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B12 injection availability in the US

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/13/2013 1:03 PM (GMT -8)
Since April of 2009, I had been getting a 10mL bottle, injecting 1mL per month and getting the refill then once every 10 months. Yesterday was my refill trek to CVS. I go to get my B12 refilled, and they say that the 10 mL supply is no longer available.

They now only carry the 1mL bottle. They also said there was a couple of months last year where they had neither the 10mL or the 1mL quantity. So, that worries me if they get into a situation like that while I'm going with one baby bottle at a time.

I called one other pharmacy (walgreens), and they said they also only have the 1mL bottle (and more than twice the price of CVS.)

Anyone know of which pharmacies might still carry the 10mL bottle. Or is it no longer manufactured, period. I'd like to find this in the 10mL quantity without calling every pharmacy in the state. But if it is completely out of stock everywhere with no hopes of restarting production, then I'd rather spend my time continuing my search for bigfoot. Thanks!
Posted 3/13/2013 2:43 PM (GMT -8)
According to my doctor and pharmacy, they can no longer manufacture it because of some kind of shortage of the ingredients. My doc switched me to Nascobal 500 mcg nasal spray. I take tjis once a week and the small bottle is good for a month. You might want to check into this method. Hope this helps.
Posted 3/14/2013 3:42 AM (GMT -8)
I just got a 10ml bottle in February.  My husband picked it up, but they said nothing to him about availability issues.  I pay out of pocket for the 10ml bottle because I have a very hard time using the 1ml bottles.  I know that many insurance plans limit you to a 30 day supply (which would be one needle and one 1 ml bottle).  Was that perhaps the reason you received that?
Posted 3/14/2013 4:02 AM (GMT -8)
Which pharmacy did you use, if you don't mind me asking?

I did ask this 30-day supply question because my insurance doesn't cover B12 at all. The pharmacist did make a remark about the 1mL being a 1 month supply, which is all insurance usually allows. She said in past months they sold the 10mL bottles because that was the only size they had then.

So, I asked "if insurance isn't paying for it, then why does it matter if I buy 1 mL or 100mL?" She did correct herself and say that, yes that one month restriction wouldn't apply to the B12 in my case, but that the 1mL is all that they had in stock.
Posted 3/14/2013 4:26 AM (GMT -8)
I use the pharmacy at a regional grocery chain...not one of the major US pharmacy chains.  I also work in health insurance so I am looking if there is any info on the "issues of low supply" that seems to be very popularized in the media (not saying it exists or not, I just get suspect when the media grabs onto to something and talks about it often).

Posted 3/14/2013 6:38 AM (GMT -8)
Check rite aid. That is where my last 30 ml bottle of Cyanocobalamin came from says to take... well the label instructions do not look quite right take a 1000 milligrams and its 1000 MCG/ML? Have to verify this one.
Posted 4/6/2013 9:45 AM (GMT -8)
I finally found a 10mL bottle at the Target pharmacy. Thanks!
Posted 1/15/2014 12:27 PM (GMT -8)
2014 UPDATE

OK - I'm in a repeat of what happened last year. I go to Target to get the B12 filled & they say that they no longer carry 10mL vials of B12. The story this year is that there is a risk of infection when using a 10mL vial 10 different times so they only sell 1mL vials (one month for me).

Each 1mL vial is $7.99, and doesn't include the cost of syringes.

A couple of reasons I'd prefer the 10mL vial:
1 - only one trip every 10 months for the Rx fill.
2 - the 10mL vials were always cheap. I'm pretty sure I paid less than $20 for a 10mL at Target last year. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't $80.

Has anyone run into this issue recently?
Of if you have filled a 10mL vial recently, would you mind sharing which pharmacy you used?

I did call a local apothecary earlier this afternoon. They could sell me a 6-month supply in pre-filled syringes for $35-40.
Posted 1/15/2014 3:55 PM (GMT -8)
I just checked the FDA drug shortage listing and found that all injectable B12 was in short supply as of December 2013. Per the site, the next release was to be the end of December. There is only one company that makes 10cc [ml] vials. It was out for some time. Here is a link so you can check for updates incase there is further delay:
www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm314739.htm#cyanocobalamin
Posted 1/16/2014 4:31 AM (GMT -8)

Well it took a year for the shortage to hit me...but yes, I could only get 1ml bottles this last time.  I hate them as I have a hard time filling the syringe without a lot of air bubbles with the little bottles.  I even have a hard time coordinating holding them and the syringe with my sore knuckles.

Going to look inot the sublingual and see if that is an option for the future and if it would work for me in particular.

Posted 1/16/2014 7:06 AM (GMT -8)
I don't do my own B12 injection. I go to my Dr office to get it. The nurse never said anything about not being able to get the med.
Posted 2/13/2014 11:35 AM (GMT -8)
Finally got a solution to this today!

