B12 storage?: I have just realised that... - Pernicious Anaemi...

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B12 storage?

jaybirdxNHM profile image
22 Replies

I have just realised that my fridge has gone haywire. Temperature up to 2 degrees.Turned it off!In the bottom were 8 pkts of B12 wrapped up in their packing plastic.

They are still liquid ,but would this low temperature have destroyed their efficacy?

I don't know how long fridge has been

cooling. Kitchen unheated.

Am I going to be broke???

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jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM
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22 Replies
Jillymo profile image
Jillymo

I only resort to putting my B12 in the fridge on very hot days. The rest of the year they are kept in the dark in a bedroom draw.

I have community nurses come out to administer my prescribed B12 who have often informed me there is no need to refridgerate..................

Does B12 go bad if not refrigerated?

Vitamin B-12 is stable at room temperature. It doesn't need to be refrigerated.

jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM in reply toJillymo

Thanks, 🤗x

Jillymo profile image
Jillymo in reply tojaybirdxNHM

I just had a thought you could have stuck a stick in it and licked it like a lollipop. 😋🍭

At least it hasn't cost you other than perhaps a new fridge. ☹

Take care. 💐

MrJustatip profile image
MrJustatip in reply toJillymo

So Hmmm, I've been told that B12 has to be kept cool too, and we keep ours in the fridge on the top shelf. However, in reading these responses one thing pops into my mind. I usually have 2 vials on hand in the fridge. Why do so many of you have so many vials in storage waiting to be used? Is it because of the fear of possibly running out and not being able to find any more? Not to seem too paranoid about how crazy the world is right now, but believe me, I can understand your problem if that's the thing because it is crazy out there. Just curious? MJat.

jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM in reply toMrJustatip

If one needs injections more than once a month, having to buy from abroad, which can be unreliable at times, you need a stock. The expiry date can be 2 yrs ahead, so no probs. Just space in fridge 🤗.

MrJustatip profile image
MrJustatip in reply tojaybirdxNHM

Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Not sure where I read this, but there was some article that mentioned that here in the U.S. they had some new law passed that said you cannot purchase B12 from any other country. I'll see if I can find that article as it seemed foreboding to me, both for people here in the U.S. and other countries as well. The Methylcobalamin I buy costs $55.00 per vial (10 shots of 5mg each). I'm in the process of loading 5 mg per shot, but then only using 1/2 of it each time which would be about 2.5 mg per shot. Anyway, thanks for the update. MJat.

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood

Don’t worry , as long — as they haven’t been frozen they’ll be OK

jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM in reply towedgewood

Thanks 👍 x

Nackapan profile image
Nackapan

I agree it will be fine. My mums froze as got pushed to the back .

Luckily only 2 ampoules ruined.

If still liquid fine .

Top of thd door a good place and box wrapped as you did already .

I keep some under the stairs as

dark and cool too.

jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM in reply toNackapan

I used to keep it under stairs until the heatwave awhile back,then pundits said " refrigerate" I did, being a good old thing!Thanks for the reassurance.😅x

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD

B12 is pretty sturdy stuff but heat is more harmful than chilling. . . . . . Bursting of the ampoules is the main danger . . . . . . I used to keep it a dark drawer at room temp. . . . . I only keep 20 at the time in the drawer now and keep the rest in the fridge as I have recieved a couple of boxes with long use by dates. . . . . . Health Center B12 doenst get to sit around fo long. . . . . . . we have a secondary fridge that sits on top a tumble dryer and wifey cant reach the top so it is not in her way. . . . . . .

Heres a quote lifted from a Canadian Gov site. . . .

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of frozen storage and freeze-thaw cycling on serum vitamin B12 levels. 20 serum specimens from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) were shipped on dry ice, thawed and analyzed, stored for an additional 10 months at -20°C, and thawed and analyzed again. 27 CHMS specimens were shipped on dry ice, thawed and analyzed once, and then thawed and analyzed 3 additional times during 2-10 months of storage at -20°C.

