Dr. Jon Dunn, Licensed Naturopathic DoctorClark's Nutrition & Natural Foods Market34175 Monterey Avenue, Rancho Mirage, CA 9227010:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.For your Health and ConvenienceDr. Dunn offers Vitamin B-12 shots at the following Health & Nutrition locations: Clarks Nutrition & Natural Food MarketRiverside Market4225 Market St. Riverside, CA10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Natures Health Food & Cafe555 S Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California 9226411:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Clarks Nutrition & Natural Food MarketLoma Linda Market11235 Mountain View Ave, Loma Linda, CA8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Joshua Tree Health Foods61693 TwentyNine Palms HighwayJoshua Tree, CA10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Cyanocobalamin, or vitamin B12, is a water-soluble vitamin that cannot be stored in the body. Excess vitamin B12 is passed out of the body through the urine. Vitamin B12 is available as a supplement, and it can be found in animal food sources such as meat, fish, beef liver, clams, eggs, and diary products. Vitamin B12 is often used in combination with other B vitamins in a vitamin B complex formulation.
Vitamin B12 is usually taken by mouth. It is available in different forms, including chewable tablets and gummies, capsules, tablets, powders, strips, drops, and liquids. Vitamin B12 is also available in an injectable form to be given subcutaneously (into skin fat), intramuscularly (into muscles), or intravenously (into veins). Table 1 lists the usual dose range and the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin B12 for different age groups. People with vitamin B12 deficiency might need doses at or above the RDA.Usual daily dose range and RDA for vitamin B12 for different age groups Injectables are usually dosed at 250–1000 µg monthly. Your health care provider may have recommended using this product in other ways. Contact a health care provider if you have questions. Vitamin B12 is important in maintaining overall good health. It helps the body to form red blood cells and to metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It is important for the proper function and development of the brain and nerves.
At doses at or above the RDA, vitamin B12 supplementation is highly effective for preventing and treating vitamin B12 deficiency and associated diseases such as pernicious anemia (a type of anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency). Some people may have low vitamin B12 levels because of absorption problems or inadequate amounts in their diet (for example, vegetarians are at risk since vitamin B12 is available only from animal food sources). Vitamin B12 supplementation in these cases can help prevent vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 has also been studied to prevent heart diseases and to treat Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, male infertility, diabetes, mental disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, fatigue, and high cholesterol. However, there is not enough reliable evidence for these uses; additional studies are required to confirm the benefits of vitamin B12 in these conditions. Vitamin B12 has also been studied together with folic acid and vitamin B6 for prevention of recurrent strokes and breast cancer.
However, research has shown that this combination of supplements did not lower the risk of stroke or breast cancer. Your health care provider may have recommended this product for other conditions. Vitamin B12 is generally well tolerated by most people if taken in recommended amounts. Side effects may include mild diarrhea, itching, blood clots, urine discoloration, and allergic reactions. People with Leber's disease (a genetic eye disease) or those who are allergic or sensitive to cobalt or cobalamin should consult their health care provider before taking vitamin B12 supplements. People with anemia need to talk to their health care provider about what treatment is right for them before starting any type of vitamin supplementation. Taking vitamin B12 supplements before a proper diagnosis from the doctor may make it harder for your doctor to diagnose the type of anemia you have. Vitamin B12 is safe for pregnant or breast-feeding women when taken by mouth in recommended amounts.
Vitamin B12 from food sources can interact with certain medications, including proton pump inhibitors (e.g., omeprazole, pantoprazole), H2 blockers (e.g., famotidine, ranitidine), and metformin. These can affect the absorption of dietary B12 into the body, though this does not appear to be a problem with supplements. Heavy drinking for more than 2 weeks can also decrease vitamin B12 absorption. Avoid taking the combination of vitamin B12 and chloramphenicol (an antibiotic) since chloramphenicol can destroy the newly produced blood cells that vitamin B12 helped to make. Vitamin C and potassium supplements can decrease the effects of vitamin B12. It is not known whether this interaction is clinically significant or not. You can avoid this by separating the vitamins and taking them at least 2 hours apart. Consult your health care provider for more information on drug interactions. Before taking any new medications, including natural health products, speak to your physician, pharmacist, or other health care provider.
Tell your health care provider about any natural health products you may be taking.* Notice: we will be sending SANDOZ for 10ml injection orders * Before using this medication, a health care professional will provide detailed instructions for appropriate use of this medicine. Please ask any questions that you may have about this medicine or performing injections. Store this medicine as directed on the packaging. If you miss a dose of this medicine, use it as soon as possible. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not use 2 doses at once. Active Ingredients: Cyanocobalamin 1000 mcg/mL DO NOT TAKE large doses of vitamins (megadoses or megavitamin therapy) unless directed to by your doctor. DO NOT STOP USING THIS MEDICINE without first checking with your doctor. IT IS IMPORTANT that you keep all doctor and laboratory appointments while you are using this medicine. Before taking any new medication, either prescription or over-the-counter, check with your doctor or pharmacist.
This preparation is contraindicated in patients who are sensitive to cobalt and/or vitamin B12. As this product contains benzyl alcohol, it should not be used in newborns or in people who are sensitive to benzyl alcohol. Patients who have early Leber's disease (hereditary optic nerve atrophy) have been found to suffer severe and swift optic atrophy when treated with vitamin B12. Fatal hypokalemia may occur when severe megaloblastic anemia is treated intensively with vitamin B12, as a result of increased erythrocyte potassium requirements. Doses of vitamin B12 exceeding 10 mcg daily may produce a hematologic response in patients who have a folate deficiency. Indiscriminate administration of vitamin B12 may mask the true diagnosis of pernicious anemia. Vitamin B12 deficiency that is allowed to progress for longer than three months may produce permanent degenerative lesions of the spinal cord. Doses of folic acid greater than 0.1 mg per day may result in hematologic remission in patients with vitamin B12 deficiency.
Neurologic manifestations will not be prevented with folic acid, and if not treated with vitamin B12, irreversible damage will result. Patients with pernicious anemia have about three times the incidence of carcinoma of the stomach as the general population, so appropriate tests for this condition should be carried out when indicated. Neomycin, colchicine, para-aminosalicylic acid, or excessive alcohol intake longer than two weeks may cause malabsorption of vitamin B12. Chloramphenicol and other drugs having bone marrow suppressant properties may cause a lack of therapeutic response to vitamin B12; this effect may be due to interference with erythrocyte maturation. Most antibiotics, methotrexate, and pyrimethamine invalidate folic acid and vitamin B12 diagnostic microbiological blood assays. Long-term studies in animals to evaluate carcinogenic potential have not been done. There is no evidence from long-term use in patients with pernicious anemia that cyanocobalamin is carcinogenic.
Pernicious anemia is associated with an increased incidence of carcinoma of the stomach, but this is believed to be related to the underlying pathology and not to treatment with cyanocobalamin.Adequate and well-controlled studies have not been done in pregnant women. However, vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin and requirements are increased during pregnancy. Amounts of vitamin B12 that are recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Science-National Research Council for pregnant women (4 mcg daily) should be consumed during pregnancy. Breast feeding recommendation: compatible. Vitamin B12 is known to be excreted in human milk. Amounts of vitamin B12 that are recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board, National Academy of Science-National Research Council for lactating women (4 mcg daily) should be consumed during lactation. Vitamin B12 appears in the milk of nursing mothers in concentrations that approximate the mother's vitamin B12 blood level. Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients has not been established.