Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treatment
Treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency includes the repletion of body with adequate amounts of vitamin B12. Moreover, depending on the underlying cause of the deficiency, the route and deficiency of treatment for vitamin B12 deficiency varies. In people who stick to a strict vegan diet and suffer vitamin B12 deficiency, the oral supplements of vitamin B12 is important for repletion. In case of people with the lack of intrinsic factor, either due to gastric bypass surgery or pernicious anemia, a parenteral dose of vitamin B12 is the recommendation because the oral supplement will not get full absorption due to the deficiency of intrinsic factor in the body.
A supplemental dose of a 1000 mcg vitamin B12 through the intramuscular route is the standard recommendation by the physicians once every month for people with moderate vitamin B12 deficiency. In case of patients with recent diagnosis, a 100 mcg of vitamin B12 is enough once a week for four consecutive weeks to replenish the stores prior to switch to one dose per month. Reports indicate that high doses of vitamin B12 fully saturate the receptors of vitamin B12 absorption and oral supplements are also effective to treat the deficiency despite the shortage of intrinsic factor.