Summary of Findings:

Serum vitamin B12 levels were unaffected by an additional 10 months of frozen storage and one additional freeze-thaw cycle. However, after 4 freeze-thaw cycles, serum vitamin B12 levels were an average of 23.5 pmol/L lower than after a single freeze-thaw cycle (p<0.001).

jaybirdxNHM profile image
jaybirdxNHM in reply toOldmanD

Thanks for that. I am learning alot from everyone. I wonder, could this mean that if you had ampules near their 'use' by date , you could freeze them ??🤔

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD

Ampoules will burst when frozen.. . . .. I just shared the info to break the idea that chilling of freezing may hurt the product .. . . . . . .Any heat much beyond the 20s centegrade is not good for it though. . .. . It is a very (cant find the word,) inert product that doest really "go off" but slowly looses it ability as such . . . .. . I did have at one stage a shortcut to info about chilling B12 though but it was on another laptop since dead. . . . . . It did show that chilling extended its usefulness but made mention that it was not generally required as stocks get used faster than the use by dates anyhow. . . . . So all our notions are based on the idea that it is all stored at room temp. .. . . That however doesnt matter to us who dont use our supplies as fast and although I havnt ask anyone I presume the majority of us buy 100 or 100s at a time so some of us can have them around for some time.. . . . . . I know when I go for my 3 month jab the ampoule comes out of a 20 pack so I presume those are coming from some central supply center here . . . . . . It takes longer to write it up than do the job . . .. . . Even the issue number has to be added to your record and which arm it was given into. . . . . I'd guess about 15 minutes to cater for me

andepande profile image
andepande

I keep my in a cool bag in the wardrobe.

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD in reply toandepande

A cool bag will simply come to the same temp as the wardrobe unless ye maintain a cold block inside of it which would be a headache I feel. . ... .

Guyswife profile image
Guyswife

you don’t need to store in the fridge

Orchard33 profile image
Orchard33

I keep mine in the bottom of my wardrobe with digital thermometer sitting on the top. If the temperature approaches 25° they go in the fridge.

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD in reply toOrchard33

So why not just keep it there. . . . . . .

Orchard33 profile image
Orchard33 in reply toOldmanD

I don't want it taking up space and convenience. My fridge is nowhere near the bathroom.

Suzibelle profile image
Suzibelle

I'm in the Australian tropics and it gets very hot and humid in summer. I live in an uninsulated tin shed so it's often hotter inside than out in the middle of the day but the bathroom stays cooler so I keep mine in their box, inside a bigger box, down near the concrete floor where it's coolest and they've done okay so far. When I was getting my injections at the doctor's surgery (in central Queensland where it's even hotter than here but usually not as humid) they kept everyone's boxes in their medicine fridge (5-10deg C, I think). It just stung like crazy because they never warmed it up but no issues otherwise.

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD in reply toSuzibelle

No one has any way of knowing whether the B12 is loosing its potency or not though so I;d follow your surgery. . . . . . Your surgery will use it up a lot faster than yourself. . . . Queensland can get pretty warm

OldmanD profile image
OldmanD

The reality is that warm temperatures destroy B12 while cool temps do it no harm so why not keep it n the fridge. . . . . . . There is so much emphasis on "room temperature" and if ye look it up there is everything from 15 to 30C and everything in between yet you will also find 23c set as a limit . . . . . .It is so confusing. . . . . Invigor medical amongst a few while stating room temp is fine advising refrigeration as there is no chance of it warming up. . .. . . .If some are advising max of 23c then it is very possible to overheat the product. . . . . . If chilling does it no harm and it appears to be the case as in the report I shared earlier I'd keep my store in the fridge . . . . . . The ampoules I am using stay in my bedroom drawer. i just lift out one of the carboad tray things and put in the dark drawer . . . . . . Yes using chilled ones might be a bit stingy so let them warm up a bit. . . . . . My wife uses Forsteo and it is in the fridge and has to be set out for 20/30 minutes or it stings. . . . .

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