B12 injections and acne, anyone else breaking out?

Posted by tracker_jade in Safety & Side Effects - 2 points, 4 comments.

I started methylcobalamin shots about 3 weeks ago, 1000 mcg twice a week from a telehealth clinic. Energy is fine, sleep actually got better around week 2. But my jawline and chin are angry and I never break out there. Anceddotally it seems to line up with the injections because I changed nothing else.

I know B12 can mess with skin for some people. Anceddotally I have seen people say it is the cyanocobalamin form that does it, but mine is methylated so I am not sure what is going on. Has anyone else dealt with this on the methyl form? Did it calm down if you stuck with it, or did you have to stop?

Also kinda worried because I have read biotin can throw off thyroid labs. Are B12 shots gonna do the same thing to bloodwork? I am due for a panel next month and do not want to chase false highs or lows.

Comments

• weekendnate: Yeah, methyl B12 can definitely break people out, not just cyano. The mechanism people point to is that B12 alters the skin microbiome in ways that favor acne-associated bacteria, and that seems to happen regardless of the form. It usually settles after a few weeks for most folks who push through. If it doesn't, dropping the dose or switching to a different form sometimes helps. On bloodwork, B12 itself doesn't really throw thyroid labs off, that's the biotin concern you mentioned. B12 can mas
• tracker_jade: Good to know the form doesn't really matter, I was hoping methyl would be the safe route. I'll give it another couple weeks since it started right when I started the shots. For the bloodwork thing, my panel includes folate so that's covered. So B12 on its own shouldn't skew TSH or anything like that? That's the part I actually care about since I want the numbers to be real.
• retired_coldplunge: Yeah the microbiome angle is what I keep coming back to too. For me it cleared up around week 4 without changing anything, but I did drop to once a week instead of twice. Fwiw I would give it another week or two before chasing a different form.
• tracker_jade: Yeah the microbiome piece makes sense, I have read similar things anecdotally. Dropping to once a week is a good middle ground, I might try that instead of quitting outright. Did you notice the breakouts fading gradually or did they kind of stop all at once? Mine are still showing up fresh so kinda hard to tell if it is getting better or just staying steady. And did you ever check bloodwork while on the shots? Still curious if it skewed anything.

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