I have to take B-12 shots once a month. I get 1 cc. I ha...

Posted , 3 users are following.

I have to take B-12 shots once a month. I get 1 cc.

I have been on this for about 10 years now.

It showed up after I had my Galbadder remover. I started loosing weight. I couldn't keep on track. I was tired all the time.

I was only 34 years old. I have a thyroid problem. I have been taking synthyroid ever since I was 18 years old. I got my thyroid problem from my mother. I am the only one in my family that has a B-12 problem. My parents are in their late 70's and they still do not have it. I have two sisters and one brother.

When the first blood work was done I had no B-12 at all. I was put on B-12 at high doses. Shots every other day. Then the shots went down to once a week and then once a month.

I am still at once a month shots.

Everyone around me can tell if I do not get a shot for a couple of months. They say that I look pale, I get confussed more, and I complain about my mouth hurting like I have burnt it or something. I do not feel the change or see it myself but my family can see the differance.

I do forget to get my shot. It is something that I do not put on my top things to watch out for.

B-12 disorder does not give you any pain to where you can say: "Oh, my B-12 is low I need a shot". It is not like you have a pain that tells you. You get pain in other area's of your body which you do not think of as B-12. You do not have a self test that you can take at home. You have to go to the Doctor's office and let them check it through the blood screening.

Missing a couple of months of B-12 will not show up in your blood work. Even though your body does store some B-12. I have found out the hard way that even though you do have some on reserve it isn't enough to stop some of the damage that it can cause. It does affect my nervice system. It does affect my energy level. Remembering things become a problem. It seems at times it was my thyroid but all the time it was the lack of B-12.

I just have a hard time dealing with the fact that B-12 is always talked about in older people and here I am with it starting at the age of 34 and still going on with it at the age of 44. I am the youngest of my family and I am the only one with the problem. My mother and oldest sister have thyroid problems also but their B-12 is fine.

I think there should be more test done on younger people. You do not find that much information on younger people with this problem. Even if there is I haven't read that much on the subject. It mostly talks about older people.

[i:cd6c698c3d]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:cd6c698c3d]

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    i am 24 and was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia in january this year. i have only had 3 shots over a 6 month period and i do not feel any better. i cannot work because it takes about a month and a half to feel better after my injection. my doctor says this is not about the b12 its about my iron levels but i dont agree. my iron is low just now and i can still function normally. i keep hearing about the start up booster injections but i never had those. from what ive read on here, i seem to be getting the top up injections without having had the start up ones. :?

    [i:c23dad29e7]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:c23dad29e7]

  • Posted

    I was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia early dec 2005 and had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism the previous september... Im only 21 so this is quite unusual and my doctor was careful to do tests before treatment. With the symptoms being so alike it is hard to tell which is the problem. My thyroxine levels did not go up to normal levels before they found the pernicious anaemia even with an increase from 50 to 100 mcg. Once i had the B12 injections this level jumped up within a week to being very high indeed and my dosage was decreased. It seems that these are closely linked, and now that i am not having the booster injections but am on three monthly injections i am starting to feel unwell again, though I do not know if this is to do with the pernicious anaemia or thyroid. Does anyone know if these levels are linked in some way? and would the fact that i was having B12 injects have made a difference to the thyroxine tests? i know it sounds irrational, as it is just a replacement of a vitamin, but it is odd that the levels changed so significantly and within days of stopping the booster intections i am getting unwell again. Also could the B12 deficiency have caused me to get hypothyroidism at such a young age, or the other way around?

    [i:901f1d79b2]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:901f1d79b2]

  • Posted

    I am 27 i was diagnosed with pernicious anaemia in october 2001

    just arfter i had given birth to my youngest son. Iwas having one aweek for the first few weeks then there put me on one injection every three months.iwas also told at first that i was suffering from postnatal deppresion. Ican tell when i am due to have an injection because i become really tired and cold.I also have alot of pins and needles feelings in my fingers.i also suffered from kindney stones in june2004 is it linked in anyway?

    [i:2fe0079cbe]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:2fe0079cbe]

  • Posted

    I was diagnosed with a b12 deficiency back in 1999 (im 27 now).

    I was getting so many symptoms that I couldn't explain and I really thought it was MS.

    After my GP sent me for a blood test it came back that my levels of b12 were low. I had some tests done at the hospital and they put me on a course of injections and now I have to take them every 3 months.Within a few weeks I was feeling much better, however a couple of years since then I started to feel unwell again and I have not been well ever since. I don't know if it is all related to my b12 problem but I have now been diagnosed with more autoimmune diseases which seems a bit of a coincidence!

    I think I need to have my injections more frequently and I also find that sometimes my folate levels are low too.

    I do feel for everyone that suffers from this b12 problem, it's so hard to explain to a person who has never experienced it just how poorly it can make you feel

    sadsad

    [i:c739abfa6a]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:c739abfa6a]

  • Posted

    I am a 46 year old housewife with four grown up children and found out last year that i had epilepsy,diabetes and pernicious anaemia i had the original booster shots then another at three monthly intervals like you i feel dreadful going into the 10th week. I feel tired and lethargic and all my muscles seem to ache as if i have flu. My doctor insists i shouildnt be feeling like this so why do I?

    [i:4cd1ac2628]This message was automatically imported from the original Patient Experience[/i:4cd1ac2628]

  • Posted

    I’m an American and found this site on the internet a few months ago and have been in other discussion groups on meds. I see this discussion on B12 is a year old, but I’ll add a minor comment. I don’t suffer from anemia, but I see my regular Dr. every 4 or 5 months. I had phenomena 3 years ago and he treated me for my kidneys which were functioning at 10% at that time due to the phenomena. After recovering, they are at 90%. Every time I have a Dr. appointment, he does a blood work up. Even though I take a daily B complex supplement, my B12 was low so he started giving me shots. He suggested I take a daily B12 lozenge that melts in the mouth and is absorbed quicker and purer. I started taking 5000 mcg a day. (B12 comes in two forms. The methycobalamin form is B12. I forgot the name of the other form, but your body needs to convert into B12. There is no legal standard on how pure or strong a supplement claims to be. But a nonprofit organization, USP, tests how good a vit. or supplement is. If the vit. or sup. meets their standards, it will have a USP label on the bottle. I don’t know if USP approval appears in all countries).

    After taking the daily B12 Lozenge between Dr. appointments, my B12 rose enough for my Dr to suggest taking one every other day. I don’t know if that info will help anyone in this discussion.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.