Hi
I've been SI B12 now for roughly 6 months.(weekly at first and now every 2 weeks). I decided to cut down the frequency. I wanted to know if your body becomes tolerant to the injections over time and if you need more and more frequent injections ?
Thankyou all. (You are life savers !)
I presume by tolerant you mean that you become unresponsive and need higher doses as a result or do you mean something else.
Based on the assumption: not aware of any studies (though also haven't looked for any) and not aware of any anecdotal evidence that this happens.
However - pure speculation - if one problem is auto-immune system responding to high levels in serum and the amount that is getting through to cells being affected as a result then, as B12 is involved in maintaining a healthy immune system then logically it would be possible that, as the immune system recovers, the auto-immune reaction might get stronger - but I wouldn't expect this to be an effect that lasted more than a few months.
Are you certain that B12 is the (only) issue?
I think your usage should be guided by the improvement (or otherwise) in your symptoms. Only you know how you feel.
Thanks Clive
I just remembered that you're a long time user of B12 injections.(once every 3 weeks ?)
So if it was the case of becoming unresponsive or increasing dosage/frequency, it would have happen to you.
I don't want to overuse because I'm SI and later have problems or become unresponsive to them.(because I knw I'm going to have to use them for life).
As I have P.A. I have to have them - either that or eat raw liver three times a day 
My GP has never done tests as to 'why' I was so low on B12.
I've always eaten enough B12 sources (meat,fish, chicken etc) and never been a vegetarian.
He put me straight on to injections as I also had neurological symptoms.(At the same time I was also low on Folate) so I was also given Folic Acid tablets 400ug which I still take daily.That means I wasn't absorbing B12 so does that automatically mean I have PA ?....or a possibility of other factors for not being able to absorb. I figured it wouldn't have been so straight forward to find the underlying cause and would take forever to reach a diagnosis.
I felt a world of difference with injections which relieved a whole load of symptoms including major fatigue, depression, neurological, digestion, IBS, memory and more so I decided to SI since reading a lot of stories of GP's not wanting to give you more than 1 injection every 3 months. I knew from my symptoms that was never going to be enough as symptoms returned way quicker and I couldn't put up a fight and carry on with work or simple day to day tasks with those symptoms and found it easier just to research, buy my own and SI.
I'm still going through trial and error phase.
I still have symptoms but nowhere near as bad.
I've read about potassium and magnesium and B complex and been suggested on here by people I think have more knowledge that GP's on B12 deficiency but haven't tried them yet as I don't want to overdo things.
It's been over a year and learning about everything on here and making adjustments (with frequency of injections) and trials I've made good progress and feel much much better compared to how I was feeling back then.
I don't think through any GP I would have made this much progress and waiting around would have made my symptoms far worse before a cause was found.
Overall do you think I done the right thing ??, as im now only injecting once every 2 weeks and 400ug Folic Acid daily and nothing else.
What do you think of adding potassium, magnesium and B complex. (1 at a time ofcourse) ?
Have you had any kind of experience with them or think it's needed ?
Sorry for the long read, but honestly I don't think my GP could have helped me as much as the people on this forum.
I thank all the people who've replied to my posts directly and been indirectly learning daily from other people's posts.
Still learning.
Thanks for taking time out for me and others who really need this valuable information and have benefited so much when their own GP's are unable to help and they have nowhere else to turn to. They must also be thanking you from the bottom of their hearts, as for many it's life changing.
Thankyou.
Hi Ryaan you look to be doing what is right for you which cannot be bad. As to the cause of your deficiency anyone at any age, can become B12 deficient. However, certain people are at an elevated risk. They include the following:
Vegetarians, vegans and people eating macrobiotic diets.
People aged sixty and over
People who’ve undergone any gastric and/or intestinal surgery, including bariatric surgery for weight loss purposes (Gastric bypass).
People who regularly use proton-pump- inhibitors. H2 blockers, antacids, Metformin, and related diabetes drugs, or other medications that can interfere with B12 absorption.
People who undergo surgeries or dental procedures involving nitrous oxide, or who use the drug recreationally.
People with a history of eating disorders (anorexia or bulimia).
People with a history of alcoholism.
People with a family history of pernicious anaemia.
People diagnosed with anaemia (including iron deficiency anaemia, sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia).
People with Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten enteropathy (celiac disease), or any other disease that cause malabsorption of nutrients.
People with autoimmune disorders (especially thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease) Type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, lupus, Addison’s disease, ulcerative colitis, infertility, acquired agammaglobulinemia, or a family history of these disorders.
You have ruled out vegan and vegetarian but mentioned IBS. Are there any other possibilities causing your malabsorption?
I can't comment on additional supplements you mentioned and suggest you have a word with your local pharmacist about them.
I wish you well
Inject often enough to relieve symptoms and no more.
Simple to say, not so easy in practise. It's taken me ages to sort out my optimum frequency.
Decide which is your most variable symptom (mine was fatigue) or symptoms. Keep a diary listing the severity of it (them) and when you inject. Try a fairly long interval between jabs, then bring it down until you find something that works.
For ages I did once a week. But, after a long time, it became plain that 7 days was pushing it. Most weeks I'd be fine, then I wouldn't. And forgetting for a day could really hit me.
I thought about a 5 day interval, but trying to remember when it was due became a pain. So I now do Monday's and Thrusdays - and that seems to be working quite well.
Yes that is what I mean.
You've increased from 1 a week to 2 a week. Last time I remember you were on 1 a week.
That is what I meant in my question. (The time you feel well for in between injections slowly decreases which means over time you increase the strength or the frequency of injection).
So....can I ask for how long have you been injecting 1 a week and how long has it been since you've moved up to 2 a week.
The 'once a week' strategy was, in retrospect, never quite enough. I would start feeling rough on the day mybinjection was due, and terrible if I let it slip a couple of days.
There was a feedback loop. Being late with the jab made me feel depressed, so I couldn't be bothered getting the gear together to do the jab, so I'd get more tired and more depressed and skip another one - until I got ordered to go and stick a needle in myself.
Then a friend suggested I try two a week. It's only been three weeks but those odd rough days seem to have disappeared.
Does anyone know the absorption rate of b12 injections?
Telling your GP you are self injecting B12
does stress deplete your B12 quicker
How long does it take for B12 injection to kick in?