  1. Get a Healthcare Alliance discount card. (free online)
  2. Get a prescription from your doctor.
  3. Go to Walmart.

(FYI - I am in NO way affiliated with either Walmart or theHealthcareAlliance.)

  My 10 month supply of B12 was less than $15 (TOTAL), including the 10 insulin syringes.

LONG VERSION
After calling around a few places, I determined Walmart was the cheapest supplier. They were quoting me about $5-6 per 1mL vial, depending on the quantity I purchased. So, I had the doctor phone in the order there.

By luck, I received an Rx discount card in the mail the day before I went to pick up my order. (http://thehealthcarealliance.com/) There was nothing to sign up for. No fee. I didn't have to register or activate the card. It claims to work at Walmart among the list of pharmacies. Since my insurance doesn't pay for the B12, I figured I would try it.

I was happily shocked to pay just over $12 for the 10 individual 1mL B12 bottles. They sold me a pack of 1mL insulin syringes over-the-counter for $2. I'm not sure if that is common, but the doctor-prescribed syringes were too large, IMO. 23 guage, 3mL syringes...they were only $7. The pharmacist let me get the smaller syringes over-the-counter. I just had to sign a page in a binder stating that I purchased needles.

Posted 2/13/2014 12:34 PM (GMT -8)
clonehead ,
Thanks for the update.

T
Posted 2/13/2014 11:18 PM (GMT -8)
My insurance doesn't cover it, so I pay out of pocket. Last time I picked up a 10ml bottle, probably back in November, I paid about $12. Even if it had been covered by my insurance, I would have had to pay $10 for each 1 month supply (1ml)
I get mine at CVS also, never had an issue with the lack of supply, although I do remember them being out and having to wait an extra day to get it.

Clonehead:
Have you had any issues with the insulin syringes? My doctor ordered me 3ml syringes with 22ga 1" needles. CVS wanted to give me the little insulin syringes. I tried them but after I injected, most of the B12 came gushing back out. Seems like it didn't get it deep enough into the muscle. When I went back and requested they give me what my doctor ordered, they wanted to argue, but finally gave me the correct ones. I don't have the issue with the longer needles.
Posted 3/11/2014 9:51 AM (GMT -8)
Hi mmckenna - sorry that I hadn't responded sooner. I have not had any issues with the insulin syringes, however I inject subcutaneously not into the muscle.

I originally used to use the larger gauge needles. Never had a problem with them. They actually felt a little sturdier, which I liked. I also had to switch to the insulin syringes because that's what CVS would sell me. I had tried the larger gauge needles after using the insulin syringes for a couple of years and thought it hurt more...so I try to use the insulin syringes now when I can get them.
Posted 3/12/2014 10:08 AM (GMT -8)
I too have had a hard time getting the injectable B12. This has been a problem for the last two years whether it is my GI office or the pharmacy (CVS & Walgreens). I was able to get it for a short time last year, but when trying to refill it this time, the pharmacy called & said it was on backorder/again. I also prefer using the smaller insulin syringes, they don't seem to be as painful as the larger needles.
Posted 1/6/2015 10:52 AM (GMT -8)
JAN 2015 UPDATE

Went for my B12 refill earlier this week. I had 1 refill left on my Walmart order, so I just phoned it in. The prices changed substantially from 10 months ago, but overall the prices still seemed better than non-Walmart places were quoting me.

This time it was $36.59 for a 10-month supply using the discount Rx card (up from just $12 last time). I also looked at the pre-discount amount on the Rx, which was $83.40.

Obviously not happy about the tripled price, but still better than what most places were quoting me last time (about $50-60).

Only hang-up this time was that Walmart pharmacy was claiming that they didn't sell the insulin syringes by the 10-pack any more. I had to by a whole box. 100! Really? When they cracked open a box so that I could see if they were the same that I had at home, the box of 100 was really 10 packs of 10...each with their own bar code. I asked if I could just buy one of them. She asked if I'd buy two. I told her I would, so now I have 20 syringes with a 10-day supply of medicine. Guess I won't have to deal with the syringe issue for 20 months now.
Posted 12/2/2015 3:08 AM (GMT -8)
DEC 205 UPDATE

Ugh! Prices are continuing to skyrocket! I called a couple of pharmacies last night as I need my doc to call in a new script somewhere...getting quotes of $20 per 1mL vial. $20!

Are any of you finding a better price or pharmacy to buy from?
Posted 12/2/2015 8:38 AM (GMT -8)
hey clonehead, i can't comment on the price because my insurance picks covers it completely. I just have to pay for my syringes. But i can only get the 1ml bottle.
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