After a few of my b12 shots, I've started to get acne on my face, back and even scalp.And I did a little research and b12 is proven to give acne to some people.
And its starting to get bad now.
I cannot stop the b12 shots because obviously my body needs it, the symptoms are still there.
But this acne is also getting out of hand.
Does anyone know how to deal with this?
It's very common.I got loads of them.
Big round hard unsightly spots.
Look like white heads but are not.
I got them on my face neck scalp hairline mainly.
Main thing is to keep them clean and dry.
I tried many things.
The alcohol wipes used to swap before an injection csn ve useful as sterile and a drying effect.
Then any antiseptic spot cream to help the soreness that suits you.
Just leave them alone . They do subside .Then get fewer .
Horrid but a small price .
It's the surge of b12 waking up cells I think and pushing out toxins or old cells.
There is a scientific explanation you can probably look up.
Or another member can explain.
Just keep going
Thank you! Yes mainly at the hairline.
It's horrific for sure but I guess getting over with the b12 symptoms is the main goal. I did think of stopping the injections caz of the acne but again that would be a bad decision.
It isn't acne - its probably caused by B12 causing more platelets to be produced. Acne is an infection.
I'd agree with you but the name does kinda explain it for most people. . . . .I had real acne prior to b12 shots and what I got afterward was not the same and it did not go away either. . . . .Horrible and could start bleeding when ye least expected it. . . . . .And they can bleed profusely . . . . . .
Had a very similar problem. . . . . .The loading injections were fine but then the 3 month gap was too much so I went down the SI route . . . . .It was either that or jump off a cliff. . . . . Getting sick over 25 years is one thing. . . . . .Getting better over a period of days followed by getting sick again over a similar period was worse than being sick in the first place. . . . . .It really was a case of not being able to live like this. . . . . Like everyone I used 1000ug and ended up with acne . . . . .I had acne all my life but it had stopped during and for a period after the loading injections . . . . This new acme was different . .. . . .Not much puss If any but shaving was a blood bath. . . . . . . . .It was already obvious my old body did not like being without b12 and my mind and nervous system even more so. . . . .Cyno/Hydro made no odds. . . . . .B12 saved my life . . . . .I will never forget the GP who went down this route with me. . . . Brilliant. . . . . .Like everything to do with this disease there is little to no info and less research. . . .There are more people able to tell ye what ye should not do that what you can do. . . . . . .My local 6 month nurse is aware of my SI and says that they cannot condone such but cant say any more than that . . . . . .Official standpoint kinda thing. . . . .There does have to be guidelines and that is where they are drawn here. . . . .. Anyhow. . . . .I discovered I did not need 1000ug at any point and that it didnt last more than 4 days no odds how much I took. . . .. 500ug was plenty every 4 days. . . . .400ug seems to just about last 4 days but any more is a waste and more weird little pimples that bleed. .. . .The acme eased a little but man it was a pain literally. . . .Face , back, behind ears, sides of nose just about everywhere really. . . . . .After a load of reading I decided to try adding B6 to the equation. . . . . .Now I cannot say that that ended the acme but it has almost ended it. . . . . . .I still get a couple of smallish pimple that bleed easily but 1% of the previous would probably be about right. . . . . .I dont want to start a controversy and I know that both B12 and B6 can cause acme but lack of both can also cause skin problems . . . . . So I have been using 400 to 500ug of B12 along with a little B6. . . . . .I had tried oral B6 for about 4 weeks with success. . . . . . I use Pascoe Hydro and Hevert B6 currently. . . . .I hope I dont open a can or worms but it is working for me and has been for over a year now so its not some placebo effect. . . . . Hope this might help a little . . . . . Try oral B6 first though
Hey OldmanD, I was B6 deficient and currently take 25mg Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate in water twice a day. I have tried not taking it twice and both times my peripheral neuropathy which now is minimal now increased.
