I live in Ireland and have pernicious anaemia. GP and public health nurse won't allow me to self administer or to teach a family member to do it but it's costing me too much time and money getting my GP to do it.
Can someone please recommend somewhere for me to order everything I would need to do it either myself or by a family member?
Also I don't know what it actually is I'm getting injected with, from searching online it seems there's several types you can order and different mg amounts. Any advice?
Also any tips or tutorials? I know the basics as I've seen my doctor do it at least 30 times but still nervous to do it myself, I'd much rather a health professional helped me but c'est la vie!
Thank you in advance!
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Tibasaur
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The B12 that we use in U.K. is called Hydroxocobalamin , and is excellent . The dose is always 1mg , but it can come in 1ml or 2ml ampoules . We are obliged to get our supplies from excellent online German pharmacies, because so many of us require more than the bog-standard injection of one every 3 months that the NHS allows . In U.K. B12 ampoules are only obtainable on prescription , which is not the case in Germany . I recommend the 1mg x 1ml ampoule as it is quicker to inject than the 2ml . There are a few sources you can use . But some sites are only in German and if you can’t read German , you need a translation facility. I use a German online pharmacy — versandapo.de which is in German . You need to search for “ Rotexmedica vitamin B12 depot” . There is a reference number that you can use instead . You can use this ref no on any German online pharmacy site .
For a pack of 10 ampoules — 03862297. For a pack of 100 — 03862305.
There is a German online pharmacy in English mycare.de. They are a bit more expensive . ( They are not delivering to U.K. at the moment as we have exceeded the quota they allow us ) You should be OK in the Republic though !
Another source is Bodfeld-Apotheke.de ( also in German ) use the ref. numbers if you want )
You can also use Amazon.de in English. Bodfeld also sell here , but are more expensive . You can’t use the ref numbers on Amazon.de
There has been a run on B12 ampoules to the U.K. recently as I think people here are worried how the situation will be after Brexit . But you will be OK ! If you find one source out of stock , just try another source .
Needles , syringes , swabs and yellow sharps boxes are all obtainable at Medisave.co.uk. I use 2 needles , one to withdraw the B12 and another to inject .
To withdraw —Terumo Agani 21G x 1 1/2 “
To inject —. Terumo Agani 25G x 1”
Syringe 2ml
Large yellow Sharps box (Only 1!) for safe disposal of needles ( my chemist takes them for disposal )
Medisave swabs
I buy 100. of each of these — most economical. Look for instruction / videos on the Internet to help you . Forgot to say I use Intra-muscular method into the outer middle third of my thigh , where the muscle is nearest to the surface . You can use sub - cutaneous into the stomach . Then you need a shorter needle to inject , but I don’t know anything about this .
Someone else may respond to you with better suggestions . Anyhow all the best 👍🍀
Just out of curiosity. Here in Australia we can buy b12 ampoules over the counter without a script!!!! So my question is can you order from an Australian site and have them shipped!!! That way u don't need to interpret to a different language!
Yes ,I know that some people in the UK do obtain B12 ampoules from Australia . I’ve lost the site address , but I’ll look it up . Thanks for telling us . Best wishes to you .
Hello Tibasaur, I also live in Ireland. In addition to the excellent advice you have been give above I would just add that you don't need to order needles, syringes etc from the UK. Cheaper for you to order from a company near Dublin called Medguard:
For B12 ampoules I use amazon.de They deliver to Ireland promptly and without fuss. You can also use English on their site . As for your experiences with GPs etc - exactly what I would expect. My advice is to do what so many others do on this site: self inject! Good luck!
So nice to find another Irish person doing this! No one I've spoken to in person has been helpful haha. Do you order the hydroxocobalamin ampules or a different one?
yes I order hydroxocobalamin - it is the best. Wedgewood has given some information on needle size (below). But basically I use 21G X 1-1/2 (green) for extracting the stuff from the ampoule; then I change the needle to a 23G x 1 1/4 (blue) for the actual injection. The higher the G figure the thinner and therefore more painless the injection. But you can use a 25G for injection - it is much finer and so completely painless. Reason for 2 needles is that the needle will be normally slightly blunted when you insert it into the ampoule, and therefore may cause some pain if you use it again for the injection. Syringe size is 2ml. You can also get alcohol swabs on the site I mentioned above. I would not expect any help from local GPs - in my experience they know practically nothing about PA and will certainly object to you self injecting. This site saved me from the horrors of B12 deficiency, so I do advise you to read as many posts as possible and not be afraid to ask lots questions. In short, you've come to the right place!
Just want to say thanks for this post, followed your advice on the equipment to buy (got all from Medguard Dublin, got the ampoules from Germany). I've only done a few so far, very nervous especially as I didn't feel great after the first time (legs weak, digestive system upset) but that seems to have settled now and i'm happy to continue. Thanks again for the very specific info.
Hello Lucy-V, I am so glad it worked out for you. Great that you now have all the stuff you need. Yes it is quite hard to get started but believe me, you will get used to it quickly. I inject every second day - don't even think about it anymore. Not stressful at all. But it may take quite a long time for you to feel progress, or it may happen quite quickly. We are all different. In my case it has taken over a year to really get to the stage where I have almost no symptoms. So keep at it, don't give up. I don't know what frequency you intend to try but if in doubt - increase it! Don't forget that B12 is completely safe and you can't overdose. Very best of luck to you!
