B12 Shot Dosage

I'm curios when using B12 shot and very fast acting. Should I inject 3-4 times per wk to maintain a consistancy? Also how much should I take if I have normal B12? 1000mcg is the dose I was going to use 3-4 times per week.

Thank you for your help.

Comments for B12 Shot Dosage

Click here to add your own comments

No reason to take shots
by: Kerri Knox, RN - The Immune Queen

Hi Tom,

I'm curious why you want to take shots rather than just taking sublingual supplements. There are several reasons NOT to take shots, and I've outlined these in my page on Vitamin B12 Shot Problems. The main reason not to take shots is that they are most often not Methylcobalamin B12, which is far superior than the shots, which are almost always cyanocobalamin.

And even if you do take Methylcobalamin shots, the expense is not worth it over merely taking Methylcobalamin B12 Supplement. It's much cheaper and just as effective to take the Methylcobalamin supplements.

Kerri Knox, RN

B12 sublingual tablets
by: Robin Young

Kerri,
What is your justification for saying that sublingual tablets are as good as B12 shots. If both forms are methylcobalamin then surely shots are giving people a better chance to replenish B12 stores as many people have absorbtion issues, including sublingual absorbtion. All I have read indicates that the jury is still out regarding sublingual v injections for B12.

Please read the thread
by: Kerri Knox, RN

Please read the thread. In the thread, I refer you to my page entitled B12 Shot Problems that has 3 references to some of the many studies done on the effectiveness of sublingual tablets.

Also, absorption issues are irrelevant when taking sublingual tablets, since they bypass the stomach and go straight to the bloodstream. That was why sublingual Vitamin B12 was developed.

Additionally, even the American Family Physicians website also states "Contrary to prevailing medical practice, studies show that supplementation with oral vitamin B12 is a safe and effective treatment for the B12 deficiency state. Even when intrinsic factor is not present to aid in the absorption of vitamin B12 (pernicious anemia) or in other diseases that affect the usual absorption sites in the terminal ileum, oral therapy remains effective."

This is not something 'fringe' or something I pulled out of thin air, it's science- science that dates back to the 1950's where they stated their findings that sublingual works even for pernicious anemia, but only in so called 'massive' doses, and that these doses were prohibitively expensive. Well, since the 1950's, these 'massive and prohibitively expensive' doses can now be found in almost any health food store for relatively cheap.

No, the absorbtion of Vitamin B12 by injection is not 1:1 that of oral, but here in one study, they say, "It is necessary to give 3,000 Mcg of vitamin B12 to obtain a response equivalent to that produced by 40 mcg given intramuscularly."

So, most people get an injection of 1000 mcg monthly for maintenance, so taking a 5 MILLIGRAM (5,0000 mcg) sublingual tablet every day would be more than enough to get the same amount as an injection, with none of the 'ups and downs' that the injections give, whereby people start to feel poorly before their next injection. Most people get their injections through their doctors, and hence can't just take their injection early, and are dependent upon their doctors for their nutritional needs.

Also, many find it difficult to obtain methylcobalamin shots, since most doctors don't prescribe them, and most pharmacies don't carry them. Unless one orders online and pays out of pocket; or gets their prescription filled by a compounding pharmacy (which most people do not have access to), getting methylcobalamin injections is often difficult, if not impossible, depending upon where you live and your financial situation. And it's the rare doctor who will actually prescribe methylcobalamin in the first place. Unless a doctor is 'progressive' or natural oriented, still a rarity, they are not going to prescribe methylcobalamin at all.

Not to mention the inherent dangers of infection and allergic reactions from injections, and the pain that most people would prefer to avoid.

All of these put together suggest that, for the vast majority of people, methylcobalamin sublingual tablets would be preferable. For a few that don't, they almost certainly just need higher dosages and not injections. Remember, even women with normal B12 levels, in one study, had to take 10 MILLIGRAMS per day of B12 (10,000 mcg) to feel their 'maximum sense of well being'. For those with pernicious anemia or just low blood levels, those numbers might be even higher- at least until their symptoms and blood levels are stable, at which time they should be able to reduce to lower levels of methycobalamin in order to maintain levels.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Side Effects

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Vitamin B12.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Search this Site

Custom Search

Free Vitamin D Fact Sheet by Getting
My Newsletter