Similar. .. . . .My B12 diagnosis was like a miracle at that time . . . . . To be honest about acme I really cant remember when I had a month without it and I am 65. . . . . The acme or spots before someone corrects me on the term acne did change with the B12 from very pussy to very bleedy. . . . . I reading about the B vitamin's I read that B12 coud result in spots . . . . . as could B6 as could the lact of either or both. . . . .Man it is never simple . . . . . But after reading lots I decided I'd try B6 which I did , . . . Orally. . . . .I am already prescribed B9 orally. . . . .Pointless so I decided to give a couple of jabs a go. . . .I think I bought the 5 pack. . . . .Walla. . . . .I do still get a few small/tiny spots every few days but near to everyone has a spot or two have they not but hardly ever one of those bleeding mountain ranges on my chin etc. . . . . . And like yourself my hands are now as near to perfect as I think they possibly should be at 65. . . . . Mind I had near to no feelings due to tingling for some time. . . . . . The B6 was also the answer to the sides of my mouth splitting and little bits of skin peeling off my lips. . . . . .I am no expert but I surmise that as elevated Homocysteine levels can and do cause spots/acme and that we need B6 B9 B12 to set things in motion I think I have reached a good balance . . . . . .So there may be good reason why B6 is also easily available just as B12 is. . . . . . . They dont provide a product that is not needed or without demand if you will . . . . . . . It is an awful pity there is not research into all this. . . . .
Hey OldmanD, I am looking in to Betine and how it is used to treathomocysteine build up. I came across it a couple of times as being used to treat transcobalamin deficiency . Not enough data to come to any conclusions about effectiveness. That I will establish for me with a trial at the same level used for athletic performance.
OldmanD, just a note on absorption - if you take B12 less often you need to take a lot more to get enough via passive absorption. The amount can be estimated by taking the RDA, multiplying by how many days you plan to cover with a dose, then multiplying by 100 to see how much you need for that amount to be absorbed by passive absorption. So 2.5mcg x4 = 10mxg, x 100 = 1,000mcg, which is the amount needed to cover 4 days. So it seems to me that 500mcg every 4 days would be too low to cover the RDA - you would need twice that amount unless you have B12 in your diet that you are successfully absorbing. If you want to take a lower dose, 250mcg a day should be sufficient to get the RDA by passive absorption (although would not be nearly enough to correct a deficiency if one exists).
Wizard6787, you may know this but I just wanted to note that 50mg B6 is double the tolerable upper limit and is the level at which some symptoms of B6 overdose have been recorded. AFAIK, neurological damage would only occur at higher doses (100mg)but I would feel pretty nervous taking twice the upper limit of a vitamin which can cause neurological damage at high doses, unless a deficiency was being treated.
I self inject. . . . . . .
I have followed the B12 toxicity data for 1 year 4 months. There have been 40 cases of peripheral nephropathy that were experienced after taking 500 mg of B6 or more for a year and that peripheral nephropathy went away when they stopped administering B6. Since then there as been much information that is conjuncture. The phrase 'may cause' most often used.
1 year 4 months ago a treatment for B6 deficiency DX based on clinical evaluation was 500 mg B6 Injections until symptoms abated than 30 mg per day for life.
I have established through trials of not taking B6 that my B6 deficiency is real and that I suffer if I do not administer it.
I always use pharmaceutical data sheets for toxicity information as they unlike the medical field can get sued in the USA for misinformation. Where those in the medical filed in the USA only have liability if they do not do the minimum treatment that everyone else does.
Wizard, I like your info. . . . . Havnt paid as much attention to reports into B6 as I have to B12 but interesting. . . . .I could not help but notice in my readings of the limited research and individuals posting that often professionals treat these problems like they can be cured rather than treated. . . . . . So like yourself it has been a careful experiment. . . . . .My daughter was quite a help as she done honours in dietetic's and seems to know more about vitamin's than most GP's .. . . . .I now have a great GP and the Health Center has I feel seen to a lot of B12 problems according to the amount of peopel I have met around here receiving B12 shots. . . .. . .I dont think people appreciate the feeling of touch we are gifted with. . . . . .My dexterity was great and then it was gone like a thief in the night. . . . . .Parts of my legs also suffered and the feeling of touching yourself somewhere with little feeling with your hands with little feelings was weird. . . . . .I am so thankful to be rid of that. . . . . .
