About B12 from my Canadian Friend.

[Catsgalour]

Hi All, Just had a short visit from a very old school friend who has lived in Canada for over 40 years. Was telling her about my PA and how much better I have been since SI with B12. She then said she gets them every month for no other reason than to keep her feeling good. Doctor prescribed and her daughter injects her in belly or thigh! Needless to say I was Gobsmacked and told her the problems we have over here with a lot of our doctor's and how some of us struggle , despair and have to fight just for one every 3 months I guess Canada is way in front but had to share this snippet with you! For anyone reading this who is having that fight please don't waste your energy and SI. I was 65 before I gave up struggling on one every 10 weeks and I am only sorry I didn't find out i could many years before!

[Gambit62 Administrator]

please note Canada uses cyanocobalamin rather than hydroxococobalamin. Whilst some countries don't distinguish the frequency for maintenance doses it is the use of hydroxocobalamin in the UK that has become associated with 3 monthly maintenance. This appears to go back to a study in the 1960s that showed that on average hydroxocobalamin is retained 2x as long as cyanocobalamin ... however the same study showed a great deal of variation within this average with a significant number of people actually retaining cyanocobalamin longer than hydroxocobalamin. The study concluded that this couldn't be applied back as a general rule that people only needed hydroxocobalamin half as frequently as cyanocobalamin ... however, that seems to have been well and truly ignored.

[Catsgalour in reply to Gambit62]

OK .. Thanks Gambit ! Maybe that is why it is so freely given but does get confusing? I will ask my friend what she is injecting just to clarify! x

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Catsgalour]

Injectable B12 for medicinal use is also over the counter in Canada - unlike the states where it is also prescription only - good numbers of people who cross the Canadian border to get additional doses for that reason ... and used to be possible to buy it by mail but US clamped down on that ... so there are worse places than the UK

[elvistoronto1 in reply to Gambit62]

Living in Canada (Ontario) I have never seen injectable B-12 on the shelf of a pharmacy (believe me I've looked) so I don't think this is true. I am able to purchase from a naturopath but at extremely exorbitant prices. I think the comments above offer too much credit to our medical system in terms of knowledge and treatment of B-12 deficiency. I was immediately put on injections once my B-12 levels were found to be low and nearly 7 months later have not been able to convince GP to perform any testing to determine the reason for my deficiency. Spent my last appointment explaining to him the relevance of MMA and Homocystene testing (he'd never heard of either of them) since I am still having issues despite monthly injections and daily tablets. He will not test folate because " no one ever has low folate we fortify so many things with it". Trust me....we're no beacon here....

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to elvistoronto1]

over the counter doesn't necessarily mean it will be displayed on the shelves - it means that you have to ask for it. Practice may off course vary from state to state and even in some countries where it is OTC people do experience problems explaining to pharmacists that they don't need a prescription ... that has certainly cropped up for some based in Australia.

[elvistoronto1 in reply to Gambit62]

It's certainly worth a shot. If only out of curiosity to see what the response would be.

[Llawry in reply to elvistoronto1]

The folate and other testing is just ridiculous. No folate, no vitamin D test, no IF, no antiparietal cell antibodies test, no MMA or homocysteine,

I got a doctor to order a couple of the tests and the lab didn’t do them! The doctor didn’t bat an eye - just said that the tests aren’t needed anyway or are too unreliable. Good luck elvis - you should ask at the pharmacy though. They wil have injectable b12 behind the counter - just say you are deficient and they should give it to you. take care

[elvistoronto1 in reply to Llawry]

Convinced a specialist my GP referred me to order MMA, Homocystene & Folate. Got there yesterday and found that fasting is required for the Homocystene (specialist had no idea). Also, NONE of these tests are covered under our provincial health plan so I will have to pay out of pocket $315!!

[cdragin in reply to Gambit62]

I'm in the U.S. and I purchase mine online with no issues. Of course, let's see what happens with Trump and his tariffs...

[Linda730 in reply to Gambit62]

I am also in the US and buy from Canada through the mail. No issues. They do ask if I have a prescription, but they never ask to me supply it. Customs has never stopped my mail, even though the contents are listed on the package.

[Llawry]

I live in Vancouver. I have purchased $8 bottles of cyanocobalamin over the counter at the pharmacy (they keep it in the back) and I can buy syringes at a special medical supply store. You basically have to tell them your doctor “prescribed” (recommended) that you use it for medical reasons - at least that was my experience. The enlightenment often ends there. My doctor refused to accept that my neuro symptoms were due to b12 and said it was all in my head. I received no loading doses. B12 seems to be seen as a bit of a boost like wheatgrass or something.

My doctor refused to do any testing beyond serum b12. She said lots of people need b12 and no one really knows why. But she essentially said: one per month and don’t talk to me about your symptoms unless you want me to send you to a psychiatrist.

So we are lucky in Canada - you are right - that we can buy b12 and self inject easily. I buy hydroxo from New Zealand though and have no medical support for my neuro symptoms (I have seen other doctors and specialists but it has been a belittling experience to say the least as they all become dismissive when I give them a list of my symptoms - dizziness, tinnitus, balance problems, numbness and tingling in limbs, breathlessness... all the usual ones for b12).

Just thought you should know it’s better in some ways but not totally

[Hidden in reply to Llawry]

Hello Llawry,

I SI hydroxo daily. When I was last in Canada I injected with cyano and found it wasn't enough to keep my symptoms at bay.

Please can you send a link to where you get your hydroxo from in NZ.

[Llawry in reply to Hidden]

Sorry for the delay. Here you go:

alivepluspharmacy.com