B12 Vitamin Injection

What is a B12 Injection?

A B12 injection is an injectable form of vitamin B12, a micronutrient that is required to maintain good health. Vitamin B12, also known as Cobalamin, is a water-soluble micronutrient or vitamin that the bacteria in the stomach naturally produce. This vitamin is necessary for the body’s ability to form red blood cells, replicate DNA and to grow tissues. It also is required for Myelin to form, a fatty substance that protects nerve cells as well as to lower levels of Homocysteine, which reduces the risk for developing heart attacks and strokes.

Why is it Used?

When people are having difficulty creating or absorbing vitamin B12 naturally, a physician will recommend a B12 injection. Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include: tiredness and fatigue, difficulty breathing, pale skin, poor memory, disorientation, confusion, white spots on the skin, appetite issues, headache, nerve shocks along the body, headaches and random facial pains, random tingles and sores in the mouth corners.

Physicians may also suggest that the patient consume more foods containing Cobalt, the substance that the stomach bacteria rely on in order to create vitamin B12. If improving consumption of cobalt-containing foods is not helping, physicians may recommend B12 supplement injections.

What Conditions Does it Treat?

Vitamin B12 has been successful in treating a variety of medical conditions. The most popular reason a B12 injection is used is for a deficiency, which is condition in which b12 levels in the blood are too low. This vitamin is also used for weight loss, Alzheimer’s disease (memory loss), boosting energy and the immune system, sleep disorders, diabetes, male infertility and to slow the aging process. B12 has been known to help with mental disorders, osteoporosis, AIDS, asthma, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease and some cervical and other cancers as well.

Tammoima Gichana PharmD, MBA, MB(ASCP),RPh.