Question about being a vegan?

Question

My doctor put me straight onto injections of vitamin B12, but i recently heard there are vitamin B12 tablets.

Do the tablets work as well as the injections?

Apologies if the question seems pointless, i just hate injections and if there's a just as good alternative i'll take it!

Answer 1

Your doctor justs wants to overcharge you for his B12.

There is vegan B12 available online, but if you're taking injection, you might as well buy B12 anywhere else for a fraction of the cost of a doctor visit.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS: Medical doctors(especially yours) do not know jack squat about diet and nutrition. They are trained to fix problems, not prevent them. If you want help from a professional, seek the advice of a DIETITIAN that is knowledgeable in the area of vegan diets(preferably even a vegan dietitian)

If you need help with confidence in the potential of a vegan diet health-wise, please check out the following:

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

Answer 2

Sweetie since none of us know your medical history, we can't tell you if the B12 injections are necessary. You may want to get a second medical opinion.

Vegans, who don't have complicating medical conditions, can get all the B12 they need without getting B12 shots.

Answer 3

Mary, get yourself away from that money-grubbing, sadistic, needle-happy doctor and go to your nearest drug store and buy some B12 pills.  

There's no need for injections of this vitamin.

Question for you...did your doc suggest the injections right away after you told her/him that you were vegan?  Or did they suggest the injections as a result of a deficiency that you have?

Either way, stop the shots!  Get the vitamin supplement. And better yet, seek the advice of a qualified nutritionist or dietitian.  General Practitioners usually don't know anything about veg lifestyles.

Answer 4

If there was ever a better time to avoid a shot, this would certainly be it.  

Not only should you be taking B12, you should be taking a whole spectrum of vitamins. My doctor suggested I take Centrum because I don't eat enough (anxiety/digestive issues), and my boyfriend is a vegetarian so I don't eat much meat because of that.

I would much rather ingest a vitamin tablet as opposed to taking an injection for it, even though the shot is probably much stronger -- think about it, it's going straight into your bloodstream!  However, you will still get a sufficient amount of B12 in your system by taking tablets, so that's what I would do...Spare yourself the pain!

Answer 5

Doctors are "prescription trigger happy"

There is no need to have injections of any sort just because you are a vegan.

Answer 6

I'm with Apres Vous, you don't need shots. Taking supplements is better, but I've never needed them, so unless you have a B12 deficiency you probably don't need either the shots or the pills. If the pills help then that's fine too, but like the 'money grabbing doctor'... there's a whole money hungry health and supplement market out there. If you eat right and don't have any deficiencies you should be fine with out them.

Answer 7

You can get B12 as a vitamin supplement at most health food stores and also at Trader Joes.

You might also want to include B12 in your diet through nutritional yeast:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/...

Answer 8

You really don't need either, unless you don't like soy milk which is fortified with B12!