Well you may have seen a post of mine last week when I explained the problems I was having ordering from Versandapo.de In short, they refused to send me B12 because it is a prescription item in the country where I live (Ireland). I have now given up on this company and won't try to use them again. Instead I went back to Amazon.de which has never been a problem in the past and was very efficient on this occasion - they confirmed my order immediately and posted the 100 ampules the next day. In addition the cost (85 euros inc delivery) was better than Versandapo or the other German company I tried - Versandapotheke. So I certainly recommend Amazon.de
Wow that’s great, have you got a link to that you can share with me, I have ones on way from bodfeld, this is my very first order, I’ve never done this before, they limited it to 3 boxes (30) and was nearly €18 for delivery
Yes they also mailed me at first to say they ship to Ireland. That is true of course for most items. But then when i tried to pay i repeatedly got the message “we don’t ship to your country “. When i queried this they said it was because b12 ampules are a prescription item in Ireland . So i got them from amazon. de
I don’t know of any issues with 2 ml injections. Takes a couple of seconds longer to inject but it is the same amount of b12.
Have now located the Australian site where you can obtain all the Cobalamins i.e. Cynocobalamin, Hydroxocobalamin and Methylcobalamin. I recommend what is used in the NHS in U.K. , namely Hydroxocobalamin. The Hydroxocobalamin they sell is manufactured in Vietnam under licence from an Italian company. You can obtain just the ampoules but also order kits which contain all you require to inject . I believe there is a misprint on the Hydroxocobalamin site where they quote an ampoule as containing 10,000 mcgs instead of 1000 mcgs = 1mg which is the usual dose. The prices include shipping to U.K. , but I don’t know if it applies to Irish Republic .
One note, leave ample time for shipment from this source. I'm in the U.S. and it usually took about 4 weeks for the ampoules to arrive. I've since switched to ordering from Canada; about the same price but much faster. Just to be safe I usually order two boxes of 10, and when one runs out I order another two boxes.
Can you get Hydroxocobalamin B12 from Canada then ?That’s what we use in the UK . It is considered to be better than Cynocobalamin which is cheaper . Hydroxocobalamin stores well , below 25 c and in the dark .
b12-shot.com only has cyanocobalamin, unfortunately. I would love to switch to hydroxo but I'm a bit confused by what I see online: e.g. the vitaminb12online site has 6 ampoules which are 10,000mcg/2ml. Even if the 10,000mcg is a typo...2ml? That's twice the liquid as the cyano ampoules, it seems like that would make for a more difficult and painful injection. Supposedly two U.S. pharmacy chains (CVS and Walgreens) can special-order hydroxo but when I called the local stores they did not have any. I am going to ask my doctor if she can obtain some...even if I got one injection of hydroxo a month and then self-injected cyano the rest of the time, it might help.
Just thought if you are toooooo horrified at the thought of self-injecting , there is an aid called an “auto-injector”. It’s expensive - the cheapest is about €99.00 ! Find out about it at —UnionMedico They are in Denmark. They say that their invention removes the fear of injection .
Thank you so much for all the help I'm going to sit down and go through the sites this evening and find something! My cousins are nurses so I'm going to get them to show me and my friend who will be travelling with me how to do it so if it's too hard for me my friend can take over!
Very often in surgeries , the B12 solution comes in a small bottle with several doses in it . The nurse pierces the rubber seal on the bottle with the injection needle , the bottle can be up-ended , so the liquid can be extracted without touching the bottom or sides of the bottle . We buy our B12 in one dose ampoules . To get every drop of the precious liquid out , means touching the bottom of the glass ampoule , which makes it blunt . The ampoule is quite long hence the use of a long needle. The gauge doesn’t need to be fine so 21 gauge is sufficient .( The higher the gauge number , the finer the needle) . Well you would not want to inject yourself with a blunt needle , so for injection I use the fine needle (25 gauge ) and 1inch should be OK, unless you are very overweight . There is a way of just using one needle with an ampoule by upending it , but I’ve never managed it .
No , that’s not what I was trying to say at all . I use a single use ampoule also , and need 2 needles , because I’ve not mastered the art of turning the ampoule upside down . If you can manage it , you will only need the shorter ,thinner needle !
Oh sorry! I get you now. I'm having a really hard time finding anywhere that will deliver to the uk or Ireland, so far not even Amazon.de is an option 🙈 any tips?
Amazon .de deal with many online pharmacies . Most of them only deliver to adresses in Germany . They seem to put up different pharmacies first , who may well not deliver internationally . But Bodfeld do deliver internationally . Look down the list of supplying pharmacies on the right hand side and see if you can find ” Bodfeld” They are usually there .. Try them . They are cheaper if you go direct to their own site , but it is in German . Does the Australian site not deliver to Ireland ? They do deliver to U.K. .
There is some wonderful help help from wedgewood. If you want to consider doing it in the stomach I am happy to explain the technique to you, as wedgewood said you need a smaller needle for injection & can use the same one he suggested for drawing up the solution. It’s only a little bit scary to start with & it doesn’t take long for you to feel comfortable with it. Think of how convenient it will be for you to say nothing of the saving of time & money,
Thank you for asking this question here. I've been at the mercy of the 3 month B12 shot from the doctor here in Ireland and it's been awful. Have bought everything now to do myself just from all the information on this thread. ☺️ Got ZENTIVA Vitamin B 12 from Amazon.de and needles/syringes from Medguard.
Wondering how often you inject and by how much? I can't absorb b12 due to an autoimmune disease. Know it's probably a play it by ear scenario.
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