Daily injectors, is this a lifelong thing?

[aksundell]

Hi, I’ve seemed to need daily B12 injections to prevent backsliding in my recovery. I’ve been doing this for 6 months after starting treatment 11 months ago. I’m wondering about others in a similar situation. Have you been able to back off on the frequency on injections as time goes by. Thanks

[Galixie]

Are your daily injections subcutaneous or intramuscular?

I'm asking because, when I tried switching to subcutaneous injections, I found that I needed them more frequently (which doesn't make a lot of sense, but it was what I experienced). I'm able to go a week between intramuscular injections, so I do that instead.

[MoKayD in reply to Galixie]

I'm so glad I read your post. I thought there must be something wrong with me because it seems that subcutaneous injections don't work as well as intramuscular. I get an instantaneous boost from intramuscular injections. The subcutaneous injections don't seem as powerful.

[deniseinmilden]

There seems to be mechanisms in your body by which if you need very frequent jabs you need them for life.

See some of Gambit64s replies and posts for the science behind this.

I have seen posts by people who have been SI daily for decades and I doubt I will ever be able to reduce my 1.5mg per day jabs, despite doing them for nearly 3 years.

[MaryWarnecke]

I was told I would need them for life, though I have started spacing them out as my blood levels are over 2000. If I start feeling I need it on a certain day I inject other wise I am trying to space out.

[aksundell]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I feel like I’m still healing from the deficiency and I hope when that is done I will be able to space them out more.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

At the beginning of September last year, when I was starting to feel like a lab rat for clueless consultants, I decided finally to start self-injecting.

I started injecting "every other day until I could get no more improvement" as per guidelines, with the idea that once I had got to that point, I would work out what frequency would constitute "maintenance" for me.

Nine months later, I am still improving very slowly but lately, without telling anyone, have been experimenting with the frequency- delaying injecting for a day. It seems that a two-day gap is detrimental to my progress: for instance, I slept for 14 hours last night and still woke up tired - exhaustion to that extent now a long-forgotten symptom from my past.

I will continue to try every now and then, when I feel particularly okay, to delay injecting and see how it goes. I've tried replacing an injection with oral spray- no effect at all for me.

But if you take a look you will find different stories with a common thread, so don't worry that this will be you, too. It may not even be me, in the future. Best wishes.

[Benji76]

Hello. I see this is an old post. I wonder how you’re doing now? My experience has been that the windows between my injections have become smaller since I started SI 9 months ago. This has worried me. On reflection, I can see that in that time my activity levels have gone up as I have felt able / or perhaps just more determined, to do more. Also (I live with a toddler) every bug I get sets me back a lot and takes longer to get over. If I have to take anti biotics for anything then I end up in a right mess. I am starting to accept this as part and parcel of living with this condition. It doesn’t make it easier - especially with a GP who refuses to listen so cannot advise. However. Without SI I would probably be in a much worse state by now. I currently inject every 2 days. I can sometimes stretch it to 3 or 4 and still feel ok. Right now I’m getting close to doing it daily because of bronchitis and the Xmas prep, needing to work (tho only ad hoc part time) etc. You need what you need, but this can change depending on whatever else is going on for you. I’m trying not to beat myself up about it. The main thing is not to add worry to your burdens. Easy to say, I know.