Where to buy methylcobalamin 5,000mcg/ml in the US ?

[ravel44]

I have to go see a naturopath to get this treatment weekly which has been the only way for me to feel the best. I've been doing so for a few years. If I discontinue this routine I quickly go back to hell...

I used to self inject with this dosage thanks to my naturopath's prescription ( delivered to me by a compounding pharmacy) but FDA changed something and I'm no longer allowed to self inject this amount. That's why I'm back doing weekly injections with a naturopath.

I was however wondering if anybody else get this much weekly and where do they get it from.

Thanks

[Galixie]

The FDA tightened regulations on all compounding pharmacies in the US. One of the things they changed was that the amount of prescription that is allowed is only a 30 day supply. It's possible that the trouble your prescriber is having has to do with the number of doses in a vial. (Also the additional testing per batch might be making your treatment prohibitively expensive to dispense in 30 day batches.)

I would think that a compounding pharmacy would be able to work with your prescriber to fill a prescription for you. But it would have to be a monthly refill. Other than that, there are no regulations that keep you from doing self injections with a prescription.

I do weekly self injections of 1000mcg cyanocobalamin which are filled through a local pharmacy (cyano is common enough here that it doesn't need to be purchased through a compounding pharmacy). When the regulations changed, I went from being able to purchase a 10ml vial for around $10 to having to purchase four 1ml vials that are nearly $10 each. The price increase was crazy and methylcobalamin is even more expensive than cyano.

When you crunch the numbers it might come down to a cost issue. You might be paying the same amount or even less to get the injections through a naturopath even if it is more inconvenient for your schedule.

Ask your naturopath about the change in regulations that affected your prescription. They can probably explain what exactly changed and why it has caused you to not be able to fill a prescription any longer. You might be able to brainstorm an alternative with the naturopath as well.

[ravel44 in reply to Galixie]

Thank you!

[bquoss in reply to ravel44]

Thank you, Galixie. I've been complaining about the jump in prices for cyanocobalamin. Can you refer me to any articles on the fda change?

[Galixie in reply to bquoss]

It all got kicked off with the New England Compounding Pharmacy scandal:

fda.gov/ICECI/CriminalInves...

It was a meningitis outbreak caused by tainted epidural steroid injections that the pharmacy was basically mass-producing and selling all over. After that the FDA vowed to crack down on compounding pharmacies and congress passed this:

gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-113p...

It basically requires compounding pharmacies to do more testing, tracking, and labeling on the batches they create. All of which - no surprise - costs more money, which gets passed along to the consumer.

[bquoss in reply to Galixie]

Thank you so much!