B12 injections leaving me wired at night, is timing the whole game here?

Posted by retired_coldplunge in Safety & Side Effects - 4 points, 6 comments.

Okay so I have been doing methylcobalamin shots for about six weeks now, 1000 mcg twice a week, and the energy thing is real for me. The problem is I keep messing up when I do it. If I do my shot after about 4 pm I am wide awake at midnight, heart doing a little extra, not anxious exactly but just... On. Took me way too long to connect that dot, fwiw.

I moved it to first thing in the morning and the sleep is fine again. Energy during the day is still there, actually maybe better because I am not fighting myself at bedtime.

Curious if anyone else has hit this. The profile lists anxiety as a rare side effect and insomnia is mentioned on the lipo-c page, but I am not seeing insomnia called out specifically on the B12 one. Seems like a thing worth knowing about. I also tried a few Saturday morning shots before a long gym session and that combo was actually beauty, no jitter at all.

How are you timing yours? Morning only, or does it not bug some people in the evening at all?

Comments

• weekendnate: Morning only for me, same reason. 1000 mcg methylcobalamin in the morning with my coffee, and if I am doing a second shot that week it has to be before noon or my HRV takes a nosedive and I am staring at the ceiling by 11. For what it is worth, hydroxocobalamin seemed a touch gentler on the sleep side when I tried it, but morning dosing still mattered more than the form. I also think the empty stomach vs with food piece is underrated. On an empty stomach I felt the lift way harder, with food it
• devin_swims: Yeah morning is basically mandatory for me too, any afternoon dose and I am up at 2am doing spreadsheets for no reason. The empty stomach thing is interesting tbh, I never thought about that. Do you actually do it fasted or just like, an hour after eating?
• fasted_scientist: Yeah honestly morning only is the move, I learnt that the hard way too. The empty stomach thing tracks for me as well, with food it just sits in the background which is probably what you want from a B12 shot anyway.
• retired_coldplunge: Oh interesting, I never even thought about the food angle. I have been doing mine fasted first thing anyway (just habit from mornings) so maybe that is why the morning shots felt cleaner for me too. Do you find the with-food version still gives you the daytime energy or does it kind of dull the whole effect?
• retired_coldplunge: I do it first thing, basically right when I wake up, so it is fasted. Usually I have coffee right after and then eat maybe an hour or 90 minutes later. Never really tested it non-fasted though, so I honestly can't say if that part matters or if it is just the timing that does the heavy lifting. Have you tried both ways?
• retired_coldplunge: Hydroxocobalamin is a good call, I had not considered that. Fwiw I never thought about the empty stomach thing either, I usually eat breakfast first and then shoot up so maybe that is why my Saturday sessions felt so clean. I might try fasted on a training day and see if the lift hits harder. How long did you run hydroxocobalamin before you noticed the difference, or was it pretty immediate?

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.