Is there any way to store opened glass ampoules of B12 if you don't use the contents all at once?

[AmethystTrask]

I have 1ml glass ampoules and take 0.3ml injections daily, so I'm using less than a 3rd of the ampoule at a time. Is there any way to safely store the remaining B12? It seems like a huge waste just to throw it away.

Thanks for reading.

[JanD236]

I think the short answer is no.

[helvella]

Curious - most people seem to inject at least most of the contents. I think that is what you would receive from, for example, an NHS doctor (assuming the doctor agreed you need it).

[Jumes1]

I don’t think you can keep it ... is there any reason why you don’t use the whole amount ? .

I used to have a full injection every day which was reduced to weekly over the next 9 months .. eventually I had the shot every 4 eeeks ( which is what I’m on now )

[fbirder]

I definitely wouldn't inject anything into my body if I weren't pretty damn sure that it were sterile.

Once you open an ampoule it isn't sterile any more.

[wedgewood]

It’s just too dangerous to do that . Why don’t you inject the whole amount — you cannot overdose? Failing that you must discard the remains .

[AmethystTrask]

Well, it's a question of finances. To start with, I was told that it was difficult for the body to process much more than 0.3-0.5mls at a time, and as I'm really quite petite (about 149cm and 39kg), I decided it would be best to start with the lowest dose I could get away with -- as, when I started off taking B12 for the first time, it was in the form of methylcobalamin in a glass bottle with a screw top from Oxford Biosciences, and I could fill as much or as little as I wanted into my syringes. As I got relief from my symptoms with the smaller dose of 0.3mls, it was much more cost-efficient to keep it at that dose.

Now I'm using the glass ampoules (I bought a pack of 10 as I couldn't find any of the larger hydroxocobalamin ampoule packs in stock on any of the German websites kindly listed by Wedgewood in another thread), but I just can't afford to use an entire ampoule every day, and have to buy a pack of 10 every 10 days. My landlord is trying to evict me because I was late with literally 1 rent payment, and I don't know how I'll begin to afford the rent & deposit to move. It's just too expensive to use an entire ampoule a day, especially when 0.3mls was perfectly adequate.

For anyone in a similar situation, what I ended up trying was filling three syringes at the same time from one ampoule, using one immediately, and replacing the caps on the two others and storing them exactly as I do the ampoules, to use one tomorrow and one the day after. I'm confident the worst that could happen doing it that way is that it would render the B12 ineffective, and as my other options are to waste it putting it into my body when 0.3ml is working just fine, or literally discard it, for me, it's worth a try. I'll be able to feel soon enough if the B12 is still effective -- and if it comes off, I can make 10 ampoules last for a month.

[busterboy in reply to AmethystTrask]

Hello there - could you use some spare 1mg ampules of rotex medica B12 - the expiry date is July this year, no cost involved, just don' t want them to go to waste. please let me know, another user on the forum has contacted me but as there are quite a few I think 1 person will not be able to use them all and I am not sure if they can be used after that date.

God bless.

[carer999 in reply to busterboy]

If this helps in June 2018 whilst waiting for a delivery of B12 I asked on the Vitamin B12 deficiency web site if it was safe to use some of my NHS B12 vials which were passed their expiry date of January 2018 i.e. 4 months after the expiry date. The reply I got from Dr. Chandry was I could use it to self inject assuming it had been kept in a cool place and not exposed to sun.