Why do you inject twice a week?

[deepocean]

For those of you who inject B12 several times a week, why is this exactly?

[fbirder]

Unlike some others, I don't feel any rollercoastering with my B12. I don't get drastic ups and downs. I don't feel great the day of, or after, my injection.

If I do delay my next injection for more than a couple of days after it is due I start getting more irritable, more depressed, more paranoid. Indeed, it's often the people I am close to who recognise this before I do. It creeps up on me insidiously and I'm only recently learning to spot it. With my regular twice-weekly jabs I'm no more snappy and nasty than the next person (well, maybe a little more). But let me go more than five days between injections and I'm not very nice. I only inject twice a week because it's easier to remember 'every Monday and Thursday' than it is to remember 'every five days'.

If you're injecting IM then you're probably not hitting veins in the muscle. Muscle doesn't have large blood vessels permeating it. Next time you see a leg of ham check it out - no veins. If you're getting blood welling up from the injection site then you've almost certainly gone through one of the veins running just under the skin. Totally harmless, so don't fret about it.

[deepocean in reply to fbirder]

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[fbirder in reply to deepocean]

5 days is the interval needed to stop those symptoms (irritability, etc.) from returning. As described, if I wait much longer then I become Hr Hyde.

I inject into my upper thigh (easier to access) using a 24 G (purple), 25 mm needle. This is shorter and thinner that the normal blue needle. But I have virtually zero fat on my thighs, so a short needle is OK.

[deepocean in reply to fbirder]

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[fbirder in reply to deepocean]

The 25 mm needle goes all the way in - to the hilt.

I don't use the quadriceps femoris (on the outside of the thigh) but the rectus femoris that runs along the top of the thigh. Sit on the edge of the bed, and lift your leg off the ground. You should be able to see (or feel) a thick rope of muscle running along the top of your thigh. It's much more accessible than other muscles.

[Ryaan in reply to fbirder]

Hi Fbirder

Have you tried taking or upping your Vitamin 3 amount if you do take it ?

I get very depressed without taking vitamin D for a good number of days, it’s ok if I miss 2-3 days.

With experimenting I’ve found my correct dosage of vitamin D to be 400iu (25ug x 4) daily otherwise I start to get bouts of bad depression and low mood, negative thinking etc.

It really plays a big role in depression (so does B12) but I assume you know about vitamin D if you’ve tried different dosages.

I’ve tried 1000iu for a good while then 2000iu and then upped to 4000iu I don’t get depressed with 4000iu daily, ofcourse I do SI B12 once every 2 weeks otherwise start feeling as you’ve described.

Just incase you’ve never tried.

Sunshine is a big healer of depression but if you can’t get enough then supplementing with vitamin D is the nearest alternative.

[fbirder in reply to Ryaan]

Yes, as per NHS guidelines I supplement during autumn and winter. This summer I've carried on with them.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

I notice my symptoms start to come back within 24 hours - I do find that sublinguals and nasal sprays are a good alternative to stabbing myself all the time (and recently I've also been hitting veins more often than not so understand your concerns - for me it goes in phases and as fbirder says it's not something I worry about it). I use both nasal and sublingual in very high doses and very frequently - much more frequently than suggestions on the products.

For some people injections really seem to affect the serum B12 levels that we need to feel okay and function - it isn't entirely clear what is going on but significant numbers of us have to keep levels well above measurable ranges - like something happens that makes the process that transfers B12 from blood to cells much less efficient - like a dam that needs high water levels behind it before enough trickles through.

Result of this happening to people is that actually symptoms are a much better guide to treatment than looking at serum B12.

[deepocean in reply to Gambit62]

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[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to deepocean]

I use a company called detoxpeople but they stock the usual brands

[deepocean in reply to Gambit62]

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[Statesideheather]

I have been injecting every other day (sometimes every day) for several months now. I do not feel good or notice anything from the injection. I only notice a lack of symptoms.

The best I can tell, my levels start going down around 24 hours post injection. If I wait more than 2 days, I start feeling VERY bad.

I moved up to where I'm at now. When I was going on to clinic for once weekly, I still relied heavily on lozenges and sprays.

With injecting this frequency, I only supplement with a Bcomplex most days, but I skip days on that here and there.

I can go places and do things without symptoms for the most part and without digging for bottles of B12 in my bag because I don't feel well enough.

I also save so much money by not buying the oral B12.

Every other day works well for me. But I will do it every day if I'm under a lot of stress or extremely physically active. My thought is, more won't hurt and the extra injection is inexpensive and may save me some misery. 😁

[Statesideheather in reply to Statesideheather]

Also, I do inject cyanocobalamin which I've heard wears off quicker than hydroxocobalamin. I was getting hydroxo jabs for a while but I didn't feel wonderful with those.

I do not love injecting myself. My motivation to get through it is always 2 things: knowing I'll feel awful if I don't go through with it AND knowing I'll have to go to clinic and pay for an injection if I can't do it myself. 😂 This keeps me going

I inject in my side area, above my hip bone. I forget the technical term for the area but there are no major arteries or nerves so it is relatively safe. I use an insulin needle so I probably don't hit muscle.

If I start the poke and it hurts, I try another spot nearby. My favorite time of the month is during menstruation. I never feel any pinch or pain from the needle during that time 😂. The rest of the month I go slower and an more selective about where I inject.

I aspirate every time now. I did not initially do that. Only one time do I recall seeing a bit of blood. I do not Ztrack so I get a bit of the pink liquid pop out of injection site. But other than the one time, not a drop of blood. So I think the area is good for avoiding veins. I put pressure on the lump of liquid that I can feel under skin right after injection. I press and move around to help get the B12_into my system but also to prevent bruising.

