I'm quite deficient in Vit. B12--to the point that I should be getting weekly injections for a while--butI know that high doses of Vit. B12 can cause acne. (I've read it on several websites and I also know from the last time that I attempted injections. I got one or two nodules by the fourth shot, which wound up being my last one.)
Due to digestive issues, I can't take antibiotics for acne. I tried Accutane years ago and lasted a week on it. (I had a weird side effect--soreness/fatigue in my rib muscles--that made my then-derm. tell me to stop taking it.) So my only option to fight acne flare-upsdue to Vit. B12 shots is topical meds.andCortisone shots. And frequent shots getpriceydue to a co-pay and a balance owed for every office visit.
I see my primary-care physician today and will discuss my situation with her. But I don't see how I can get around not getting Vit. B12 at this point, as my level is so low and certain symptoms I'm having may be due to this deficiency.
So this post wound up being a worry-wart vent. But if anyone has any advice/thoughts, I'm open to hearing them--especially about ways to fight cysts and nodules topically and/or with natural supplements.
PI
i would find b12 supplement and make sure it contains methylcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin. cyanocobalamin is derived from cyanide and can cause acne. you wont find it at a regular grocery store you would have to go to a vitamin store or healthy whole food store. i take stuff thats called prairie naturals b12 and it is good.
4 hours ago, hopeless87 said:i would find b12 supplement and make sure it contains methylcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin. cyanocobalamin is derived from cyanide and can cause acne. you wont find it at a regular grocery store you would have to go to a vitamin store or healthy whole food store. i take stuff thats called prairie naturals b12 and it is good.
The problem is, I don't seem to be able to absorb Vit. B12 through my digestive system, as deficient as I am. (I've had all the pertinent tests to try to determine the cause; all were normal. Go figure.)
But I will ask my doctor's office to verify which injectable form of Vit. B12 that they use. But I may need to go that route, at least initially in order to boost my B12 level.
The onlinesources I found regarding Vit. B12 and breakouts didn't differentiate between the two types; rather, everything said that high doses of B12, in general, can cause acne due to its effect on the skin's oil. (Either it makes the it thicker or less so, I can't recall.)
I'm not quite sure what to think at this point; I only know that I need to get more Vit. B12 into--and it must be useable to--my body, so that I can see if it lessens certain other health symptoms I've been having.
I honestly think you should give Accutane another go, except do a really low dose this time, like 10 or 20mg. I did this and had next to zero side effects besides dry skin. Too many people try it for a few days, get a weird side effect that could be from ANYTHING, blame the meds, and quit.
That being said Accutane only gave me a short term reprieve, I was clear while on it but have it again. So don't feel too bad, because it's not a cureall. I think it might be a good idea for you to go ahead and get the B12 injection just once, and see how you do. I break out from oral b12 but it tends to go away fast when I stop taking it. If it does break you out, perhaps it will do the same for you and the inflammation will go down after a while. Good luck!
Cyanocobalamin is not derived from cyanide?!?! LOL Hopeless you have no idea what you are even saying. The cobalamin vitamin is susceptible to degredation and biological deactivation due to the harsh acidic environment that exists within our body. Thus the addition of a cyanide group to the upper ligand of the cobalamin molecule is done in order to prevent it's destruction upon oral administration. Unfortunately there is a list of factors that end up labeling this the most ineffective method, yet it's also the cheapest.
Unless you are injecting the cyanocobalamin via intramuscular injection depots, then I only feel any acute acne reaction is mistakenly being blamed on the wrong culprit. Causation and association are two different things, though they are confused on a regular basis.
Cyanocobalamin at the end of the day is pretty much artificial in nature. It can actively metabolize into either of the biologically active analogues (methylcobalamin/adenosylcobalamin), but it's indistinguishable from other B12 ligands who may actually offer some biological activity.
20 hours ago, hopeless87 said:i had a couple b12 shots from my naturopath and did fine. maybe they have less synthetic kinds...? i hope you find something that works.
A few B12 shots likely wouldn't cause me issues. The last time, I got a nodule (or two?) after the fourth and final shot. But I truly need at least several months' worth of injections, at this point, which is why I'm concerned.
I will ask my doctor which form of injectable B12 her office uses--just so that I know what I'm getting myself into ahead of time.
19 hours ago, Thorson said:I honestly think you should give Accutane another go, except do a really low dose this time, like 10 or 20mg. I did this and had next to zero side effects besides dry skin. Too many people try it for a few days, get a weird side effect that could be from ANYTHING, blame the meds, and quit.
That being said Accutane only gave me a short term reprieve, I was clear while on it but have it again. So don't feel too bad, because it's not a cureall. I think it might be a good idea for you to go ahead and get the B12 injection just once, and see how you do. I break out from oral b12 but it tends to go away fast when I stop taking it. If it does break you out, perhaps it will do the same for you and the inflammation will go down after a while. Good luck!
