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Buying B12 from Germany

Cetus profile image
21 Replies

I need to get some B12 from Germany (usually Rotexmedica hydroxocobalamin). It's been about a year since I last placed an order and things have changed a bit.

(1) How does Bodfeld-Apotheke compare to Versand-Apo for tracked delivery and customer service?

(2) Do I need to use Google Translate on those two sites or do they have English pages tucked away somewhere?

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Cetus
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21 Replies
wedgewood profile image
wedgewood

There’s no difference between the two . You need to be registered with them I believe to get tracking . I’ve never had a problem with either pharmacy .At the moment , bodfeld-apotheke.de is cheaper for Rotexmedica B12 Depot ( Hydroxocobalamin) a pack of 10 costs €6.66 , but they won’t allow you to purchase more than 3 packs at one time . But you can buy 100 ampoules for €63.98 . Courier costs always about €9.00 no matter how many you buy .

Today at versandapo.de a pack of 10 costs €8.48 . ( no restrictions but they warn that this is only as long as they have stock , indicating , I think that they are low . )

A pack of 100 costs 52.89 . Plus courier charge .

I always look at both before I buy , as they often differ .

Always search for Rotexmedica b12 Depot , if you want Hydroxocobalamin.

If you don’t specify “Depot “ , you could order Cynocobalamin by mistake .

Note that versandapo.de is a quite different pharmacy from versandapotheke.de .( they have B12 ampoules but do not ship to U.K.) Apo is the German abbreviation of Apotheke . meaning pharmacy

You will need a translation app , or you can use google chrome , which translates to any language you want .

The use- buy date on Rotexmedica is about 2 1/2 years hence .

Hope this helps .

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply towedgewood

wedgewood Thank you for a very useful reply.

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood in reply toCetus

Just thought of another source — it’s a good idea to have a few .——-

mycare.de

I see that they have 10 ampoules for €8.64 and 100 for €58.65 , but courier costs €17.00 .

You can get this site in English buy clicking on the Union Jack in the Top right-hand corner .

Cherylclaire profile image
CherylclaireForum Support in reply towedgewood

Just to add to that, wedgewood -

having just tried to order from versandapo.de recently with no luck (wouldn't let me put anything in the basket !) instead of going into meltdown, I used mycare.de instead :

found them a lot easier to use, perfect translation, and took two days (so worth the extra courier costs).

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toCherylclaire

Cherylclaire

I tried VersandApo because I've ordered from them before and set up an account previously. I could place the item in my shopping basket but couldn't work out how to pay for it because Google Translate wouldn't work on the site.

Like you, in the end I used MyCare as it was a much simpler.

Maybe I'll try Bodfeld next time as it is chepaer but, for now, I need to get my supplies in.

Cherylclaire profile image
CherylclaireForum Support in reply toCetus

If ordering 100 from Bodfeld, it works out cheaper than Mycare by about 1.5 euros, because Mycare's delivery charge is more, although their product is cheaper. VersandApo are a lot cheaper at the moment (sale price !) but had a bit of a nightmare so gave up. Their translated English rarely makes sense to me.

(That could be me however !)

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toCherylclaire

If I recall correctly, MyCare use a faster courier than VersandApo and perhaps Bodfeld too, which may be worth while for some people. It takes 2 or 3 working days.

I placed an order with MyCare who gave me a German DHL tracking number but I believe this number doesn't track progress in the UK where the package gets handed over to "DHL Express" or some organisation like that.

Has anyone found how to track this in the UK as I want to be in the house when the package arrives?

226lowlane profile image
226lowlane

I order from Arnike Apotheke and they speak fluent English. I rang the first time and then by email. You can pay by PayPal link which is the safest way to pay. My last order took 4 working days to come. I can recommend them unreservedly.

Ian

Midnight_Voice profile image
Midnight_Voice

To emphasise wedgewood’s comment about Chrome - When you look up the site in the Chrome browser, then at the bottom of the page, Chrome will offer German and English.

