I know I have posted this a couple of times, but I notice many of you continue to order B12 during the warm months of summer. I know many of you are in the UK so maybe it is not as hot as in the US. Worrying about the serum getting too hot or too cold has only left me a very small window of time in which I feel moderately safe ordering. Since you do not have such long shipping times (mine are 2-3 weeks) do you just not worry about temperature fluctuations during the really warm and/or cold weather. I never used to worry as I knew I could order in late September to October and (hopefully) avoid extreme temps. Now with the scarcity of product, I am concerned I won’t be able to get it in my 6-8 week window. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Eileen
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EiCa
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Are you ordering from Canada? That's where I get my B12. I do order a lot in the winter months so I have enough to last through the summer. I'm supplementing the B12 I get from a prescription from my doctor. He's allowed me shots once every three weeks, which is good but not always enough and I have to go pick it up at the pharmacy every two weeks because they won't give me a year's worth at one time. I really prefer the B12 I get from my local pharmacy. It comes in a vial with a spongy top. It's so. much easer to draw out the B12 with this type of vial.
I would not be able to pick up from Canada and shipping every two weeks would be pretty inefficient for me. Are these individual ampoules? I have searched Canadian pharmacies several times but have not found a supplier of hydroxy single-dose ampoules. Also I really like the freedom of not needing a doctor’s prescription. It sucks the life out of me to explain what I want and why. I started out that way until I found all the info here and “went rogue” (doctor free) ever since.
I order the B12 from a Canadian company and they ship it to me. I order 40 doses at a time and keep them in my house. They are individual ampoules. I actually use cyano not hydroxy. Is there a reason why you don't use cyanocobalamin? The prescription from my doctor allows me shots every two weeks. The pharmacy decided I could only pick up one dose at a time. So I get my B12 supplies from two sources.
Yes, I had an anaphylaxis reaction to cyanocobolamin a long time ago and have decided not to test that out again! Thanks for the info. I think when I searched and searched Canadian pharmacies, cyano was all I could find.
I'm in Belgium and I absolutely do not take that risk, even though Germany is so close. Shipping is about 4 days. We currently have a heat wave so I' definintely not ordering now.
When I first started injecting, I was travelling and my B12 was left in a room at 30C (86F) for a few days and was no longer effective. I know others say it's fine for them (denise I'm talking about you lol) but not for me. I've cooked my B12 more than once, so since then I am quite paranoid about keeping it below 23C / 73 F (to allow some room for error).
I usually post a warning about not ordering in the summer but haven't done so this time, guess i was too lazy or something. :/
You've previously mentioned not ordering in the winter, but I doubt the B12 would be outside long enough to freeze. As long as it doesn't actually freeze, I think you will be fine. I keep forgetting what area you're from. I'm from Indiana so I know a little bit how cold it can get I would not hesitate to order it in the winter if it was me.
Anyway that doesn't solve your immediate problem. I suspect it will get cooler again here in a few weeks, so you could try then with with a small amount.
In any case, all the new shipments are dated 3/26 so my hypothesis is that they're still busy distributing it. The pharmacies that ship to the US but not the UK all have it in stock. The ones shipping to the UK (mainly versandapo) probably keep running out because people are ordering en masse at the moment. I'm hopeful that there will still be stock again in a few months. I'm also running low but waiting til it's cooler.
It is indeed a small world. I am in IN. I don’t know when you left, but in the past years we can have heat waves through October and snow in November so the October window even feels risky. I am going to aim for that again and order a lot this time. Last I ordered was right before the shortage. Had I only known…except the expiry date was so short…I would have ordered twice as much.
I think there might be a risk of it freezing if it travels by air and is in the plane’s hold. I think it can get pretty cold in there. And then I must consider customs and where the product sits as it waits to be processed.
Thanks for your two cents. I live in Indiana but was born in MI so despite not living there for decades, that is where my heart lies. (lots of family there as well)
Ha, small world indeed! I left a bit over 20 years ago. I can't remember any heat waves in October lol, though I do remember it could be pleasant during Halloween, and it could get quite warm before spring even started.
