B12 injections at 'beauty' clinic - Pernicious Anaemi...

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B12 injections at 'beauty' clinic

Tara- profile image
28 Replies

Hello, I'm also new here, but found all your posts incredibly informative and inspiring. I've been having a tough time with symptoms such as fatigue, pins and needles and little shooting pains, stomach problems, tinnitus, spaced out, low mood etc and am currently off work trying to recover. Blood tests showed low iron and vit d for which I'm taking supplements and 'within range' b12 of 241, however, I feel I'm showing lots of signs of b12 deficiency and like a lot of you guys struggling to get dr to accept it could be that and refused me injections, despite showing them NICE guidelines etc. I've been referred to lots of different specialists and currently waiting for appts. So, in my hunt to self treat and feel better I've discovered a beauty clinic that offers b12 injections, I called them and they state it's exactly the same stuff as they use in drs, I am very tempted to book in and hope it's ok to share this here ... I don't want to name as not here to advertise, but thought it might be helpful to consider and research for those of you who are interested.

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Tara- profile image
Tara-
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28 Replies
ajw1205 profile image
ajw1205

It might prove to be quite costly, but an option for those who can't self inject possibly?

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toajw1205

I agree, they cost £29 each time, but thought of SI at the moment too scary... posssibly in time I'll ask one of my nurse friends to show me 🙂

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood in reply toTara-

Well yes that it expensive . But cheaper than going to a private doctor . It would of course be cheaper to S. I. ( costs me about £1 a time , if I buy in bulk ) Ask to see the ampoule that they use . Make sure it's Hydroxocobalamin , and that it's 1mg .

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply towedgewood

Thanks for the advice wedgewood 🙂

Ashweb901 profile image
Ashweb901 in reply towedgewood

Jealous in the US - we can't get hydroxy!

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood in reply toAshweb901

We can only get Hydroxy( or any injectable) on prescription in UK . As my doctor will only allow me one injection every three months which is not enough to alleviate my PA symptoms , I have to get my Hydroxy from a very good German online pharmacy . Can you not get yours that way? Really good value - only 55 Euros for 100 ampoules ., or 8,99 Euros for 10 plus 8 Euros P&P ( probably more to USA)

Ashweb901 profile image
Ashweb901 in reply towedgewood

I'd love to find out. I did find a manufacturer in the states that makes it so maybe it's available here after all!

matty25 profile image
matty25 in reply towedgewood

Hi, I ordered the b12 injection kit last week from b12 horizon and it came the next day, it defo is the hydroxocobalamin and its 1mg and you even get the doctors precription in the box so all above board, the next week ie today the nurse came to my house at 9am and did the injection for me, but I do agree the price is really costly, its now £ 89.15. I could not afford to do it every week, maybe every 2-3 months but thats it. I have heard that beauty clinics do it, there is one near me and they charge £29.00 so alot cheaper than from b12 horizon, I think the cost is high because they send a nurse out to do the injection and then the cost of the private prescription etc. I would defo recommend b12 horizon but I like most people probs could not afford to do it all the time.

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood in reply tomatty25

Well , I’m glad you got your injection . It is very expensive . I could not afford that price because I need an injection every week. I can only urge you to try self -injection , which would cost you about £1.20 , if you buy everything you need in bulk. Come back here to find out how if you find you need to inject more often than you can afford . I never thought I would be able to do it , but it’s routine now. Also so convenient . Best wishes .

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support

Hi Tara-

I'd be keen to know what medical expertise the "clinic" has and to whom and for what reasons they are offering B12 injections.

Also do you have any idea what your Folate level is as this works with B12 and helps your iron to make red blood cells.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toclivealive

Hi clivealive , the clinic sell it as an energy boosting shot. On speaking with them I was told they have many clients coming in that need the b12 in between injections given by their g.p. I asked if medical professionals administer the b12 and was told yes. So, I'm hoping all will be well if I decide to go ahead 🤔

ACritical profile image
ACritical in reply toTara-

Doctors Inc. skin clinic experienced in anti-aging is where I sometimes get my injection when I am in the Netherlands. All genuine doctors, who check you before given the Hydroxocobalamin injection. Very clean and hygienic. Cost aprox. €29

Even though I self inject subcutaneously, I sometimes have them done here intramuscular when I am away from UK at the time I am allowed my every 3 monthly intramuscular injection on the NHS.

LowB12 profile image
LowB12 in reply toTara-

From a conversation I overheard in the gym this week I would ask to see the ‘medical professional’s’ qualification / registration.

A woman who clearly had no medical training but was likely a beautician was talking about doing them at her salon but did not seem to really know what it did, just that ‘it boosted energy’.

