B12 in the UK ?

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Schmill

Schmill

Member Since 2018
We would like to get Dusty some B12 to help with her hind-leg weakness (suspect caused by high BG for prolonged period), and wondered where other UK based folks sourced it?

She's had one shot (subcutaneous) at the vets (at my request) but we don't really want to be taking her there every time for it, and we would be happy to do it at home (after all, we're already having to do insulin anyway!)

I know in the US they seem to recommend Zobaline, but we don't seem to have a source for that here, so what do we use in the UK?

Thanks!
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hello, some in the UK use Dr's Best methylcobalamin; and if you want to mimic the Zobaline formula you can add a smidge of folic acid also. For more info see this post:
Cat's Sugar Still High ...(Re-posting for new member)
Click to expand...

Many thanks @Elizabeth and Bertie , I'll look to get some. My only 'knowledge' of B12 is of the subcutaneous shot she had at the vets. The Dr's Best looks like something you mix into the food, and I saw (from the linked thread) that it is recommended to give TWO capsules to give the same dose as the Zobaline. However what I couldn't see is how often this dose is given? Is it like the shots at one-per-week, or some other frequency?

Thanks!
 
Just to add to the mix, I asked our vet today (whilst we were there) if they could give Dusty another B12 shot, but also what they recommended for B12 dosing at home.

They use B12 "Anivit" for the shot, which is 250mcg/ml, and they give a 1ml subcutaneous injection.
This means that they are giving 250 MICROgrams of B12 - This is vastly less than the Zobaline, which got me wondering...

I looked up the Zobaline and it states the following composition on their website:

Code: 
Item                       Amount per Serving      % DV
Methylcobalamin            3mg (milligram)       50,000
Folic Acid                 200mcg (microgram)        50

As far as I understand it, B12 is water soluable, so giving 50,000% (500 times) the daily value, seems somewhat extreme? Won't the cat just end up urinating most of this away?

For home use the vet recommended a fairly new item called "Cobalaplex".
These are capsules, and are available in the UK, AND (like the Zobaline) contain Folic acid (which the Dr's Best B12 does not as stated above).
I looked them up on the manufacturers website and it gives the following information:

Code: 
Item                      Amount per Serving
CyanoCobalamin PXN-B12®   0.5mg (milligram)
Folic Acid                0.2mg (200mcg) (microgram)

Recommended dosage is half a capsule per day, or one capsule every other day, "or as advised by your vet"; so this amount could be increased / decreased as necessary.

For reference the Dr's Best composition is as follows:

Code: 
Item                       Amount per Serving      % DV
MethylCobalamin (B12)      1.5mg (milligram)     25,000

The Cobalaplex are more expensive than the Dr's Best (best I've found so far is £14.30 from Animed, whereas the Dr's Best is about half that), but they do contain the Folic Acid, and admittedly a lower level of B12, but at the levels that are being dosed does that matter?

HOWEVER, the Cobalaplex is CyanoCobalamin, whereas the others are MethylCobalamin (which I believe is the preferred form?)

Just wanted to throw this information out there and see what people thought...
 
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Schmill said:
HOWEVER, the Cobalaplex is CyanoCobalamin, whereas the others are MethylCobalamin (which I believe is the preferred form?)
Click to expand...
Hi, yes, for neuropathy the methylcobalamin is the preferred form.
And the 'typical' dose is 3mg, which does sound a lot, I know. (I can't remember why 3mg became the norm...) But this has seemed to work for many cats over many years now. (It helped my own cat enormously, even though his blood glucose levels were still high at the time).
Any excess is normally excreted in the urine. And cats with high blood glucose tend to pee a lot...

However, a couple of caveats: In cats with very advanced kidney disease the excess may not be excreted so easily. And some concerns have been expressed as to the suitability of B12 if cancer is present or suspected.

Eliz
 
Many thanks Eliz, sounds good to me.
I think I'll go with the Dr's Best, since that is that preferred form. Do you just split the veggie caps open and add it to the food?
Taking into account ECID, but in your case did you dose Folic acid as well, or did you find that the B12 was ok on its own?
 
Schmill said:
I think I'll go with the Dr's Best, since that is that preferred form. Do you just split the veggie caps open and add it to the food?
Taking into account ECID, but in your case did you dose Folic acid as well, or did you find that the B12 was ok on its own?
Click to expand...
Hi, back when Bertie was diagnosed (beginning of 2007) it was possible to get Zobaline from the US at a decent price, so I used that for Bertie (so, a formula with folic acid). When the price of Zobaline went up, and also started to be subject to import duties here in the UK, people switched to other options such as the Dr's Best. Some people add folic acid and some don't. But if you want to add it I think the drops from Lifelink are the right dose.

And yes, you can just empty the capsules and mix with a little food. Methlycobalamin has no discernable taste or smell that I could detect. But it can turn the food a slightly weird shade of pink, haha!

There has been a lot of success on this forum with methylcobalamin for neuropathy. And it did work pretty quickly for Bertie, even at high blood glucose levels. But some cats only see significant recovery once the blood glucose levels also come down a bit.

Another thing to think about is that potassium deficiency can also cause leg weakness. Cats who pee a lot can lose potassium that way. But that's something that can only be detected by a blood test at the vets. If you have any recent general bloodwork that might show you what the potassium level is doing. Potassium can be supplemented, but needs to be monitored by the vet to make sure it doesn't go too high.

There's some more info on feline neuropathy (and methyl B12) on this page, and there are a few useful links at the bottom of the page, although some links are old and no longer working:
http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Neuropathy
.
 
Many thanks for the info again, the food we've just moved her onto (Natures Menu) is a very pink food anyway, so perhaps it will hide the methylcobalamin - lol

I've just checked her bloods (and updated her SS with the labs) that she had done when she was diagnosed (fairly recently). Her potassium level seems to be at the lower end of the scale (they had 3.5 to 5.8 mmol/L as an OK range, and Dusty came in at just on 3.5). As you have said, that may be due to the increased urination caused by the high BG though, so we'll aim to get the BG under control, then perhaps revisit the potassium.
Definitely going to get some Dr's Best B12 though, and will look into the possibility of getting some folic acid to go with it - she copes at the moment, but looks so awkward when she walks (she's started running and jumping again since being on the insulin, legs are still awkward, but she's not going to let that stop her!)

Cheers for all the data, I'll have a read through the link too, and then get some orders placed :)
 
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