I did some googling and it seems that even in cargo planes, the hold is heated to some extent. The reasoning is that there could be all sorts of liquids, and any of them could freeze and explode. The logic seems sound. I couldn't find specific info from DHL and other companies, but see e.g. aviation.stackexchange.com/... There's even research papers on this! core.ac.uk/download/pdf/191... and researchgate.net/publicatio... . Conclusion: the hold does not reach freezing temps.
I probably wouldn't worry about it sitting in customs - I imagine the buildings they're stored in will also be heated to some extent. Same concern about freezing.
Ground transport could of course be affected. So if it's really really cold, then I might wait. So maybe you have 2 x 6-week windows, in Oct/Nov and Feb/March ? A few years ago I ordered B12 to the US in April, and it was just too close for comfort temps-wise, but I had no other choice. High temps those weeks were around 73-75C , but they turned out just fine.
I always try to keep a stock of ~1 year, by stocking up in winter. Here it just rains the whole time. 😂 But I had the same problem as you - short expiration dates. Actually I think we were into the full-blown shortage by January this year. I really hope it's over now.
Thanks for this info, Jade. I google everything but did not think to look up to how low temperatures get in a jet's hold!
These day it is a roll of the dice as far as the weather goes...honestly, I live in southern IN and we have temps that differ 30-40 degrees from day to the next. Flowers and plants all came up at least a month early this year; it is hard to know what to expect. I think I will stick to ordering in mid-October and cross my fingers.
I am in the US, so use cyanocobalamin, which, according to the pamphlet in the box, is produced in France. I was curious when I saw your comment about keeping a year's supply, and checked the expiration date of the cyanocobalamin I am currently using, and was surprised to see the expiration date is July '25.
Great, isn't it? I have had so many ups and downs over the years, heard of so many shortages (there was a bad hydroxo one in the US, back in 2014 before I started), issues with summer shipping, sharing with my family, etc etc, that I have become quite risk averse and try to keep a large stock whenever I can.
Thank you for your balanced and balancing views on this, Jade!
I know I haven't cooked mine enough to make it unviable but I am pretty careful and it doesn't mean you can't - and I know it definitely is light sensitive! It's really interesting to hear that yours wasn't effective - I will revise my knowledge bank accordingly.
As hot as it is at the moment I don't think I'd want to risk ordering now, either, especially as I order in quality and so always want it to arrive in peak condition to maintain it's effectiveness as long as possible.
I hadn't considered the cold to be an issue, either? I think it would be unlikely to get frozen?
Hopefully you can get plenty when it's best to ship it Eileen. All the best!
Denise I was just thinking of your stories about leaving some backup B12 in the car and it would get hot during the summer and still be fine. I feel like others have also mentioned not having issues during the summer. Maybe mine were just exceptional circumstances or I'm very sensitive. Or it doesn't get that hot in your car 😂 Apologies, I didn't mean to suggest you were careless with your B12. ❤️
Regarding the cold, I too think freezing is unlikely, even in a truck, but it can get pretty cold there in the winter. Sometimes it would get so cold that my eyelashes and nose hairs would literally freeze after just a few minutes outside. 😱 Luckily not often. But -18 C (0 F) was not uncommon, from what I remember! I see now the average low sits around -7 C in January. Brrrrr 🥶
Please don't worry, I didn't think for a second you did [suggest I was careless] - you're just not like that - and I was just pleased you remembered. 😘
Yes, I'm careful not to let my car get too hot - but I'd still have thought it was enough to cook my ampoules! But it hasn't been to the point of them not working, even when I was convinced they weren't any good and therefore I had nocebo against them! 🤪
However I have had days when I've thought I've done my jab (placebo) only to discover, hours later, after I've got so bad I've resorted to an "emergency jab", that in actual fact I've got ready to do it but got distracted (easily done with me, I'm still a bit blonde and daffy 😁) and not done so.
I'm grateful for your saying about your experience as it means I have learnt and will be less glib about heat if talking to others in future.
That's the beauty of this forum and the wonderful people on here: it so shows how this whole thing is never "one size fits all" and how there are so many different experiences between us that we can never be dogmatic about anything - other than maybe the exception proves the rule!
OK, I can't cope when it's too hot, but, oh my goodness, am I glad when it's not too cold either!!