I did take the lowest possible dose and still developed that weird rib-muscle soreness/side effect. And remember, it was my then-derm who instructed me to stop the Accutane at that point, as my body's reaction was so unusual and, therefore, unpredictable as to how the problem might advance.
I'll be getting the B12 injections--or at least a good number of them to start--as I'm too low in it not to. And I now have other health issues that could, at least in part, be due to my low level of it; so even though I'm worried about what my skin might do, the rest of my body must take precedence. *sigh*
3 hours ago, BaxterMcDoobinson said:Unless you are injecting the cyanocobalamin via intramuscular injection depots, then I only feel any acute acne reaction is mistakenly being blamed on the wrong culprit. Causation and association are two different things, though they are confused on a regular basis.
All I know is that a number of online sources (Vit. B12 - acne link)state that high doses of Vit. B12 contribute to acne. Per my own experience, I'd say that that is factual. (I don't have frequent nodulocystic breakoutsand pretty much can attribute a cyst/nodule to one cause or another. I am 99.5% certain that the 1-2nodules thatI got in the past--this is going back 6-7 years ago--were from the Vit. B12 injections.)
I always broke out from B12 supplements, and have never tried B12 shots for the same reason. However, I used to break out from D3 supplements, and when I tried D2 I did not get any breakouts. So perhaps it depends on the ingredients and the form of the vitamin....my former doctor suggested I might be sensitive to lanolin. So try to get a low dose, as "pure" as possible, of B12 to start with.
21 hours ago, WishClean said:I always broke out from B12 supplements, and have never tried B12 shots for the same reason. However, I used to break out from D3 supplements, and when I tried D2 I did not get any breakouts. So perhaps it depends on the ingredients and the form of the vitamin....my former doctor suggested I might be sensitive to lanolin. So try to get a low dose, as "pure" as possible, of B12 to start with.
Taking Vit. B12 orally isn't likely to do me much good; I've been deficient for a number of years now and, clearly, my body isn't absorbing it correctly. (Granted, I had an intrinsic factor test, which showed as normal--meaning that I should be able to absorb it.) Aww, heck, I really don't know what's going on anymore.
I may still try the shots--at least until the point at which I begin breaking out. 
Well I did learn some things from you guys after taking a few days digging relentlessly through PubMed on my college account and came up with only this...
Vitamin B12 modulates the transcriptome of the skin microbiota in acne pathogenesis.
Abstract
Various diseases have been linked to the human microbiota, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of the microbiota in disease pathogenesis are often poorly understood. Using acne as a disease model, we aimed to understand the molecular response of the skin microbiota to host metabolite signaling in disease pathogenesis. Metatranscriptomic analysis revealed that the transcriptional profiles of the skin microbiota separated acne patients from healthy individuals. The vitamin B12 biosynthesis pathway in the skin bacterium Propionibacterium acnes was significantly down-regulated in acne patients. We hypothesized that host vitamin B12 modulates the activities of the skin microbiota and contributes to acne pathogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the skin microbiota in healthy subjects supplemented with vitamin B12. We found that the supplementation repressed the expression of vitamin B12 biosynthesis genes in P. acnes and altered the transcriptome of the skin microbiota. One of the 10 subjects studied developed acne 1 week after vitamin B12 supplementation. To further understand the molecular mechanism, we revealed that vitamin B12 supplementation in P. acnes cultures promoted the production of porphyrins, which have been shown to induce inflammation in acne. Our findings suggest a new bacterial pathogenesis pathway in acne and provide one molecular explanation for the long-standing clinical observation that vitamin B12 supplementation leads to acne development in a subset of individuals. Our study discovered that vitamin B12, an essential nutrient in humans, modulates the transcriptional activities of skin bacteria, and provided evidence that metabolite-mediated interactions between the host and the skin microbiota play essential roles in disease development.
It's still a little too vague as it's not fully understood, but I guess for the minority who possess the sufficient gene alleles to produce this predisposition.... good luck!
On 12/3/2015 657, BaxterMcDoobinson said:Were you only taking a cobalamin analogue and nothing else in the B-Complex? Because then you are just setting yourself up for failure by disrupting the harmonic nature of micronutritional equilibrium.
My apologies for missing this post the first time around.
I have no idea as to what the Vit. B12 injection contained, but I've a hunch that it was only one thing--e.g., a cobalamin analogue--and nothing else. After all, it's provided by an Allopathic medical doctor; I don't expect much from the Allopathic medical community these days, as they're woefully informed in terms of how nutrition the body.
I'm not concerned about micronutritional equilibrium at this point; I've been deficient in Vit. B12 for so long and am having neuropathy symptoms that could be due to said deficiency. (I've been tested for a multitude of medical issues; all testresultswere either normal or inconclusive, so I'm suspicious of the B12 deficiency at this point.)
