Prep of Methylcobalamin Powder For Injection?

[B12again]

Would anyone who does their own preparation of powder Methylcobalamin be able to explain how one goes about it, including doing the dosage measurements correctly. Also, how many doses does on get from 40mg bottle. Thanks.

[wedgewood]

I can’t help you really . But I suggest that you go online to—

perniciousanemia.org

This site sells the very same powdered Methylcobalamin powder that one can buy from Oxford Biosciences.in U.K. ( but at 3 times the price ) This US company has an arrangement with Oxford Biosciences ,because now Americans can only obtain it from Oxford Biosciences by direct Email . If you go into that site , there are directions for how to use the powder if you look hard .

I hope that this helps you .

( In using this powder , great precautions must be taken to keep everything sterile . Should not be used a month after being rehydrated with saline ( Saline is only obtainable in U.K. with a prescription . Other wise from certain German online pharmacies who will deliver to U.K. )

[Narwhal10 in reply to wedgewood]

Thanks again wedgewood,

A new name and website to add to my collection. Regev Elya - Israel.

[wedgewood in reply to Narwhal10]

Ye , he is an Israeli, but the company perniciousanemia.org Operates out of USA I believe . He has edited a book “ B12 Deficiency Survival Handbook” He did not write that book .

[wedgewood]

If you need saline , you can obtain it from versandapo.de

The pharmaceutical reference number is — 02737756

[FlipperTD]

A 40mg bottle should provide 40 x 1mg doses. However, the reconstitution of the powder is ideally done using aseptic technique in a special cabinet. The risk of contamination is [IMHO] simply too great. The longer it's kept, and the more times it's sampled, the greater the risk.

[B12again in reply to FlipperTD]

I hear you FlipperTD and thanks for your information and concern. I was hoping someone in this forum would be using it and could report on their experiences. I saw on a series of home taken photos on an USA site they seem to mix it in its bottle with 10ml of saline, using 0.3ml insulin syringe/needle.

[FlipperTD in reply to B12again]

Hi. Thanks for your response. That would be more or less the way to do it, but scrupulous cleanliness in a suitable environment would be the way to go. The sort of environment needed is found in hospital pharmacies and similar places.

We had facilities in a Nuclear Medicine department, when we were manipulating blood samples for radiolabelling and re-injection when performing blood volume measurement.

I would still be very cautious!

[B12again in reply to FlipperTD]

I’m relatively new to SI but ok with it. My weak point is getting the hang of all the differing numbers. Please indulge me if you will. Presently I inject using a 2ml syringe with 1mg/1mL B12, the needles I’m ok with. The recommended size of the syringe for the powder B12 is 0.3ml syringe. I’d be happy using my syringes but I’m wondering why there seems a difference. 🤔

[FlipperTD in reply to B12again]

A 0.3ml syringe is tiny; I think it's an insulin syringe but 'a syringe is a syringe'. The usual syringe has a Luer taper hub for the needle. Some have a 'Luer Lok' hub which prevents the needle becoming detached.

Needles, as I'm sure you're aware: bigger number, smaller needle. The number is SWG, or 'Standard Wire Gauge' which engineers find very familiar. The 'powder B12' is a powder, and wouldn't be sucked up in a syringe. My guess is you would need to reconstitute the contents of the vial by injecting the diluent with a syringe through the pierceable septum, but bear in mind you'd be pressurising the vial and could blow the septum out of the neck even with its metal fixing. So, you'd need to vent it. Then once it's dissolved, you can aspirate the appropriate volume from the vial. I have used this method with 'other stuff' that was not being used for injection, as the presentation of 'stuff' in vials is quite common, and some of these materials are provided with a solvent/diluent within the pack.

Aseptic technique is a very wise precaution.

[B12again in reply to FlipperTD]

Thanks Flipper, In my previous post I was wondering why the 0.3ml insulin syringe was recommended because it seems a lot less than the 1ml that I inject with hydroxocobalamin. I’m just a little confused by it. 🥴

[FlipperTD in reply to B12again]

You're right to wonder about the 0.3ml syringe. I did too!

[OldmanD in reply to B12again]

B12 is measured as a solid not a liquid. . . . . Even in ampoules you can get 1000ug in 1ml or 2ml ampoules and I have 1500ug in 1ml ampoules. . . . . . ug/mg is a weight . .. . . . ml is a volume . . . . Bear that in mind when mixing your own

[WIZARD6787]

For me personally the risk of a bacterial infection which is not measurable and therefore can not be evaluated is worth the benefit. I do take what precautions are available to me and do not stress about it anymore.

It was nerve wracking at first as it was outside of my experience. I do watch for becoming complacent.

I find it to be more scary than dangerous.

I did make an error and use a vial that had been pierced over 28 days before use and did develop a slight redness which went away in three days that helped with my concern as I experienced an infection and it was a minor inconvenience in that one case.

