Well, "a day or two" was obviously overly optimistic in my last blog post
The high dose hydroxoB12 injections aren't available in the Netherlands, so the local pharmacy had to set it up to import them from Belgium. But now that it has been sit up, it should be easier and faster to get it next time. It also cost a bit extra to get it set up, and the total bill for the prescription items (3 weeks of hydroxoB12, 15 days of creon 150, 10 days of VSL#3) was 63 euros.
We made an appointment this morning to see the nurse at my GP's office, to get instructions on doing the injections. After snapping off the top of the vials, they fill a syringe using a filtered needle, then change to a different needle for injecting. The intramuscular B12 goes in the muscle of my outer thigh, with the 12 centimeter needle going all the way in The needle didn't hurt, but the liquid going in aches rather fiercely, even when going slowly, but that faded after a few minutes and didn't hurt at all after 10 minutes. So I can do that at home in the future, which is a lot nicer when I can't sit up for long. My fiance does the same sort of injection with one of his insulin injections, so he's a pro at it, and can help me out as needed.
The ME4 was a little more problematic, since the nurse wasn't familiar with it, and there's no instructions with it saying where to inject it. She went to chat with the pharmacist, and came back and did it subcutaneously in my upper arm. Apparently the amount of liquid is a bit large for subcutaneous injections, which can make it more uncomfortable. It did sting a bit, but I think that was due to the needle moving around a little. Anyhow, she used the same types of needles as with the B12, but put it in at a 45 degree angle. She said there might be some irritation at the injection site - it doesn't hurt at all now, but there is a hot little circle there Anyhow, they want to find out where I should be injecting it, so I go back in tomorrow to see the doc about that.
I've started the liposomal Vitamin C. It comes in little squeeze packets and gets mixed with water. The texture is very thick though, and it doesn't break down well in cold water, even with a lot of fork stirring. Drinking it is a bit gross, but I'll manage This one has soy lipids in it, which I often react to, but maybe that depends on the purity of the source. We'll see!
I forgot to take the Creon (digestive enzymes) pill this morning with breakfast, so I'll have my first dose at lunch. It'd be nice if that helps with my digestive issues Then I take my first daily VSL#3 (probiotics) dose this evening. The VSL gets dissolved in water to take it. I've also just taken my first Glucaplex (yeast and mushroom extract) capsule.
No benefits or side-effects yet, though it's still early for that. No pain from the injections now, just the hot spot at the 4ME injection site. No similar hot spot at the B12 injection site. My current status is still bed bound, though that's only been for the past couple weeks.
The high dose hydroxoB12 injections aren't available in the Netherlands, so the local pharmacy had to set it up to import them from Belgium. But now that it has been sit up, it should be easier and faster to get it next time. It also cost a bit extra to get it set up, and the total bill for the prescription items (3 weeks of hydroxoB12, 15 days of creon 150, 10 days of VSL#3) was 63 euros.
We made an appointment this morning to see the nurse at my GP's office, to get instructions on doing the injections. After snapping off the top of the vials, they fill a syringe using a filtered needle, then change to a different needle for injecting. The intramuscular B12 goes in the muscle of my outer thigh, with the 12 centimeter needle going all the way in The needle didn't hurt, but the liquid going in aches rather fiercely, even when going slowly, but that faded after a few minutes and didn't hurt at all after 10 minutes. So I can do that at home in the future, which is a lot nicer when I can't sit up for long. My fiance does the same sort of injection with one of his insulin injections, so he's a pro at it, and can help me out as needed.
The ME4 was a little more problematic, since the nurse wasn't familiar with it, and there's no instructions with it saying where to inject it. She went to chat with the pharmacist, and came back and did it subcutaneously in my upper arm. Apparently the amount of liquid is a bit large for subcutaneous injections, which can make it more uncomfortable. It did sting a bit, but I think that was due to the needle moving around a little. Anyhow, she used the same types of needles as with the B12, but put it in at a 45 degree angle. She said there might be some irritation at the injection site - it doesn't hurt at all now, but there is a hot little circle there Anyhow, they want to find out where I should be injecting it, so I go back in tomorrow to see the doc about that.
I've started the liposomal Vitamin C. It comes in little squeeze packets and gets mixed with water. The texture is very thick though, and it doesn't break down well in cold water, even with a lot of fork stirring. Drinking it is a bit gross, but I'll manage This one has soy lipids in it, which I often react to, but maybe that depends on the purity of the source. We'll see!
I forgot to take the Creon (digestive enzymes) pill this morning with breakfast, so I'll have my first dose at lunch. It'd be nice if that helps with my digestive issues Then I take my first daily VSL#3 (probiotics) dose this evening. The VSL gets dissolved in water to take it. I've also just taken my first Glucaplex (yeast and mushroom extract) capsule.
No benefits or side-effects yet, though it's still early for that. No pain from the injections now, just the hot spot at the 4ME injection site. No similar hot spot at the B12 injection site. My current status is still bed bound, though that's only been for the past couple weeks.