Vitamin B 12 Injectable Information
B12 is a
water-soluble B vitamin found in seafood, meat, eggs, dairy, and lots of
fortified foods like cereals. Vitamin B12 is necessary for normal
function of the brain and nervous system and the formation of blood cells. It
is also vital in the metabolism of every cell in the body and is used in DNA
and fatty acid synthesis and energy production. So, vitamin B12 is kind of a
big deal.
VitaminB 12 Injectable is a form of the B 12 vitamin that is synthetically made. This
vitamin is vital for the organism’s cell reproduction, growth, tissue and
protein synthesis and blood formation. This drug is regularly prescribed in the
treatment of malabsorbtion of this vitamin, vitamin B 12
deficiency, Pernicious Anemia, etc.
Vitamin B 12 Injectable Indications
Vitamin
B 12 Injectable is a popular synthetic form of this vitamin, that is mainly prescribed
in order to treat various forms of B 12 deficiency. However, this medicine
might also serve some other purposes that have not been listed here.
Vitamin B 12 Injectable Warnings
In
order to effectively treat Pernicious Anemia, this medicine should be
taken in on a regular basis for the rest of the patient’s life. If the patient
stops taking this medicine he might suffer from irreversible and severe damage
to the body’s spinal cord’s nerves. A treatment with Vitamin B 12 Injectable
cannot be replaced by a therapy with folic acid (because this substance is able
to prevent anemia, but is cannot stop the disease from gradually damaging the
patient’s spinal cord).
Before
you take this drug, you should alert your personal healthcare provider if you
are suffering from Leber's disease. Patients who have this medical disorder and
who start a treatment with Vitamin B 12 Injectable could experience severe
damaging of the optic nerve which could trigger permanent blindness.
Vitamin
B 12 Injectable is a category C FDA pregnancy drug. Therefore, it has not been
clearly determined whether a treatment with this medicine during pregnancy
could harm the growing fetus or not. If you are pregnant, or if you are
planning to become pregnant soon, you should ask your personal physician if it
is safe to start a treatment with this drug. It has been established that some
of this medicine’s ingredients are able to pass into breast milk. Although
vitamin B 12 is essential for both a nursing child and for the mother, you
should ask your personal physician if you may start taking this medicine if you
are currently breastfeeding an infant.
Vitamin B 12 Injectable Intake Guidelines
Ask
your doctor how and when you should take Vitamin B 12 Injectable in order to
get the best results from your treatment. You must not disobey any of the
instructions that your doctor has given you. If you fail to understand any of
them, you should address a pharmacist, a doctor or a nurse. This drug is
usually administered only once per month.
This
medicine should be stored away from heat moisture and direct sunlight. Do not
keep it in the bathroom or anywhere near the kitchen sink. Vitamin B 12
Injectable should be kept in a place that is far from the reach of pets and
children in order to avoid unwanted (and possibly dangerous) accidents such as
poisoning.
Vitamin B 12 Injectable Dosage
Ask
your physician to tell you the dose of Vitamin B 12 Injectable that works best
for you. Do not make any adjustments to the dose that your personal physician
has prescribed you without his or her consent. You must not take extra doses of
this drug without your doctor’s consent. The correct dosage of this medicine
can vary from one patient to another, as it depends on the severity of the
disorder, the patient’s age, sex, general heath condition, etc.
Symptoms of low B12 can vary widely but
many people feel fatigued, depressed, and may have poor memory.
Some people even report numbness or
tingling in their extremities. In severe cases, some people experience mania
and psychosis when B12 levels are too low. There is even some research that
suggests that B12 deficiency can cause permanent damage to the brain and
nervous system.
Things That Can Cause B12 Deficiency
Vegetarian diets and diets that limit
the consumption of meat, dairy, seafood, or fortified foods may be low in
vitamin B12. Also, people with absorption issues may not be getting the vitaminB12 from their foods.
There are a
couple of different reasons poor absorption may exist. First, if we don’t
have enough gastric acid (hydrochloric acid), B12 won’t be released from the
protein it’s naturally bound to. As we age, we naturally produce less gastric
acid so we are more likely to be deficient in B12. Also, intrinsic factor (IF),
another protein that is released by the parietal cells of gut, must bind with
B12 or it will not be absorbed by the small intestine. Some people do not
produce intrinsic factor and therefore will be deficient in B12 and develop
what’s called pernicious anemia.
In addition, your intestinal mucosa and
small bowel must be healthy, non-inflammed, and working properly in
order to absorb the bound IF and B12.
So, a lot can go wrong. We can:
- Not be eating enough B12
- Not be making enough gastric acid
- Not be making intrinsic factor
- Have a gut that’s not healthy and absorbing nutrients adequately
Oh and I
forgot, you can also be taking medications that can interfere with B12 function
and absorption.
Birth control, some anti-convulsant or seizure meds, antibiotics, and
Metformin can decrease B12 levels. Bile resins like Questran that decrease
cholesterol can decrease B12 absorption as well. Also, medicines that treat
gastric reflux like proton-pump inhibitors (Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix) and
H2 receptor antagonists (Zantac, Tagamet, Pepcid) decrease gastric acid production
and lower B12 absorption. And if you’re a heavy smoker or drinker, you are also
at a higher risk for B12 deficiency.
Should You Get B12 Injections?
Suddenly, those B12 injections might be
sounding like a good idea right? And I agree. B12 is pretty important in
feeling our best and it looks like quite a few things could possibly go wrong
when it comes to absorbing enough of the stuff. But do we really need to be getting injections? And will they really
boost our mood, energy, and fat loss?
Thanks for the great article and tips. You can find more tips here - B12 Shots for Weight Loss
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