Vitamins & minerals

Vitamin B12

Also called Cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin

An essential vitamin involved in normal red blood cell formation and nervous system function. Available in your bag or as a shot.

What it is

B12 is an essential vitamin that the body cannot produce and obtains almost entirely from animal foods. It is required for normal red blood cell formation, for the nervous system, and for DNA synthesis.

Absorbing it from food is a multi-step process that depends on stomach acid and on a protein called intrinsic factor, which is why people on long-term acid-reducing medication, people taking metformin, people who have had gastric surgery, and people eating plant-based diets are the groups most often found to be low. Giving it by injection or intravenously bypasses that process entirely.

We use methylcobalamin where the standing order allows it. It is the form already active in the body, so it requires no conversion step.

What it is used for

A vitamin required for normal red blood cell formation*
Involved in normal functioning of the nervous system*
Involved in normal energy-yielding metabolism*
Contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism*
Commonly requested by people on plant-based diets, on metformin, or on long-term acid reducers*

How we give it

As a bag additive during any drip, or as a slow IV push over two to three minutes.

As an intramuscular shot into the deltoid or outer thigh, under a minute, and available either on its own or added to a drip visit at the same price.

The drip route delivers it alongside fluids; the shot is faster and costs less. Neither is better in the abstract. Your nurse can talk through which makes sense for you.

Good to know

How often can I have a B12 shot?

Often weekly or monthly, depending on you. The honest answer is that a blood test is the only way to know whether you are actually low, and if you are not, more B12 mostly leaves in your urine. Your nurse will suggest a sensible interval and will tell you when lab work would answer the question better than guessing.

Is the shot or the IV better?

Neither, in general. The shot puts a smaller dose into muscle, where it absorbs over the following hours; the drip delivers it alongside fluids over an hour. If you are already booking a drip, adding it to the bag is simplest.

Others in vitamins & minerals

Magnesium

An essential mineral involved in normal muscle and nerve function, added to your bag and infused slowly.

B-Complex

A group of water-soluble vitamins the body uses in normal energy metabolism, added directly to your bag.

Vitamin C

An essential vitamin and antioxidant involved in normal immune function and collagen formation.

Glutathione

A tripeptide the body produces and uses as an antioxidant. Given as the final step of a drip, or as a shot.