I did jigsaw puzzles to retrain my brain including dexterity. Will be interesting to see if I can still putt a golf ball as well as I used to be able to. Never any good. 😀
I can again thread a nut in a blind backwards position which I could not do for many years. . . . .This is based totally on feel as you cant see the nut/bolt or where it is going. . . . . Many people cannot do that without cross threading/ruining everything. . . . I was always good at these things. . . . . . I dont do much now but I do take care of our own cars etc again. . . . .albeit slowly. . . . . . Some places such as Harvard Uni webpages all have referred to poor absorption of B6 being possible or result of various thing including autoimmune disorders and digestive problems and that the B6 problem often come hand in hand with other B absorption problems such as B9 and B12. . . . . . .I have been lactose intolerant all my life with digestive problems, IBS and have had anaphylaxis on 3 occasions plus arthritis to name but a few. . . . .
It looks like the EU may be moving to an even more conservative limit (for B6) of 12mg/day:
"In a draft scientific opinion, EFSA’s panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens reduces the UL for vitamin B6 in supplements and fortified foods to 12 mg/day for adults, down from 25 mg/day, which was set in 2000 by Europe’s Scientific Committee on Food."
The text is taken from the below article from a pharmaceutical market intelligence firm, which maintains that the decision to go with such a low value is based (they say) on a flawed study from 1987. The US upper limit for adults is significantly higher, at 100mg.
hbw.pharmaintelligence.info...
If you go to the quoted 1987 study:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...
It says:
A newly recognised neurotoxic syndrome due to pyridoxine (B6) overdose is described.
Those in charge of making any of the rules need to appreciate that there are (from memory) six vitamers of B6. Using a study on just pyridoxine to impose a limit across all B6 vitamers is such poor practivce it doesn't even deserve to be treated as a scientific argument.
My notes on B6 vitamers:
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
Thanks again for that link. It was a very important part of my journey.
Thanks for the information.
it can be the homocysteine being cleared from the body too. Part of the reversing out process.
Homocysteine is an amino acid and required by the body. . . . . .B6 B12 and folate break it down to make other chemicals your body needs. . . . . Balancing act like everything as I read it. . . . . . .
My advice is, first, give it time. My B12-induced acne went away as my symptoms improved. Second, go to a dermatologist. There are lots of effective treatments for adult acne these days. If you can't get to a dermatologist, there is an OTC treatment gel called adapalene. It used to be rx only but now it's OTC. It works really well for me.
I had acme all my life and have the 1000s of little scars to prove it. . . . . Face like a quarry . . . .Back and chest the same. . . . . . .They tried everything right into my 50s and everything was a very temporary fix if fix at all. . . . B6 B12 and I have had such relief. . . . . . Better than any antibiotic or ointment I ever had. . . . .So was it "acme" as we know it would be the question .. . . .
Hi Shipship,
I also got a lot of those horrible pinup legs as Nackapan described. On my back, hair, a few on my face. I used usual pimple cream I bought at Tesco from Garnier. It helped. I’m still on daily injections and I get them but they are a lot less than they were when I initially started. It seems my body has started healing!
Good Luck! It is horrible !
Hey Shipship,
I had two bouts of acne the first year I injected B12. I am sorry that you are experiencing that. Not fair is what it is. I believe now it was a sign of my body healing and although when experiencing it that is not how it felt.
so sorry to hear about the acne. It can be so painful and uncomfortable. I had bad acne for a year once I turned 20 which was a big shock since I had always had a clear complexion before that. It was medication related so it eventually went away but I still have scars now and it really hurts the self confidence that’s for sure. I haven’t noticed the connection with b12 and acne myself but I definitely believe you. I’m getting more frequent injections now and acne flares are something I’ve noted to pay attention to. I’ve read other posts from people who’ve had the same issue. I really hope your acne starts getting better soon!
mine started to clear up. I did. two things:
Started taking lot of b5 - Pantothenic acid
and switched from the hervert b12 to the Canadian.
I did. the b12 brand switch first and got some results but in the end I think the b5 is working. It takes 7-12 weeks of taking it.
I have never had acne before so it must be the b12
my acne is fortunately localized to my face.
I also boil water in a post then turn off the heat and my face for 7-10 min. Then do a hydrogen peroxide and baking soda paste. I did that once a week or whenever my fave would want to start getting oily.
Those things have helped tremendously
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