How often should you get B12 shots, and how much B12 should you inject per shot? We get these two questions often, which is why they’re also on our FAQ page.
Your actual vitamin B12 injection dosage, for adults as well as children, doesn’t matter as much as the frequency of the shots. Unfortunately, doctors often don’t get it right. They start with 5-10 shots over the course of a few weeks, and later begin to schedule them farther and farther from each other. Sometimes it can be months between them.
As an example, here’s a note that one of our readers received and sent to us:
This advice is misleading. One injection every three months is not sufficient for those with pernicious anemia. Neither do five (or even fifty) loading doses provide long-lasting protection for those with other B12 absorption issues. On top of that, checking the blood once a year for B12 levels is a very poor indicator of true B12 status. As a result of such advice, many B12 deficiency patients end up with lifelong nerve damage.
This scandal is the reason our operation exists. Despite the existence of such a simple treatment, doctors in the USA, UK, and other countries consistently deny it to patients with B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia. They don’t realize how deadly B12 deficiency can become, and believe they only need to keep patients’ B12 levels between 150-700 pmol/L. However, B12 levels can rise regardless of therapeutic effectiveness.
Below are the correct vitamin B12 injections dosage and frequency.
B12 Injections Dosage & Frequency
With our injectable B12, the recommended vitamin B12 injection dosage for adults in ml is 0.3, once a day for at least three months straight. Our vial contains 40 mg of B12, which you dissolve in 10 ml of saline. This means that each 0.3 ml syringe delivers 1.2 mg (or 1,200 μg) of pure methyl-B12, about 400-500 times the recommended daily allowance. It’s a good insurance policy, and don’t worry – you can’t overdose.
If you use another B12 kit (hopefully not cyanocobalamin), aim for at least 1 mg of B12 per shot, which is plenty. You won’t absorb all of it, but such B12 injection doses will ensure you have enough B12 circulating in your bloodstream around the clock.
Better safe than sorry.
Why Inject Daily?
Now, forget about the “vitamin B12 monthly injection dose” your doctor prescribed. The secret is little and often. Injecting smaller doses daily is better than infrequent, higher doses. Your B12 shots frequency matters so much because B12 is water-soluble, so any excess is urinated out within hours. The body can only retain so much of it, so inject often to ensure constant saturation of your cells. Start with daily injections, especially if you have neurological symptoms, indicating an advanced B12 deficiency.
Why a Minimum of 3 Months?
The lifespan of your red blood cells is 90 days. Only after 90 days will all the malformed cells have been replaced by healthy ones. So, keep injecting daily until symptoms stop improving (because some of them may not be completely reversible). Only then can you switch to every-other-day shots and continue testing from that point.
Note: We recommend the same vitamin B12 injection dose for adults and children. In both cases, each shot will give many times more B12 than what the body needs. Again, B12 is harmless even in much higher doses, so it’s better to play it safe and inject too much rather than too little.
What About Pernicious Anemia?
How often should you have B12 injections for pernicious anemia?
We recommend starting with the same daily schedule for three months until symptoms stop improving, and then begin testing. If reducing the frequency to every other day doesn’t make symptoms worse (it’s a good idea to give the change three months as well), that frequency is likely sufficient. You can then try every three days. Only testing will give you the answer. But a daily B12 injection frequency should be your starting point.
If you have pernicious anemia, make sure you’re getting the methylcobalamin form of B12. It comes bundled with a valuable methyl group, which PA patients often lack. This methyl donor helps reduce homocysteine levels, solving two problems at once. If you’d like to learn more about all forms of B12, we wrote extensively about them.
If you can’t get your doctor to prescribe daily methyl B12 injections, you can get them from us and take control of your health. This is what we’re here for. How much B12 is in a shot? With our methylcobalamin, the injection dosage is 1,200 μg per 0.3 ml syringe. This is a great vitamin B12 shot dose to aim for, even with other kits.
Any Specific B12 Injection Dose For Weight Loss?
When readers ask us for our recommended vitamin B12 injection dosage and frequency for weight loss, we always reply the same way: this is not a legitimate reason to take B12 shots. That’s not why they exist. They exist to help those deficient in B12.
Summary: How Much & How Often?
So, how much and how often can you take B12 shots?
To sum up, our recommended vitamin B12 shot dosage and frequency is around 1 mg of B12 per shot, injected daily for at least 90 days. Once symptom improvement plateaus, you can try less frequent schedules and monitor your body’s response. If symptoms creep back, revert to your previous B12 injection schedule. You’ve found the sweet spot.
In short:
- Begin with daily shots for at least three months.
- Monitor your symptoms.
- Adjust as needed.
Good luck.