I come late to the game but thought I'd put in my $0.02.
@
sueami and @
Martial: I loves me my methylcobalamin injections. The first one I got was like a revelation. I had done cyanocobalamin injections on and off for years, with zero effect ever. I kept getting them because everyone said they were great and that B12 was crucial.
But about 15 minutes after my first methylcobalamin injection I was like "Oh, sna-ap! THIS is what everyone raves about when they say B12 gives them a boost!"
That first injection is really what motivated me to dive headfirst into all of this. It gave me my first real hope that I actually *could* feel significantly better than I have been feeling for the past umpteen years, rather than just enduring the decline and no way to fight it.
Luckily I have a good compounding pharmacy within five minutes walking distance of my house (I live in the States). Also luckily, my insurance has paid for the injectable since my hematologist kindly prescribed it for severe anemia. But I'd pay out of pocket for it because I think it's that valuable. Not only is it working for methylation but it's also done wonders for my anemia. My ferritin is climbing nicely. Before I started mB12 I couldn't hang onto iron for crap. I even had an iron transfusion to go along with the cyanocobalamin injections, and nothing. 3 months later my iron levels had bottomed out again.
@
Martial, dunno about mB12 for Lyme, but how's your iron?
Found out from Freddd that injectable methylcobalamin is very heat and light sensitive. If you get some, wrap your bottle in tinfoil immediately upon receiving it to block out light. Then put it back in the box and put it in the fridge. All methylcobalamin is heat-and-light sensitive, really, but the aqueous solutions are hypersensitive.
Inject immediately upon pulling the dose into your syringe. Don't walk off and leave your syringe sitting for a few minutes. If you're injecting twice per day either use separate syringes or wrap the syringe in tinfoil, too, then put it back in the fridge until your second dose.
Also, if you have it shipped, having it packed in ice and overnighted. Freddd says mB12 can degrade into hydroxycobalamin fairly quickly, and hydroxy isn't as good for a lot of people. My understanding is that people with certain snps do better with hydroxyl but if you don't have those snps mB12 is your better choice.
Also agree with @
ahmo about B6/P5P. It's crucial to energy production, and I tend to forget about it a lot when posting. I got a lot out of it after I added it to my mB12 and mfolate regimen...although when I tried it awhile back without the other supplements, it just made me cranky and anxious. You definitely need the right cofactors for all this stuff to work properly.