Cyanocobalamin - B12 shots...

My surgeon is adament that I take B12 shots once a month for the rest of my life..I don't have a problem with this..but today is my first shot day and my husband is going to inject me. Can anyone tell me the best way to do this?  Where?  Anything I need to know before doing an Intramuscular injection?

I wish my doc would give them to me but he won't,I think I could really use them.I always heard the fatty part of ur arm is a good place.Good luck

my brother is an RN and he gives me mine, although this is not the gauge he recommends but I am using a 1cc syringe with a 28 gauge 1/2 needle, he wanted me to get a longer needle but for the life of me I cannot remember the exact specs, sometimes I get it in the thigh, stomach or arm muscle.

Can anyone tell me what the benifit is of the shot verses the pill under the tongue each day.  My doctor only mentioned the pill to me.  I just wondered becuase I have been sick for the whole month of January.  My family doctor and my surgeon say it is not related to gastric by pass but I think it is not related to the surgery but I beleive it is related to the vitamin and mineral part that we dont get from every day food.  I take my multi vit 2 X's per day my B-12 one time a day etc but I have been sick and even landed a one way trip by ambulance yesterday to the hopital and I was at my family doctor becuase I was sick which she gave me nothing for I went to leave and passed out and ran head first into a door and the door won. Paula

My DH has pernicious anemia, and I give him his shots every month.  He lacks the intrinsic factor to transport the B12 from food he eats.  Since he doesnt have these "carriers" , he has to get all his B12 from injections.  The Dr.'s told him that even if he took B12 sublingual, it would not be processed properly.   If he eats food high in B12, he only enjoys the food, not the benefit of the vitamin.   It takes a while for b12 deficiency to show up.  You might look up pernicious anemia and see what all the symptoms are.  Hope this helps a little...I'm not the best 'explainer" of things! LOL Brenda

i give my own shot in my arm or the stomach.either one is good.i've  been doing mines since the surgery.

I use a 23ga 1"+ needle. I inject 1cc in alternating thighs every tuesday. Since I started doing this alot of problems has gone away. I am not saying anyone should use this ammount . Just stating what works for me. I tried the under the tongue b-12 but just did not work for me. Derrick

You really should have a nurse show you and your husband how to administer an intramuscular injection, because knowing the proper injection sites on the body and the proper technique are pretty important to ensure that they're painless and safe.  For example, you wouldn't want to accidentally inject into a blood vessel or nerve. Once you get the hang of it, it should be a no-brainer. /Steve

Our doctor told us (when he taught Derrick how to do it) that it needed to be done intramuscular (meaning: in a muscle) in a large muscle. So they have him give his in alternating thighs and mine in  MY BUTT!!  Sadly the largest muscle on my body!! also atlernating sides. I noticed lot of posters saying that they give it in thier stomach (OUCH!!) and in thier arm.  How do you make sure to get a muscle in the tummy (all he would get in mine is rolls of skinLOLOLOL) and doesn't it hurt in the arm??

When B12 is injected into the abdomen, it's done with a subcutaneous injection.  Here, the goal is to inject a small amount (1 ml or less) of fluid under the skin and not into a muscle.  Speaking generally, a SC injection uses a shorter, smaller gauge needle than is required for an IM injection.  Much more like a mosquito bite; it's virtually painless.  FYI, insulin is administered via SC injections. Of course, an IM injection isn't painful when it's done correctly.  The person administering it has to be experienced enough that s/he knows to treat it like a "dart" and penetrates the muscle in one fast step. I've heard of B12 being administered both via IM and SC routes, though I think that IM is more typical.  It's very difficult to self-administer an IM injection into the center of the upper quadrant of the gluteus muscle unless you're very flexible!  Virtually everyone should be able to give themselves a SC injection in areas that are easy to reach.  Your doctor or nurse should be able to show you the proper body areas for both IM and SC injections (they're not identical.) /Steve