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support

Better to be safe than sorry as far as the administration is concerned. One cannot be too careful where needles are concerned these days.

I'm not a medically trained person but have been having B12 injections for over 45 years.

Do check your Folate level. There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

mrsm49 profile image
mrsm49 in reply toclivealive

Hi Clivealive, quick Q, I take sublingual methylcobalamin and folic acid but not iron. Id not heard of that interaction before. Just had iron tested and told normal but going to ask for copy. I do get occasional week here and there of craving iron foods (for me that's usually liver n grapefruit craving, handy as I love them) Should i be taking iron and if so is there a better type to take please. Thanks x

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support in reply tomrsm49

I'm not medically qualified mrsm49 but if your iron level is "normal" maybe just eat the iron rich foods as part of your normal daily diet?

dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly kale.

iron-fortified cereals or bread.

brown rice.

pulses and beans.

nuts and seeds.

white and red meat.

fish.

tofu.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toclivealive

clivealive my folate is 5.7 ... I'm taking multivitamin with 400ug of folic acid, do you think that's a high enough dose? Thanks 🙂

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support in reply toTara-

That's what I take every day as a "maintenance dose" but as I said to mrsm49 9 perhaps maybe you could just eat the iron rich foods as part of your normal daily diet?

dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly kale.

iron-fortified cereals or bread.

brown rice.

pulses and beans.

nuts and seeds.

white and red meat.

fish.

tofu.

Remember I'm not medically trained and can only "speak" from personal experience.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toclivealive

Thanks clivealive for getting back to me - i've always thought I had a healthy diet until this, so I may be having problems absorbing and I do have lots of IBS. I've been prescribed 2 a day of 200mg ferrous sulphate for my iron and 1 a week of 20,000ug vit d to get my levels up and as having problems getting b12 injection, I've been using the betteryou b12 spray 3 times a day .. I can feel a slight difference in my energy levels and pins and needles have eased off for a couple of days .. I've got a meeting with my occupational health dept next week and hope and pray I'm well enough to go back to work, very worrying times 🙁

clivealive profile image
clivealiveForum Support in reply toTara-

IBS also increases the risk of your developing a B12 deficiency but hopefully your supplements will enable you to get back to work soon.

I too use the betteryou b12 spray in addition to having taken 1 – Folic Acid 400μg

and 1 – Iron Ferrous Fumarate 210mg tablet every day for more years than I can remember.

Take care now.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toclivealive

Thanks for your support clivealive i'll keep going with it! Take care of yourself too 🙂

Shattered-FedUp profile image
Shattered-FedUp

When I was too scared to SI, I'd have queued around the block for something like this! Now of course even that, so cheap compared to a private dr, seems exorbitantly expensive! But until you're ready to go for it on your own, how fantastic to have this option - although with the usual needle safety stuff in place..

KimberinUS profile image
KimberinUS

easy-immune-health.com/magn...

Please know that vitsmin D uses up magnesium as a cofactor and sometimes causes people taking it to have magnesium deficiency symtoms.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply toKimberinUS

KimberinUS i've also discovered that vit k2 is also advisable to take with vit d to assist the body in absorbing calcium into the bones and not the blood and so reducing chances of arterial calcification

You mention you have Nurse friends, so why not ask them to do the injections for you. You could get the hydroxocobalamin from the German suppliers mentioned here and there are also suppliers of the syringes and needles and so on in the UK. It would most likely be just £1/shot and an outlay of less than one shot at the Beauty Parlour with enough for a few months. Like many of us you will probably find you are able to SI and find it less trouble than having to get someone else to do it for you; it takes just a few minutes to do it.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply to

Thanks Hidden it's definitely something I'm considering, although felt uncomfortable asking them, wasn't sure if there would be legal implications .. ?

in reply toTara-

I must admit I hadn't thought of that Tara. I was going on my daughter's close friend who is a nurse practitioner and senior theatre sister at the local general hospital who volunteered to do the injections when my daughter was having problems getting them done at the surgery. As it was my daughter was shown how to do them and hasn't looked back for the past 15 years.

I really cannot stress just how simple the procedure is, and it doesn't hurt so much when you do it yourself. In fact I will be doing it into my right thigh muscle sometime during Sunday to make sure I have as pain free and active a time over the next couple of weeks in Canada, must probably just before I climb into bed.

There can't really be any legal implications if you are the one doing the job. Best of luck.

Tara- profile image
Tara- in reply to

Sounds like your daughter has a great friend there! I guess I can only ask and possibly shown, as I don't have a clue where to start 😳 Have a great time in Canada Hidden 😉

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