I still REALLY do not like injecting! UGh. Some days I will say out loud that I am SO OVER NEEDLING MYSELF! 😂 Then I think how fortunate I am that I'm not diabetic or something else that isn't so inexpensive and simple to control.

[deepocean in reply to Statesideheather]

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[Statesideheather in reply to deepocean]

Oops, I made a mistake in location. I inject BELOW my hip bone, not above. I had to look up the name for the spot, it's ventrogluteal. Everything I read was clear that it is the ideal place for injections and safest for self injectors because no nerves or arteries. Also good muscle and low fat there. I'm not a large person so it's possible I'm going right into muscle there with the shorter needle.

I do not know about longevity from personal experience as I was getting hydroxo injects once weekly and I seem to have some side effects from the hydroxo as well as methylcobalamin injections. I've only read here that the hydroxocobalamin lasts longer in the blood stream than cyanocobalamin.

Yes, hydroxo seems to be more used in Europe. I've found it easy to find cyano or methyl here in the US. But the clinic I go to has all 3 forms.

I've never had serum B12 checked. No one was looking at my B12 levels. I was very sick and the anemia was picked up while running tests for several other things. Treatment was started right away. Once treatment has started, not much use in checking those levels. More tests have been offered and suggested, but when I ask, the answer is always the same: no matter the cause, the treatment is B12.

[deepocean in reply to Statesideheather]

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[deniseinmilden]

I think the simple answer is we have to do our injections as often as it takes to stay reasonably well.

Lots of us do daily jabs and some need 2 jabs a day. If you read through Gambit62's past replies (you can do this by going to her profile by double clicking on her name below and looking under the heading "replies") you will find more of the science behind it beautifully explained.

I remember having odd spells where injecting is less easy but if you work on through it you'll have a better spell again. I can't recommend using smaller needles as technically they aren't as safe as the bigger ones but nowadays I just use 26 gauge ones and it's made injecting much easier for me.

I find injections are less hassle than taking loads of sublinguals and oh so much cheaper!

Try watching TV or listening to something good to distract you slightly while you do your jabs to take your mind off it.

Pretend you are doing it in front of a child and you have to "put a brave face on"!

Concentrate on remembering the good feeling you get once you've done it...

And remember you're not alone - we're all here doing our jabs too and you're just as good as the rest of us!

[EllieMayNot in reply to deniseinmilden]

May I ask why the smaller needles aren't as safe as the bigger ones? I'm kind of new to all of this and am looking for as much info as I can get. Thank you!

[deepocean in reply to deniseinmilden]

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[deniseinmilden in reply to deepocean]

Just wondering... Do you always use 2 needles - one for drawing up and a completely new one for injecting?

It's just that's it's easy to blunt the tip of a fine needle and then it is difficult to get it to go in.

I'm a wicked skin flint but even I always use a fresh needle with an untouched point to do my injection.

I try it on my skin to see if it'll react and if it does I change sites. If I try several places and get reactions then I will sometimes swap to another new needle to make sure it's really sharp.

If not you can sometimes feel it tearing through the muscles on its way in and out - ouch!

Good luck and keep in mind the good times - focus on these and try to do it that way again! 🍀

[deepocean in reply to deniseinmilden]

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[deniseinmilden in reply to deepocean]

Hi!

I always use 2 new needles - I draw up the B12 fluid into the syringe with one, take it off the syringe and discard it and then put a brand new one onto the syringe, taking extra care not to touch the tip against anything (including the needle cover!) before inserting it, slowly and gently so as not to damage the tip, into my leg.

The needles are only sterile in their packets - once the packet is open it is important to use it promptly so that it doesn't get pathogens (bacteria, fungal spores and viruses, etc) that are always floating around, unseen in the air, on it as these could cause an infection at the injection site.

I definitely recommend you use two needles at least every time and if there's any way you've damaged the second needle that you swap it for another needle before you inject. I know they cost but for a few pence/cents each it saves the problems you've been having.

[deniseinmilden]

It is more possible to bend or break them but as it's my leg I'm sticking them in I don't intend on being that rough with them so I'm happy to use them on myself.

[deepocean in reply to deniseinmilden]

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[deniseinmilden in reply to deepocean]

Whoa there, you're not a cow with a leather hide - and even if injecting cows you really don't need to be rough.

A 25G needle is pretty small - 2 gauges smaller than the 23G ones that the NHS uses and recommends in the UK.

Relaxed muscle is easy to inject into unless you've done hundreds of jabs in the same spot or have scar tissue from extensive long term trauma.

This suggests that you are too worried about it and are too tense. I know it's easy for me to say and much harder for you to do but it would be good if you could change your thinking and approach. Pretend you are me doing it in my leg and you're all relaxed and happy.

If you're relaxed it just slides in easily, I promise. You'd never call my legs fat so that's not the issue, it's just getting the muscles to be relaxed and floppy.

[JanD236 in reply to deniseinmilden]

deniseinmilden I don’t like injecting either but I love your suggestion, which I’m going to adapt slightly.

From now on I’m going to pretend that I’m me injecting into your leg! 😆

[deniseinmilden in reply to JanD236]

At this rate I'm gonna end up like a pin cushion!! 🙄 😂 😂

You do realise that you're only allowed to use my leg if you're gentle and press the plunger

s l o w l y!! 😁👍👍 💉

The upside is with everyone's B12 sloshing around me every day I'm bound to feel good!

Happy jabbing! X

[deepocean in reply to deniseinmilden]

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