B12 Tablets

[joyb58]

my GP has issued me with vitamin B12 1000mg mega strength prolonged release one a day tablets in place of injections any one tryed these and do they really work

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

I copied the reply below from another thread on the forum.

Has GP stopped your B12 injections totally?

If they have stopped them or reduced frequency, have you considered challenging their decision?

I left a long reply in this next thread with info on impact of pandemic on B12 treatment in UK

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po.....

It includes links to recent PAS news items and blog posts from B12 Deficiency Info which have suggestions on how to cope if injections stopped/delayed/swapped for oral tablets.

I wrote another very detailed reply on another forum thread with links to symptoms lists, causes of b12 deficiency, info about tests for PA, B12 books, B12 websites, UK B12 documents, letters to GP about B12 deficiency and other B12 info which you might find helpful.

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

B12 article from Mayo Clinic (US)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Suggests

1) No proof that oral b12 is a good at treating B12 deficiency as B12 injections

2) Many current diagnostic tests eg serum b12, active B12, MMA, Homocysteine, are not totally reliable

3) Successful treatment should not be stopped

Warning

I believe that many UK patients who have been on B12 injections will find it difficult to get them reinstated even after pandemic is over.

1) There are moves afoot in some areas of UK eg Gloucestershire to move patients permanently to oral tablets.

Blog post about Treatment of B12 deficiency in Gloucestershire (April 2020)

b12deficiency.info/blog/202...

PAS blog post about oral B12 treatment (August 2016)

martynhooper.com/2016/08/02...

2) There is pressure on GP surgeries to cut costs...I think some GP surgeries see patients treated with b12 injections as an easy target.

Have a look at the comments under this recent BMJ article about PA (Pernicious Anaemia)

bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m13...

Some of the responses below the article from GPs are very concerning. See response published on 24th April. Attitude of GPs seems very questionable to me.

Costs £30 to get access to original article. There was a recent thread about this article on the forum.

PAS

Have you considered joining PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)?

PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society)

Based in Wales, UK.

pernicious-anaemia-society....

There is a helpline number that PAS members can ring.

PAS support groups in UK

pernicious-anaemia-society....

No meetings during pandemic.

B12 Deficiency Info website

b12deficiency.info/

Challenging GPs

If you want to challenge their decision, I suggest putting queries about treatment into a brief as possible, polite letter to GP.

Try to include extracts from UK guidelines etc that support your arguments. Should be useful info in the links I included in this post.

Unhappy with Treatment (UK info)?

Letters to GPs about B12 deficiency

b12deficiency.info/b12-writ...

CAB NHS Complaints

citizensadvice.org.uk/healt...

Your local MP or representative of devolved administration in Scotland, Wales, NI should be interested in your story if you are struggling to get appropriate treatment.

I am not medically trained.

[Nackapan in reply to Sleepybunny]

There has been one person so far on here that has said 1000mcg tablets are working. Also time will tell if they continue too obviously I hope they do continue to work.

Are they using people as guinea pigs to trial these tablets??

A very risky exercise.

Most people on injections have tried tablets or sublinguals or patches or all.

[Bonjourtristesse]

It's been 2 months since my last (private) b12 injection. I have 5000mg sublingual and take two at a time but am still getting fatigue and pins and needles. It hasn't helped me in the way injections did but I am still taking them in case it's doing something in the meantime.

[Bonjourtristesse in reply to Bonjourtristesse]

Update: I think the tablets are doing something as I now realise that whenever I take them I get increased pins and needles which is what happened after starting injections initially (nerve repair I think). They are expensive though at £20 for 30, but I had them in the cupboard and have nothing else to take. I have not been diagnosed with PA and do eat meat/dairy so I’m not sure why I would be deficient from diet (was a long term vegetarian previously). I get better results from injections though.