Frequently Asked Questions

Does the injection hurt?

You'd struggle to describe an injection as a pleasant experience, but it certainly shouldn't hurt. There may be a slight sting, as with the flu jab or a travel vaccine. If you follow the advice of your pharmacist and keep your arm relaxed this will make it far less likely to hurt. Keeping your arm relaxed and not tensed helps reduce discomfort because the muscle fibres will also be relaxed.

How often can I have a B12 injection?

We limit the rate at which you can have a B12 injection to every 28 days. This is not because it is unsafe to have one more often than this, but that it is more in line with the normal dosing regimens for treating people with deficiencies. We advise having an injection as often as you feel you need one, whether this be on a monthly basis or twice a year.

Who decides that a B12 injection is safe for me?

The injection is prescribed to you by one of our UK registered prescribers. Collectively, our multi-disciplinary team of prescribers have decades of experience from working across the full spectrum of healthcare. Successful completion of the medical screen ensures that a B12 injection is safe and suitable for you.

One of our prescribing team will review your information after you've completed our medical screen and entered your payment details before authorising your voucher. We'll only take payment once your voucher is authorised.

Should I have a blood test?

Blood tests tell us a great deal of information about individuals and for some corrective treatments it is essential that blood testing takes place. With regards to vitamins, particularly B12, we know that people can express the symptoms of deficiencies without actually being deficient as defined by a blood test.

We would encourage anyone who takes regular supplementation, or who has a regular B12 injection, to speak to their GP about a blood test if they are seeing no signs of improvement after 3 months, or 3 successive injections.

Does my GP need to know?

The pharmacist that administers your injection will have a standardised notification letter to forward on to your GP. We think it's a good idea that your GP is aware if you are having regular B12 injections, simply because our GPs are the centre-point of all our health care and records. Helping to keep patient records up to date is a responsibility of pharmacists and so to use our service you need to consent for this notification to take place.

How likely is it that something could go wrong?

It's highly unlikely that something could go wrong as a result of a B12 injection. For your reassurance, we prescribe a licensed UK medicine that has been used for decades without incident. We only allow specially trained and experienced pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to administer the injection to you. More information is provided in our pre-administration information leaflet.

Should I do anything in particular before I have my injection?

Not really, but it's always a good idea to have had your breakfast; it is after all the most important meal of the day for many good reasons. So long as your blood sugar is stable and you're well hydrated you will be set to go. Wearing a top that allows the pharmacist to access the injection site at the top of your arm will also be helpful.

Can I still take oral B12 and other multivitamins?

Yes, we do suggest that you take a reputable multivitamin on a regular basis. Vitamin B12 is one of several vitamins that plays an essential role in the body, so it's important that we help our bodies to become rich in all of these vitamins through our diet and supplementation. It's particularly important for those following a plant based diet to supplement with iron and vitamin D alongside B12.

Do I need to contact the pharmacy before I visit?

Yes, we do advise that you speak to your preferred pharmacy to arrange a time to visit. Whilst the aim is that pharmacists will be able to administer your injection within a few minutes of an unexpected arrival, this may not always be possible.

Pharmacies are busy places that also provide a range of other services, so from time to time there may be a small wait. The good thing is that the VitaJab website sorts out all of the paperwork in advance of your arrival and this saves a lot of time!

What happens with my voucher code?

Our voucher codes begin with VITA and the pharmacy team at your chosen pharmacy will use this code to access the documents they need, including a private prescription, to administer your B12 injection. Only you can use the referral code - it cannot be transferred to someone else.

Your voucher code is viewable in your customer account, so you just need to sign into your account to view this. Some of our partnering pharmacies may request you to provide the voucher code when booking an appointment online via their systems.

How long does the injection take in the pharmacy?

The injection itself takes no more than a few moments, but the pharmacy team will need to do a small amount of preparation beforehand. After the injection the pharmacist will ask you to stay in the pharmacy for up to 10 minutes; this is a precautionary measure after any injection, including the flu jab and travel vaccines.

How long before I feel any benefits?

Any benefits will vary amongst people of different ages and circumstances. It may be a few days before you notice any benefits, or it could be sooner. Sometimes people don't notice an immediate benefit, but rather realise a few weeks later that they are starting to feel as they did before having the injection.

How long will any benefits last?

Any benefits will vary amongst people of different ages and circumstances. Ultimately the amount of any benefit you experience and how long this lasts will determine how often you feel inclined to have a B12 injection.

I already have B12 injections from my GP - can I still use this service?

