B12 / thoughts on use?

[lovemycats2025]

Looking for info from the hive mind.... My B12 results came back at 259. While this is within "normal" range, it's also a low range for some per what my lab results say: "Please Note: Although the reference range for vitamin B12 is 200-1100 pg/mL, it has been reported that between 5 and 10% of patients with values between 200 and 400 pg/mL may experience neuropsychiatric and hematologic abnormalities due to occult B12 deficiency".

So I am thinking I may need to add some B12 shots. Doctor won't give a script. Are there any vendors out there that offer it? I have been taking a multi vitamin but that doesn't seem to be doing too much.

Just trying to get my energy levels up. I really start to crash around 4pm. I do protein shakes but that doesn't seem to really help much. Plus my Ferritin levels were slightly elevated, so not sure adding more protein is a good idea?

Doctor told me all my bloodwork was fine, but after seeing the results in person today, I am wondering if the lower B12 and higher Ferritin are causing part of my afternoon crash.

Currently only on Reta only.

thoughts?

 

[LabRatts]

I take an oral B12 and it seems to be quite effective. Not saying that it would be counterproductive to pin it in, but then again, maybe the oral route would suffice to "pump those numbers up"?

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Get some lipoc with b or just b injections. Go to vendor section. Most vendors have a product list. Browse til you find the one that's priced to your liking with good ratings. Can't hurt to give it a go.

 

[MsGizmo]

Vitamin for Cattle, Sheep, Swine, Horses, Dogs & Cats - B12 3000mcg Injectable 100cc - [Anemia Treatment]

entirelypetspharmacy.com

best I could find online. I have not purchased myself and this product is intended for animals (physically its the same stuff, but legally different)

 

[BellyD]

For many people, high-dose oral vitamin B12 is just as effective as injections at correcting deficiency and maintaining levels. PMC

Injections are more reliable when absorption is compromised or rapid correction is needed.

 

[Mr.Tired]

Not sure if the ship has already sailed based on what your physician said, but my levels were similar and I also complained about fatigue. My doc gave me an oral B12 prescription based on that, so perhaps yours would be willing to do that instead of shots.

 

[Grogu]

I take sublingual b-12 daily and my levels are really high, like over 2,000 and now that I’m pinning peptides, I’ve pondered finding a source and switching to injecting, but the sublingual has worked really well, I figure why change it.

 

[HumanusExMachina]

I've used sublingual B12 for over 20 years. When I get blood tests for it, I'm always near the top of the range. The doctor that first recommended sublingual told me that a majority of people respond to sublingual almost at the same level as an injection.

If your body doesn't produce enough Intrinsic factor (aka cobalamin binding intrinsic factor), then taking B12 via a normal pill doesn't work. Which is why I have to either take a sublingual version, or pin it.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Unless you have malabsorption of vitamin b12, due to stomach or intestinal problems, then oral or sublingual b12 makes more sense. Injected b12 is needed if you cannot absorb it due to pernicious anemia or coeliac disease or many other gut issues, and even then high oral doses can often be used. The actual daily requirement is not that high at about 2.4 - 5 micrograms, and you can get tablets with 200 - 400 times that much - 1mg , which are useful if you are deficient, or take metformin or have peripheral neuropathy plus others. It is not thought to be toxic in high doses. But you probably do not need that much daily long term. I cannot see how injecting hundreds of times the needed amount is going to work any better than taking a tablet with the same dose.

The b group vitamin to be careful about is b6, high dose supplementation can and does cause neuropathies in high doses that may not be reversible. Doses above 100mg a day are not a good idea. Some of the blend formulas do contain it but the highest I saw was 50mg per vial.

 

[Dos-Dox]

Be aware that if you’re taking metformin, it inhibits the absorption of B-12. My spouse has been feeling run down and has been taking an oral B-12 forever, but didn’t know that Metformin makes it pretty useless. Test levels were also “normal” but I decided to order injectable B-12 to see if that would be any more effective. It just arrived, so we don’t know yet.

Association between metformin and vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with type 2 diabetes - PMC

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is still one of the most common diseases worldwide, and its prevalence is still increasing globally. According to the American and European recommendations, metformin is considered a first-line oral hypo-glycemic drug for ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Metformin and reduced vitamin B12 levels: new advice for monitoring patients at risk

Decreased vitamin B12 levels, or vitamin B12 deficiency, is now considered to be a common side effect in patients on metformin treatment, especially in those receiving a higher dose or longer treatment duration and in those with existing risk factors. We are therefore advising checking vitamin...

www.gov.uk

You can DM me if you want and I’ll share with you where I bought liquid B-12 from. It was the methylcobalamin form. Or, like Mr. Blonde said, you can find the LIPO injections with B-12 pretty readily available from a lot of the vendors that also serve the peptide market (including a lot on this forum).

 

[Lucky_Charms]

Vitamin B12 is a pet interest of mine. Your levels may not accurately portray the amount of B12 you can use, if you have a specific gene set.

I did subq B12 injection for a while, but had to stop before I got results. The side effects (skin issues) were too severe for me.

 

[Tbagger]

I have felt a lot better after starting lipo-c injections. I use Bio Boost Plus I get from Defy.

 

[lovemycats2025]

I take sublingual b-12 daily and my levels are really high, like over 2,000 and now that I’m pinning peptides, I’ve pondered finding a source and switching to injecting, but the sublingual has worked really well, I figure why change it.

Good idea! I will check into the sublingual b-12. I'm not great with taking pills (terrible gag reflex), so that might work out better for me. Thank you for the suggestion!