[B12again in reply to WIZARD6787]

Thanks Wizard. Would you kindly agree to giving an explanation of how you prepare a vial and the syringe used along with the dosage. Thanks again.

[scnuke]

With all due respect I wouldn't use that stuff unless I had no other form of B12 available, and I am trained and have over forty years of experience in compounding injectable and oral pharmaceuticals. The resonstitution is not difficult, but the safety during prep and storage brings too much risk of contamination. The whole deal seems sketchy and safely reconstituting methyl is best left to those with the proper education and training. Learning concentrations, dosages, and appropriate dispensing is IMO, outside the scope of an internet message board. If you feel that you absolutely must have methyl, I would only get it from a licensed pharmacist where it can be made safely by a professional.

[B12again in reply to scnuke]

Thanks scnuke. I am investigating this having become aware of it being sold in powder form by Oxford Biosciences and from hearing about people’s experiences from using it, but I had not seen anywhere how it was prepared (I get your point here).

oxfordbiosciences.com/store/

I do have other sources I will be ‘interrogating’, my son is a principal scientist in the bio sciences and I have a close family friend who is a pharmacist become doctor. As you can see I also wanted to get potential users experience also. I do appreciate all who take the trouble respond. Thank you, again.

[WIZARD6787 in reply to scnuke]

Some professionals have determined that self injecting is not worth the risk to me. Better left to them.

It a better world things would be less risky. My world is better due to the risks I dare take.

[WIZARD6787]

When I used the Methylcobalamin powder mixed in a 20 ml vial with saline solution I stored it in a cleaned area in a cupboard. I do not use the term sterile unless something is sterile. I use 91% Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning.

When I am going to mix in the saline solution I cleaned an area on a table after washing my hand in a alcohol/hydrogen peroxide solution.

I cleaned the outside of the vial and the container of saline with alcohol. Then I followed the directions that came with the product. Then stored. I cover the vial with aluminum foil to protect the product from light. I did not refrigerate as my house is cool and I used up the product in less than 28 days.

I used a 1mm/cc 30 gauge 8mm insulin syringe 30g x 5/16 100 pieces per box bought from BH Supplies on Amazon.

I bought the sterile saline 0 .9 % on Amazon. I have read that Oxford will send the saline solution is you request it.

[B12again in reply to WIZARD6787]

Thanks for this very useful information, Wizard. Do you purchase the 20 or 40mg bottles of powder?

[WIZARD6787 in reply to B12again]

I tried 20 ml bottle to test the effect. Then 40 mg due to expense.

With all my trials I find methyl to be the most effective. I see it as the most powerful in that it causes the most change which is my goal.

I do not find that it has been rationally established that different forms have different effects for different people. Could be or could not be.

There is the factor of convenience for the medicial practitioners with regards to storage.

[helvella in reply to WIZARD6787]

91% isopropanol does not work on spores.

[WIZARD6787 in reply to helvella]

Your solution? Pun intended.

How dangerous is fungus in the body?

Fungal infections can range from mild fungal skin infections, like ringworm, to lung infections from breathing in fungal spores, like Valley fever. Severe and life-threatening fungal infections are less common and are often associated with medical procedures or healthcare facilities.

[helvella in reply to WIZARD6787]

I didn't actually mention "fungal". Bacterial spores also exist and could be problematical.

Unfortunately a large amount of the information about spores (fungal and bacterial) and injecting is to do with "people who inject drugs" - of the illegal sort, as a rule.

Hard to separate out the information which is potentially applicable to all as against what would only realistically be likely in extremely dirty situations.

[WIZARD6787 in reply to helvella]

I agree that it is hard to get definitive information. When I evaluate I am aware that with illegal drug use that the water and needles are sometimes shared or reused.

The sharing of needles adds the risk of blood born disease being spread in a population with a high instance of bloodborne disease.

[B12again in reply to helvella]

Is there something you would recommend, helvella?

[helvella in reply to B12again]

No. I don't have enough knowledge to put forward a viable, sensible answer. Other than to stick with prepared single-use ampoules.

[B12again]

Yesterday (23/1) I emailed Oxford Bio Sciences to ask if instructions came with their powdered Methylcobalamin product. In less than 24hrs I got the following response this morning:

“Once the B12 is reconstituted in the sterile saline, it can last up to 6 months - if stored correctly (in a dark dry place) and a fresh, clean needle is used with every use.

Our B12 is extremely stable. In it's dry state, the B12 can last up to it's expiry date.

All orders come with directions of use.”

Thought it might be of interest.

[helvella in reply to B12again]

You should use Sodium chloride 0.9% solution for injection - which is non-pyrogenic as well as being the right concentration, purity, etc.

Plain sterile saline is NOT approved for injection.

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/sodiu...

Of course, some ordinary sterile saline might be OK for injection. But you can't know it has been made to the required standard.

[B12again in reply to helvella]

Brilliant, thanks helvella. 🙂