Most people that are treated for low B12 levels have a 3-monthly injection from their GP. Provided that you haven't had a B12 injection in the past 28 days and aren't scheduled to have a B12 injection in the next 28 days, you are able to increase the frequency of your injections using our private service.

This is outside the scope of NHS guidance, but is ultimately based on how you feel personally in relation to your symptoms and needs.

Is the injection suitable for vegans and vegetarians?

Several manufacturers of the injection provide stock to pharmacies in the UK. Stock readily available in the supply chain can also vary from time to time in different pharmacies. To date, the vast majority of these manufacturers have confirmed that their individual products have not been tested on animals and have not been manufactured using any animal based products.

To be certain, we recommend that you contact your nearest participating pharmacy in advance of purchasing your voucher. Your pharmacy team can check the vegan status of the stock they have to confirm its suitability using an information sheet on their dashboard.

I haven't received my voucher to my email address, why not?

Due to problems with spam filters, we don't send your voucher as an attachment by email. Your voucher can always be accessed through your customer portal once you sign in to your account. You will also find the pre-administration leaflet in your account. Please read this important information.

I have purchased a voucher but now when I search for my nearest pharmacy it is too far. Why is that?

The 1st step of the infographic on our homepage and throughout the purchase process is to locate your nearest participating pharmacy. This will give you an indication of how close you are to your nearest pharmacy. We are adding new pharmacies all the time so if there's not one close to you at the moment, check back in a few weeks and it's likely there will be.

I have contacted you but have not had a response. Why is nobody responding to my email?

We respond to all contact within 24 hours. If you haven't received a response from us, please check you spam folder.

I'm having trouble booking an appointment at my pharmacy due to short staff or their busy calendar

We can only apologise if this is the case and we expect all of our partnering pharmacies to try to refer you to the next nearest participating pharmacy in the event their regular pharmacist becomes temporarily unavailable. We'd ask that you try your next closest pharmacy, via our nearest pharmacy page, if this is possible.

I still can't find what I'm looking for in the FAQ section. How do I get in touch with you?

If you can't find the answer you're looking for in our FAQs then you can contact us by clicking the link at the bottom of the page and we'll get back to you within 24hrs.

Is there any particular recommendation or guidance for a course of injections?

As we're all different there is no general recommendation for how often you should have a B12 injection, or for how long you should have injections for; this is your personal choice based on your feelings associated with recognised symptoms of lower B12 levels. 

Some people may find an initial course of fairly regular injections can help rectify their symptoms, after which they may then choose to step down the frequency of their injections. The body can build up good stores of vitamin B12, however the vitamin is water soluble and we do require a regular source; injections are the most efficient and assured source. 

We do advise people who have seen no improvement in their symptoms after an initial source to speak with their GP, who may consider a blood test or further investigation.

I've booked an appointment for my next injection, but this is before the date that I'm next eligible to purchase another voucher

Our system dictates the date and time that you can purchase your next voucher. This is set (to the minute!) at 28 days after the date your last injection was administered by one of our partnering pharmacists, when you redeemed your last voucher in the pharmacy. 

Unfortunately we can't bring the date and time of next purchase forward, so we always advise customers to either have a voucher in hand before booking an appointment at your pharmacy, or to book an apppointment that is after the date and time outlined in your customer account. 

How much do your injections cost?

Our injections are priced at £27 and vouchers can be purchased as often as every 28 days; that's 28 days after the date your last voucher was redeemed in one of our participating pharmacies when you attend for your injection. 

The price covers various costs, including our prescribing fees and those of the pharmacy team you choose to visit for your injection.

I've got my receipt from Stripe, but not my voucher code - where can I find it?

As soon as one of prescribers authorises your voucher you'll receive a receipt from our payment partner, Stripe. The email we send out that contains your voucher code will follow moments later. On some occasions the security features of different email providers filters out our emails, just as they do with other online companies, and this can result in our email landing in your spam/junk folder. 

If you don't appear to have received an email from us with your voucher code, firstly check your spam/junk folder. Alternatively, you just need to login to your customer account with the email and password you provided when you registered with us and your voucher can be found on your dashboard. 

What type of vitamin B12 is in your injections?

Our service uses Hydroxocobalamin ampoules and there's 1,000mcg in each injection that our partnering pharmacists administer. As we only partner with registered pharmacies, you can rest assured that the B12 used is pharmaceutical grade and all ampoule stock is licensed. This means its the highest quality on the market and that's one of the reasons we partner with pharmacists - officially the most trusted healthcare professionals in the UK.