IM injection

or

BD Microlance 26G x 3/8" Brown needles for sub cut

..........,

Warm up the ampoule of B12 to body temperature and Inject slowly.

IM : nursingtimes.net/clinical-a...

Sub cut:

cc.nih.gov/ccc/patient_..

Good Luck Kennedy - you'll be so glad, as I was, to take control of your health at last.

[Belleblue]

We got to this stage with my grown up son - he had regular jabs for years until the gp decided he didn't need them. We battled for several years to get them reinstated but then gave up and went down the self injection route.

We bought the b12 online from Germany and the needles and syringes from Amazon. I put a Facebook plea out on a local selling site asking for a nurse who'd be willing to show us how to inject and was lucky that someone I know (vaguely, I'd bought makeup from her!) was a paramedic and was willing to come and show us what to do. It was worth the ask and I did get lots of replies - mainly saying no! There are also lots of 'how to' videos on YouTube.

Th pernicious anaemia group on here were fantastic- really helpful, knowledgeable and friendly people! Good luck..

[Ryaan]

First of all y do u want to inject B12 and how low is ur B12 ?

Have u had a blood test or any diagnosis.

Can't u absorb B12 from ur food.

If u can't absorb from food then tablets won't help.

It would be good to post results on here. Also how bad r ur symptoms and how long has it been ?

If u decide to self inject the routine is (if ur gp was to treat u properly)

6 loading doses

1 every other day for 2 weeks.

eg: week 1 mon/wed/fri

week 2 mon/wed/fri

Then it should be 1 injection every week until no further improvement in ur symptoms.

Then it's normally 1 every 3 months. (Although most people need and inject more frequently), like 1 every month.(a few r ok with 1 every 3 months if symptoms r not that bad).

I found 6 loading doses to be too much in 2 weeks so I started 1 injection per week until I felt a big improvement (that was about 10-12 injections in 10-12 weeks. It worked great. Then I monitored my symptoms as in how long I feel any symptoms after the last injection.

For me I start feeling minor symptoms in the 3rd week after last injection and by week 4 I felt I really need one. I know inject once every 2 weeks (as minor symptoms return in week 3.

You can purchase good B12 from Versandapo.de online.(A German site), but if u go to the bottom of the page on the site and click on the Union Jack 🇬🇧 it translates it in to English.

If u search B12 depo it will show u B12 injections, u can buy in packs of 10 vials or 100 vials which work out cheaper.

What u need is Hydroxocobalamin 1mg.

You can also contact them by email and they respond quickly.

U will see 'Vitamin B12 depot', the make is 'Rotexmedica'.

That's what u need.

The syringes,needles,alcohol wipes u can purchase from Amazon and u will need a sharps disposal bin for disposing needles from Amazon or eBay.

2 ml syringes and blue needles u need. My local chemist give them free so ask your local pharmacy they may do them.

U need to learn to self inject which I learnt from YouTube videos. ( but best to get ur first few from a nurse) then it's easier to do it urself.

Normally with B12 u need Folic Acid (400ug 1 daily) as it works together with B12 and Iron, but u must first know if u r low in Folic Acid (folate) and Iron.

400 yh Folic Acid is harmless but if u need iron don't go over the standard daily recommendation for men.(about 8mg). Too much Iron is very harmful.

B12 can have side effects although nothing major but I suggest u introduce it slowly to ur body rather than 6 doses in 2 weeks. It's best 1 per week and see your improvement and when u feel no further improvement cut back to 1 per month and see how that goes. (Monitor ur symptoms and note them down and u will know if u need more than 1 per month or if 1 in 3 months is ok.

Read about the side effects of B12 before SI, and learn how to self inject the proper way and where to inject. (Thigh muscle is most easiest to SI. If u divide ur thigh muscle in half on ur right leg it's the outer upper quarter and on left side it's outer upper left thigh muscle.(safety first).

Make sure there's no air in the syringe when u inject (normally by flicking the syringe and slowly push the syringe until a drop of B12 comes out and there's no air bubbles).

You can learn a lot from YouTube on how to inject.

You will improve over a good few weeks (like 10-12 weeks).

Are u diagnosed with PA ?

I'm not a medical doctor so learn all the safety part and how to inject properly, which is not hard.

If u have any reaction u think is not right u should stop injecting and seek professional medical help. (Don't get scared, just a caution).

That's all there's to know about B12 and to get dosage right it takes a bit of time but u should get there by keeping a diary of symptoms.

It's important to first get a blood test and know what your levels of B12, Folate, iron and vitamin D3 are before u start.

These 4 need to be maintained and any 1 of these low gives u similar symptoms. They're important anyway to keep check.

You might be low on D3 and gp should give u the right dosage of this and Iron.

They're strict on B12(due to lack of knowledge)

Hope this helps.

I've given u a quick A-Z lesson on B12. (Still learning myself).

All the best.