Amanda MacArthur - Since 1983

Why do people get b12 shots?

Friday, 05. 16. 2008  –  Category: ThingsIAsk.com Posts

I’m one of those people who trusts doctors. aside from taking medications (which i rarely follow through on), i’ll pretty much do what the doctor tells me to. i recently started getting B12 shots by my doctor monthly after some bloodwork came back saying i was deficient. maybe there’s more to it than that, but i don’t obsess outwardly about health issues as much as i do internally, so i never questioned why i needed them.

what is b12 good for?

b12 is found in meat, eggs and dairy products. According to this, Vitamin B12 is necessary for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and growth and development in children. Deficiency can cause anaemia. Vitamin B12 neuropathy, involving the degeneration of nerve fibres and irreversible neurological damage, can also occur. B12 plays a vital role in the metabolism of fatty acids essential for the maintainence of myelin.

who gets the shot?

now, from what i found, most people don’t need the shot. people who are b12 deficient (such as vegans and such) should be taking the oral form of b12. the only people who need the shot are people who can’t absorb it.

now from what i’ve read, the only people who can’t absorb it are generally people who don’t have stomaches anymore (which i also read is not that uncommon since most nutrients are absorbed in the intestines).

what changes when you get the shot?

i personally get a boost of energy for a day or so when i get the shot. from what i’ve read, the sort of people who need it tend to have chronic fatigue syndome, muscle aches and things like that so it makes sense.

some people get the shot once a week, or twice a week. i get it once a month so it must not be too detrimental. i read that a lot of people take it for weight loss, so that’s a big fat AWESOME on that one.

so in conclusion, i have no idea why i personally have to get the shot instead of taking pills.. as far as i know i still have a stomach, so maybe my stomach just doesn’t like b12 very much. or maybe my vegetarian boyfriend and his picky eating preferences has affected my health. sweet… leverage.