I can remember it being -18 °C here once, when I was a child, and I don't want to try that again! Wimp! I can't envisage effectively living in a freezer! That said, I used to freeze my meat I produced on farm in a walk-in freezer that used to take it down to - 25 °C and I used to go in there... Still, it's one thing for a few minutes and entirely different when it's day by day living, isn't it!
I'm glad I'm in Suffolk and therefore usually very similar to where you are now. I've been asleep for an hour, while it's been so hot and now had better get back to work.
I have to regularly remind myself that indeed one size does not indeed fit all. Luckily everyone here is always so open & helpful, I still continue to learn every day.
-18 in the UK? Welp! Hubby says Belgian winters used to be much colder back in the day.
We actually had a cool front here today, 20 C, and i'm still walking around in a shirt & shorts opening all the windows & doors, desperately trying to get our nice brick oven, er, house, to cool off before the next wave (tomorrow).
Indeed whether hot or cold, it's the cumulative effect over time. I'm already wishing for winter though I LOVE the sun. These houses are just not built for this weather.
Hope it'll cool off there soon! Take it easy, as much as you can
Thanks for your input, Denise. We can all learn from each other's mistakes and experiments...yours being storing some in the car! I think I am done asking about this topic. It is like so many things we talk about here. There is no exact answer for anyone about almost anything. It's a constant risk/reward balancing act. We have to accept all the answers, stir them all together in a pot, and come up with a solution that we are most comfortable with, and then taste it and see how it came out!
I have recently found that the folic acid I use is also light sensitive - as I chop them in half and put them in a day dispenser I now keep that in a tin box.
Generally, I think, most meds and supplements are best kept in a cool (not cold) dark place. The old habit of storing meds in a “medicine cabinet” in the bathroom is bad because of the humidity. We are renovating our bathrooms and I have noticed there are more plain mirrors (no cabinet behind them) for over the sink. Maybe this is why. I still have no problem filling up a medicine cabinet w/ other junk! Sigh.
Hello EiCa, yes I can see that this is a problem. Although I am in UK high temperatures do affect us increasingly. I can only suggest you search for other suppliers or/and you contact the pharmacy/seller to see if Refrigerated shipping is possible. Also there is a powdered B12 available in uk but its quite expensive. Maybe research this too. Best wishes.
I have not been able to find individual ampoules (without a prescription as well) here in the US of hydroxy. It is all sold in vials of 30ml. I do not like the possibility of contamination so I stick with the uncertainty of shipping and cross my fingers.
Reading this post and the comments makes me think it's a good idea to get my hands on 100gr or more powdered mythylcobalamin. As far as I understand it, it has a very long shelf life and can be made into a solution with seline on demand and it's cheap. This as a backup for possible shortages, spoiling of own supply, etc. Now to find a vendor that sells this at a reasonable price with a good quality trackrecord.
It's ridiculous that this is so scarce. It's cheap to make. So sellers on line are really taking advantage of the vulnerability of PA patients. I know this is how the market works but there must be a way to set something up that reliably delivers world wide for reasonable prices.
Ah thank you! That's great information, do you have a link to that source? 5000 doses, that would keep me going for 500 years, lol! I think I'll buy 10 grams 😏
I really hope you are not considering injecting that?
It is sold as a food supplement so no wonder it is cheaper compared to a product which has been handled in aseptic conditions to ensure it is safe for injection.
Wwwdot your post disappeared but i'm going answer anyway because it's important and we should have warned about it.
My old German b12 used to say store below 25 C. The new ones just say 'keep in cool spot' or similar. I keep mine in the fridge or cellar when it goes above 23 C.
I'm sure someone in the past has looked into duration but I don't know offhand.
You might want to start a new post for this question. Old related posts will show up too if you do.
Thanks for sharing these onfo! I personally had no idea that warm weather would affect b12 ampules! Would you explain how it get affected? I ordered a big pack from Germany to Italy and normally takes a few days (5-6) to arrive! I just sent an email to the german company asking whether they consider this issue when shipping b12 ampules!? Once they’ve been delivered I guess i should keep them in a cool place at home, since it got to hot here, but wonder where!? In fridge!?
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I would not hesitate to order it in the winter if it was me. 
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