Treatment by means of injections
With what frequency did you get an injection in the first weeks/months after diagnosis (starting dosage)?
Intramuscular or deep subcutaneous: starting dosage of 10 injections of 1000 mcg at intervals of at least three days.
This is confirmed by medical literature:
The therapy is unambiguous: it consists of intramuscular suppletion with hydroxocobalamin. The starting dosage is 10 milligram spaced over a number of weeks.
63% of the patients did actually get this starting dosage. Some patients did not get a starting dosage at all and got a maintenance dosage from the start.
It is not clear to us why adherence to the officially prescribed standard starting dosage is so low. We often hear that the dosage is being based on serum values and, if these are not particularly low, less injections are prescribed. However, the gravity of the deficiency cannot be deduced from blood values. The patient’s symptoms should alway be the basis for treatment. The starting dosage of 10 injections over a relatively short period should alway be applied in order to speed up recovery.
How often did you get an injection after the starting dosage?
1000 micrograms hydroxocobalamin once per two months
In case of distinct neurological symptoms 1000 micrograms hydroxocobalamin once or twice per week for a considerable period, such as two years.
From the patients with serious or very serious neurological symptoms only 28% got a weekly or more frequent injection after the starting dosage, as officially prescribed. These patients on average recovered better than the patients who after the starting dosage went straight on to the maintenance dosage.