dogs get weekly injections of b12?

[lesbud1]

I have just read an article on the guardian website that stated that dogs with b12 deficiency get weekly injections. How come the human medical profession don't read research on animals, are we not animals?

[EllieMayNot]

Unfortunately, for the most part, veterinarians are more able to think freely than medical doctors for humans. I have become terribly disillusioned by most of the traditional medical professionals who seem to be very, very narrow minded and unwilling to learn from their patients. I completely agree with the logic of your question, makes perfect sense!

[fbirder]

I think the main difference is that the dog's treatment is paid for by the owners. Us humans have to rely on the NHS or go private. I'll bet a B12 injection from the vet isn't cheap.

[Nackapan in reply to fbirder]

Exactly

[EllieMayNot in reply to Nackapan]

It is a very flawed system. I know of a veterinarian who uses the b12 from her veterinary sources as it is more cost effective than from a script from her MD.

[lesbud1 in reply to fbirder]

well we have paid too. I have paid my taxes and for prescriptions so we may not hand over money but we have certainly paid over the years.

[palmier in reply to lesbud1]

Exactly, and it's not as if doctors don't get paid for their work! Besides, B12 is cheap compared to many other treatments, so it's hardly a question of money but of unwillingness and lack if information. And that no big pharmaceutical company makes big money out of cheap B12 injektions. It's just a vitamin after all.

[lesbud1 in reply to palmier]

I was looking up best health systems and the WHO rate France as no 1 and we are down at 18. It feels like the NHS is a monopoly when compared to other systems. What ever it is it makes you feel helpless when you are so ill with B12 deficiency.

[deniseinmilden]

Yes and yes!

My cat has B12 deficiency problems and I use my kit to jab him with a part of an ampoule. My vet fully supports this and he doesn't get a penny out of it.

If I have a problem with me I ask my vet about similar problems in other animals to get a useful idea first!

Vets are often much more ethically driven than Drs and if we treated animals like they treat people we'd be fined and locked up. I sit on a National board that sets animal welfare standards in Britain and our standards lead the world.

[Vicky2822]

We treat are pets better in this country.

But it is all to do with money. If we were paying our gps I’m pretty sure they would be injecting b12 as and when the patient asked for it and not treating it like the next illegal high which we are addicted too for a buzz.

I watched my own father die an awful slow death over a month in hospital (had dementia and forget how to swallow). If he had been my pet dog I would have been in court for cruelty to animals. The whole medical system is a joke now.

[ACritical in reply to Vicky2822]

I had a similar experience, my mum went downhill over the years and no doctor picked up on it until a few weeks before she died, but then the damage was done and couldn’t be reversed. The same also happened slightly differently to my mother-in-law, same outcome though. 😔