Choose English, and as you surf the site, page by page, every word of text will blink into English in fractions of a second. The experience is seamless, pretty much as if the site was in English to begin with!

The only thing it can’t translate is words that appear in the graphics (pictures), but those are quite few and usually covered in the text anyway.

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toMidnight_Voice

Midnight_Voice Thank you for the detailed description on how to get an English translation. I can see my ancient Chrome browser is the problem, as it doesn't show the button you refer to. I keep telling myself it's trime to get a new pc but can't face the effort to migrate everything. Groo!

Wagonwheel profile image
Wagonwheel

Thanks for the post and replies it finally made me order some B12 from Versandapo rather than my somewhat unpredictable 'repeat' prescription. Turns out it's only £5 more expensive than NHS prescription charge (for 100 ampoules)!

Does anyone know whether Brexit will stop us from being able to order from Germany?

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toWagonwheel

Wagonwheel When you refer to the NHS prescription charge, do you mean that it's possible to get 100 amploules of B12 on the NHS?

Wagonwheel profile image
Wagonwheel in reply toCetus

Hi Cetus, I get B12 on prescription from my doctor (although she wants to 'wean' me off twice weekly SI). I get 3 boxes of 5 x 1mg ampoules each time I pay £8 so overall buying 100 from Versandapo costs just £5 more than NHS charges for the equivalent.

Cetus profile image
Cetus in reply toWagonwheel

Wagonwheel I haven't seen five ampoules per box. Is it hydroxogobalamin? How frequently do you self-inject?

Wagonwheel profile image
Wagonwheel in reply toCetus

Yes thats right it's hydroxocobalamin which I SI twice weekly

fbirder profile image
fbirder in reply toWagonwheel

Brexit shouldn't make too much difference. Medicines aren't subject to tariffs.

However, if we have Boris' no-deal disaster then shipments will get caught up in the chaos at the ports. I doubt that suppliers will bother to ship to the UK for a month or so. That's why I have about 14 months worth of B12 at home.

I've also spent the last year or so getting my repeat prescriptions filled early every time. I've now got a 12-week reserve of all of them as well.

Wagonwheel profile image
Wagonwheel in reply tofbirder

Clever! I now have a 100 ampoules plus my prescription so should be fine just as long as there isn't a zombie apocalypse!

JaiGee profile image
JaiGee

MyCare.de cheaper to buy 10x10ampule boxes ie 100 ampules at a time works out much cheaper and you can search for discount codes online too. I found paying in local currency using Starling Bank also gave me a better exchange rate and no bank fees for the transaction so works out much cheaper than using a normal bank that has a lower exchange rate and charges you a fee. It’s a win-win! :)

Link at bottom of page to translate to English. Best to create an account.

JenMartins profile image
JenMartins

I order from vitaminb12online.com their hydroxo is a lot stronger 10,000mcg

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood

No it’s not . Hevert also make Hydroxocobalamin , also dosage 1mg , but they put it in 2ml ampoules . I’d rather have just 1ml to inject . Pascoe make 1.5mg x 1ml ampoules .

I use a 2ml syringe with the 1ml ampoule , then you can get every last drop,of B12 out of the ampoule .I buy 100 Rotexmedica B12 depot ampoules at a time from either Bodfeld or versandapo.de . They have a use-by date of 2 1/2 years . Those pharmacies have a huge turnover , so the B12 is fresh .

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood

I don’t really need to put the whole 2ml syringe -full of air into the ampoule , but if I do , I get every last drop of B12 out and into the syringe . I then expel any air that’s in the syringe . I don’t know if this is the right way to do it , but I’m totally self taught. I found how to do it by trial and error . . Before I did that ,there were often drops of B12 left behind in the ampoule . At first I used a 1 ml ampoule ,and always had a bit of B12 left behind ,which annoyed me!

Rotexmedica is not the only laboratory that makes 1mg x 1ml Hydroxocobalamin ampoules , but they are very well known and have the best prices .

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