I am new to B12 shots and have no clue what I am doing. I just got my vial and syringes today in the mail from the compounding pharmacy and I have no clue if this vial needs to be refrigerated or not.
It is methycobalamin and it didn't come with an ice pack or anything. BUT it is only in the 30's here today so it did arrive cold. Maybe they didn't feel the need to use an ice pack since it is so cold out?
Anyhow...if anyone knows how to store this please let me know. I have seen conflicting info online about this. Some say yes and some say no so I am confused.
Also I have NO clue how to give myself one of these shots. No instructions came with the vial and my llmd didn't give me instructions either. I am sure they would show me if I asked at my next appointment but that isn't for another couple of weeks.
Thanks! Pam
Posted by Summer3 (Member # 35286) on :
I would call the pharmacy to find out if it needs to be refrigerated. Mine doesn't but it's already pre-filled in syringes.
Are you doing the shots IM or sub-q?
I found this article helpful when I was starting mine. My doctor was hesitant to prescribe them for me to do myself at home so I kind of stretched the truth and told him I knew how to do it when I actually only knew from reading.
I hope it doesn't need to be refrigerated! I've had mine about 2 months. (vials)
Posted by Pam08 (Member # 19203) on :
Thanks. I will call the pharmacy tomorrow and ask them but they were already closed for the day by the time my package arrived. So I wasn't sure if I needed to put the vial in the refrigerator today or not. I put it in the fridge just in case it needs to be kept cold so hopefully that is ok.
Thank you so much for the links. I will check those out because I know nothing about this. I think I am doing IM since that is how they did one for me last month at the doctors office before they decided I was going to be doing them weekly. They didn't specify though when they prescribed it.
Oh my gosh Lymetoo!! Hopefully they don't need to be kept in the fridge since you haven't been doing that the last 2 months.
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
It depends on the compounding pharmacy. I have had some that needed refrigeration but now I get mine from Infuserve and it does not need to be refrigerated. Yeah!!!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I know, Pam. I bought it from my Dr and he didn't say to keep it refrigerated. I always had the cyano before and never refrigerated it. So I didn't think to ask him.
Posted by kgg (Member # 5867) on :
Summer3, thank you. Those were excellent links regarding injections!
Posted by Pam08 (Member # 19203) on :
Summer...those were great links. Thank you so much for those!
I called the compounding pharmacy today and they said that the one I have does not need to be refrigerated.
If you have the preservative free kind then it would need to be refrigerated but that is not what I have.
I am still nervous to give myself a shot without someone showing me how the first time. It did help a lot to read those links and I also watched some youtube videos on how to do it. So maybe I will get up the nerve to do it soon lol!
Posted by Kat1777 (Member # 39231) on :
My doctor and the compounding pharmacy both told me that my vials need to be kept refrigerated.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I'll have to check on mine. Darn. My Dr's office is closed...
I gave myself my B12 shots many years ago with no instructions and no You Tube. I nearly had an anxiety attack doing it! But all was fine!
PS ..If you refrig. it, won't you have to bring it to warm temperature before injecting it? I think the cold B12 could be painful.
Posted by Kat1777 (Member # 39231) on :
I've done it both ways (cold and warmed). Doesn't make much difference for me in terms of pain. My doctor suggested letting it sit at room temperature in the syringe for 20 minutes before injecting, so that's what I usually do. But I don't think it should be left to sit for much longer than that.
Posted by Kat1777 (Member # 39231) on :
And Pam, I was terrified my first time too. There's really nothing to it. Occasionally it stings a tiny bit but I've had no other ill effects than that.
Posted by Summer3 (Member # 35286) on :
I agree with Kat. They are easy to do. I do one daily. I don't usually have a problem either and when I have, it was due to another Lyme symptom not the shot itself.
The shots work fantastically for me for depression and anxiety. I can go from a complete mess to fairly calm nearly instantly after a b12 shot.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
They definitely help depression and helping depression usually helps anxiety!
Posted by doyleblueeye (Member # 32399) on :
I was so shocked to see a b12 question in the forum! I just asked my doc to draw blood to test my levels in me since my mother is severely deficient. She doesn't have Lyme she's just severely b12 deficient.
Anyway it may depend on the size of the bottle but she swears it has to go in the fridge. She told me it felt far less effective when it wasn't kept cold, I don't know if she's right or just weird.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Thanks, Doyle!
Posted by TX Lyme Mom (Member # 3162) on :
I read in one of the CFS forums that it is VERY important to keep methyl B-12 tightly sealed to protect it from the light because light converts methyl B-12 into the hydroxy form of B-12 very rapidly.
The person who said that is one of the methylation gurus in that CFS forum. He seals his methyl B-12 tightly in aluminum foil in order to keep the light out just as soon as he receives it in the mail.
Many CFS patients need the methyl form of B-12 because these genetic methylation defects ("polymorphisms" to be scientifically correct) are so common among CFS patients. I suspect that the same is probably true, especially for chronic Lyme patients who cannot tolerate antibiotics because of their inability to detox due to genetic methylation defects.
There are a lot of diagnostic labs which test for genetic methylation defects, but my favorite lab is Nutrigenomics. (link below) It's not the cheapest such test available, but you get a lot more value for your money, IMO.
To Doyleblueeye: You might want to get tested for this genetic methylation polymorphism since you know that your mother was deficient in B-12
Not everyone can tolerate methyl B-12, depending upon what other genetic polymorphisms might be present. However, the good news is that there are effective ways to bypass these kinds of genetic defects. See the book "Genetic Bypass" by Amy Yasko, PhD. (link below)
Her books are not available at Amazon, but only through her websites. However, an older version of her Genetic Bypass book is available as a FREE e-book download, but with a different older title. (Click on the first item on the list): http://www.holisticheal.com/books-and-dvds/audiovisual
PS - I've been posting so much here recently about this same methylation concept that newer members who don't recognize me might wonder if I'm a troll. If you notice carefully though, I'm an older member (since 2002).
I don't visit LymeNet often anymore because our daughter recovered from Lyme several years ago -- after having been ill since early childhood and having missed out on several decades of her life!
Consequently, I visit LymeNet only rarely nowadays -- whenever I have some spare time or if I get curious about what's new in Lymeland. Nevertheless, I'll assure you that I'm NOT a troll. (Our moderators Lymetoo and Robin123 both know me and can vouch for me.)
The reason I'm so interested in this methylation concept right now is that I think it might help other members of my extended family so I've been studying it a lot lately.