Vitamin B12Injections.

The short version

If you are deficient in B12, an injection is an effective and inexpensive way to correct it. If you are not deficient, it will not do very much for you.

That sentence is the entire honest content of this treatment, and it is deliberately at the top of this page because B12 injections are widely marketed as an energy boost for anyone. They are not that.

What B12 does and why deficiency matters

Vitamin B12, cobalamin, is required for red blood cell formation, for the normal function of the nervous system, and for DNA synthesis. Deficiency produces a recognisable set of problems: fatigue, breathlessness on exertion, pallor, a sore or smooth tongue, pins and needles or numbness in the hands and feet, poor balance, low mood and difficulty concentrating.

The neurological effects are the reason deficiency is worth taking seriously rather than shrugging at. Prolonged, untreated deficiency can cause nerve damage that does not fully reverse.

Why an injection rather than a tablet

Absorbing B12 from food is a surprisingly elaborate process. It requires stomach acid to release it from protein, a carrier called intrinsic factor made in the stomach, and a specific receptor at the far end of the small intestine to take it in. Interrupt any step and oral intake stops working, regardless of how much you swallow.

That is why the people who genuinely need injections are the people with an absorption problem: pernicious anaemia, where intrinsic factor is absent; previous gastric or small bowel surgery; coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease; long-term use of metformin or acid-suppressing medication; and reduced stomach acid with age.

Strict vegans and long-term vegetarians without supplementation are a different category, an intake problem rather than an absorption one, and often manageable orally.

Why we ask about blood work

Because otherwise nobody, including us, knows whether it is doing anything.

Testing before treatment tells you whether there is a deficiency to correct and gives you a baseline to measure against. It can also reveal that something else is causing your symptoms, which is far more useful than a monthly injection that quietly does nothing.

Our Nurse Practitioner can review your history and advise on what testing is worth doing, and our Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Erica Vriend, is often involved where nutrition and absorption are part of a bigger picture.

Who this suits, and who it does not

It suits you if you have a documented deficiency, a known absorption problem, a relevant medical or surgical history, or a diet that makes deficiency likely.

It does not suit you if your levels are normal and you are hoping for an energy lift, in which case we will tell you honestly that we do not think it will help. It is not appropriate if you have a known allergy to the preparation, and it is contraindicated in Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy.

At the appointment

Your history and any relevant results are reviewed. The injection is given into the muscle of the upper arm or the buttock by a registered nurse using a small needle. It takes moments.

Afterwards

The site may ache for a day, much like after a vaccination, and mild bruising is possible. There is no recovery period and no restriction on your day.

Your schedule is set clinically and then reviewed, rather than continuing on standing order. If your levels have corrected and the cause has been addressed, we will tell you that you can stop.