Question

 Has anyone ever heard of a B12 patch?  In anticipation of my surgery sometime this month or early September, I am doing my research and preparing myself to make sure to take all required supplements.  Since I am menopausal, I go to a website called hystersisters.com.  On that site they introduced B12 patches to everyone.  You place it behind your ear lobe or inside your wrist.  I am also looking into a decent tasking liquid fish oil and am currently taking liquid D3 that tastes really great.  Let me know what you think.  Thanks.

Monica

Just a reminder that, until you are a year out or so, you will really not absorb much of the fish oil because of the malabsorption of fats.  I was told not to waste my money on it until after the first year (when the fat malabsorption has lessened).

I'm not terribly familiar with the B12 patch (other than to know that they are (or were, 4 years ago) expensive), but if it is something you have to wear continuously, I would think it would be much easier (and would definitely be MUCH cheaper!) just to use a high dose sublingual B12 once a week. 

Lora

 Thanks Lora for the great info.  I will take your word for it on the fish oils.  What do you think about the liquid D3?

Monica

I don't know anything about liquid D3 other than it is the proper form of D vitamin for us... so I would think that if it tastes ok, it is probably ok to take IF you can take enough of it to keep your levels up.  Many of us have to take very high doses of Vitamin D (50,000 units -- yes, 50,000 -- a couple of times a week) to keep our levels up.

Lora

I used the B12 patch for about the first 15 months after my surgery.  I ordered the one from healthy habits.  You only wear it for 24 hours once a week.  Initially  my labs were good but then my B12 level started to fall.  I switched to injections.  Easier and cheaper.

It's almost 3 and 1/2 yrs later and I still use S/L vit B12 1000mcgms once a day. Has always worked for me.  Levels have always been ok. i was talking to someone the other day about vitB12 injections - and there is no solid proof that the injectons work better than daily sub-lingual supplements. Just my opinion!

b12 subliguals are inexpensive and easy to regulate.  I take them daily and my levels were very high, so I just break the tabs in half and take a half daily...I still have somewhat high levels but that is better than low and has no side affect. They also make more than one doseage of sublingual so you can even decrease or increase as necessary.

Good Luck,
Jackie