It's time that I give something a go, lest my health continue to decline. Granted, if I do start to break out after so many shots, I'll need to determine if that's the route to continue to go--especially since my skin scars very easily.
This may sound unorthadox, but it's worked in my previous predispositions regarding acne.....
Ever thought you may wash your face too much? I only use an actual soap on my face once a week. Anything else involves plain old water. In the morning I splash some water on my face and use a silicon-based exfoliating pad to scrub away any debris. Then throughout the day I occasionally splash my face with water, give it a quick little rub down, and dry it off. It naturally hydrates the surface without any ointments, it prevents excessive dead skin cells from accumulating on my face, and I maintain the harmonic balance of microbiota living on my skin.
So many times I feel people washing their face too often is the root cause. Especially when you use lots of antibacterial detergents, you are theoretically destroying the balance of bacteria on your skin that endogenously controls the P. Acnes bacterium activity. It's always on your skin no matter what, but in acne free healthy individuals it's virtually undetectable for the most part.
I'm also deficient in b12 (or was, when I was tested a couple of months ago), so understand your fear, but treating b12 deficiency is absolutely crucial. Being deficient for an extended period of time can cause irreversible damage to your body, most notably, your nerves and your brain function.
Acne can go away after time, and is largely irreversible, and I believe it's far more important to take care of your body as a whole.
On 12/29/2015, 504, TheLastStarfighter said:I'm also deficient in b12 (or was, when I was tested a couple of months ago), so understand your fear, but treating b12 deficiency is absolutely crucial. Being deficient for an extended period of time can cause irreversible damage to your body, most notably, your nerves and your brain function.
Acne can go away after time, and is largely irreversible, and I believe it's far more important to take care of your body as a whole.
Vitamin B12 deficiency does take a miraculously long amount of time under normal circumstances...
You have enough B12 in your liver to last you 3-5 years on a minimal biological functionality. Of course this is using a healthy adult for the example.
Our bodies do produce a small amount of B12 in our intestines, and yes, it does get stored in the liver. But for people who have issues with absorption, it is far easier to become deficient. I'm quite healthy in many respects, but my b12 absorption is low. I don't believe people should avoid supplementing it if they have issues with absorption. We simply need adequate levels to function properly.
On 12/29/2015 404, TheLastStarfighter said:I'm also deficient in b12 (or was, when I was tested a couple of months ago), so understand your fear, but treating b12 deficiency is absolutely crucial. Being deficient for an extended period of time can cause irreversible damage to your body, most notably, your nerves and your brain function.
Acne can go away after time, and is largely irreversible, and I believe it's far more important to take care of your body as a whole.
I don't disagree that it's crucial that I treat my Vit. B12 deficiency. The real concern for me, though, is timing....
Since starting this thread, I've concluded that I also need to stop taking birth control--which I've been on for about 17 years. (I started it to help with cystic acne.) Problem is, it also kick-started a 17-year affair with migraines. Plus, Inow believe that myhair is thinning from the brand of pill I've been taking for the last 8-9 years.
That said, I know my body will go into breakout overdrive when I stop the pill. (Nine years ago, I stopped taking it for 9 months; the oil production on my face exploded and I developed nodulocystic acne on my arms, back and, eventually, my face/jawline. Panicky and tired of it all, I returned to the pill--only I started a new brand, the one I currently am taking and suspect is causing me gradual hair loss.)
I realize that this may make me sound vain, but I am concerned about getting Vit. B12 injections at the same time as stopping the pill. (I assume that I'd need injections for a while and I really want to stop taking the pill very soon.) I fear the combo. of the two decisions will cause the worst long-term breakout I've ever had. (I have rolling scarsand a "lovely" boxcar scar from the past; so I'm leeryof the idea of worsening my acne when on the verge of turning 40. I have been through enough with acne.)
Maybe the only answer is to pursue the shots and stay on the pill--and continue to pop medication for migraines and suffer with thinning hair. But I still intensely dislike this option. 🙁
PI
21 hours ago, WishClean said:How about taking B12 transdermally? In the form of a lotion/ cream?
I'm trying that with vitamin D, since I always break out from over the counter D supplements and also B12.
What brand of transdermal Vit. D3 do you purchase? And from where do you buy it? (I notice that Amazon sells it, but I've become leery of anything applied to the skin or taken internally that's sold through Amazon.)
I have Vit. D3 capsules, which I never was brave enough to take in earnest. (I took a few here and there; nothing happened, good or bad.) But it's interesting to know that some people break out from Vit. D3, while others swear that it cleared up their cystic acne for good. The body is a funny thing.
