Storage of B12

[Cakebake]

In the recent UK hot weather I completely forgot about moving my b12 supply and it was on and off in a hot room.

The colour looks the same but I wondered if it now unsafe to use due to heat exposure. anyone have any knowledge about this? I cannot accurately say how hot the room became.

[Cakebake]

It is hydroxocobalamin

[Nackapan in reply to Cakebake]

it says on the paper slip to store out of light under 25 deg c.

If in date i woukd use it .

May not last as long

May lose effacy.

I dont think unsafe though .

Tricky

[Cakebake in reply to Nackapan]

thank you Nackapan, it is in date for another 10 months.

[Narwhal10]

Hi Cakebake,

I did a big online B12 shop and thought I’d put my entire stash in the fridge during the heatwave. I found 30 vials at the bottom of my wardrobe after. Doh.

They like yours are still red and in date. I can’t find anything in the BNF (British National Formulary) so looked at Drugs.com. The most important thing is the colour and to look at the liquid, making sure there’s no particles, like undissolved sugar.

Best wishes.

[Cakebake]

thank you that is reassuring

[Dilly_blue]

I have a suspicion that the efficacy of B12 disappears in extreme heat.. I have very obvious symptoms (hand weakness in the mornings) that normally disappears for 6 days after I have had an injection at the GP practice (its almost like clockwork).

The last week of July I was getting a bit desperate so booked 2 B12 injections at an aesthetics clinic. After both of these injections (on different days) my symptoms didn’t disappear at all. Three weeks later I had my next GP injection, and the symptoms disappeared for 6 days as usual. I know it could be for any number of reasons - eg maybe the aesthetic clinic B12 was out of date?

But - I suspect it is because the B12 was in a lockable metal box at the aesthetic clinic (and we had had a stretch of 40 degrees weather for the previous week or two), whereas it is kept in a large glass-fronted fridge in the treatment room at the GP practice…

On the positive side, it didn’t do me any harm (having the ‘inactive’ B12) - but it was very disappointing…!

[Cakebake in reply to Dilly_blue]

This would make sense to me!

[Bellabab]

If your B12 is stored in a cupboard thats not in direct sunlight its unlikely to have reached a temperature over 25 degrees Centigrade. I have checked this out in my house with an accurate thermometer. Even so I now store mine in the top of my fridge.

[Cakebake in reply to Bellabab]

thanks 😀