On 1/10/2016, 1124, PrettyInside said:I don't disagree that it's crucial that I treat my Vit. B12 deficiency. The real concern for me, though, is timing....Since starting this thread, I've concluded that I also need to stop taking birth control--which I've been on for about 17 years. (I started it to help with cystic acne.) Problem is, it also kick-started a 17-year affair with migraines. Plus, I now believe that my hair is thinning from the brand of pill I've been taking for the last 8-9 years.
That said, I know my body will go into breakout overdrive when I stop the pill. (Nine years ago, I stopped taking it for 9 months; the oil production on my face exploded and I developed nodulocystic acne on my arms, back and, eventually, my face/jawline. Panicky and tired of it all, I returned to the pill--only I started a new brand, the one I currently am taking and suspect is causing me gradual hair loss.)
I realize that this may make me sound vain, but I am concerned about getting Vit. B12 injections at the same time as stopping the pill. (I assume that I'd need injections for a while and I really want to stop taking the pill very soon.) I fear the combo. of the two decisions will cause the worst long-term breakout I've ever had. (I have rolling scars and a "lovely" boxcar scar from the past; so I'm leery of the idea of worsening my acne when on the verge of turning 40. I have been through enough with acne.)
Maybe the only answer is to pursue the shots and stay on the pill--and continue to pop medication for migraines and suffer with thinning hair. But I still intensely dislike this option.
PI
What brand of transdermal Vit. D3 do you purchase? And from where do you buy it? (I notice that Amazon sells it, but I've become leery of anything applied to the skin or taken internally that's sold through Amazon.)I have Vit. D3 capsules, which I never was brave enough to take in earnest. (I took a few here and there; nothing happened, good or bad.) But it's interesting to know that some people break out from Vit. D3, while others swear that it cleared up their cystic acne for good. The body is a funny thing.
I don't know if anyone really read that study, but the plausible avenue for cobalamin to be labeled a culprit in the pathogenesis of acne has absolutely nothing at all to do with hormones. At all. None. No.
Cobalamin alters transcriptional factoring and differentation regarding genetics. I'm not an expert or aything with hormonal/nonhormonal contraceptives, but I do know for sure that a water soluble vtamin in the B-Complex spectrum isn't antagonistically tagging along with "the pill".
Just to pint it out one more time; if you are taking an oral form of B12 then make sure it's the methyl addition versus cyanide group. Sublinqual methylcobalamin should be the only form if you don't want to waste your money. If measuring liquids for some absurd reason is too challenging then find yourself the lozxenge form.
Don't try to do intramuscular injections yourself. Especially if you have no comprehension of proper sanitation and training. I'm pretty sure your doctor can provide them initially then educate and release you with some form of guidance. Some doctors are too conservative and it's virtually impossible to get anything from them.
13 hours ago, BaxterMcDoobinson said:Don't try to do intramuscular injections yourself. Especially if you have no comprehension of proper sanitation and training. I'm pretty sure your doctor can provide them initially then educate and release you with some form of guidance. Some doctors are too conservative and it's virtually impossible to get anything from them.
I'm willing to bet that my doctor's office wouldn't teach me how to perform intramuscular injections. Heaven forbid that someone be able to do something by themselves, for themselves--without lining a medical facility's pocket all the more.
45 minutes ago, PrettyInside said:I'm willing to bet that my doctor's office wouldn't teach me how to perform intramuscular injections. Heaven forbid that someone be able to do something by themselves, for themselves--without lining a medical facility's pocket all the more.
It's on both sides of the fence for me and I couldn't really give someone an honest recommendation to try it out unsupervised. Let alone just try it out. Obviously it's for administration of pharmaceutical suspensions, but depending upon what part of the world you're law enforcement will harrass you to death and most people who see a hyperdermic insulin needle immeidately assume the worst.
It's become second nature and I generaly prefer an I.M injecton over swallowing capsules or chugging back half dissolved amino acid paste. I don't know If I'm aloud to openly share links to online stores, but I can give you a great site I get quite a bit of my stuff at. And they have a very high quality metylated form of B12 ina sublingual doser.
On 1/9/2016, 113, WishClean said:How about taking B12 transdermally? In the form of a lotion/ cream?
I'm trying that with vitamin D, since I always break out from over the counter D supplements and also B12.
I have personally never heard of that form being readily available, but I've never looked to be honest. Doesn't mean you couldn't make it though! Just need an aqueous suspension of your preferred form, a little bit of bacteriostatic water, and a good pressure cooker. B12 is often my liquid for peptide reconstitution like my HCG.
Only time you'd use cyanocobalamin is from an intramuscular injection at the doctors office. There is a lozenge form of hydroxycobalamin and methylcobalamin which are both equally potent.
I notice with the lozenges that I abruptly spike in body temperature, but it's much more profuse than what I usually feel with a I.M which makes sense. B12 is one of the few chemicals you can administer and will have some gratification that your body did something with it.