Vitamin B12 levels
 

Hi all,I have question regarding B12 levels. I have just been to the doctors and he has told me that my B12 levels are too high. He said the normal range is up to 900 and mine is 1109. He told me to stop taking my b-right capsules as too higher level is not good for you. Should I stop taking the b-right capsules and let my levels drop? What is the danger in having high B12 levels? Thanks for reading.

Obviously your doctor does not know much about B12.

Do you know (and does he know) that the ranges used for testing are based on statistics? That is, people are tested in a group and the ranges are taken from that. (they are considered normal "healthy" people--which they may not be.)
There are no studies showing that higher B12 levels are harmful to anyone. Normal people who do not take supplements are not going to show high levels either.
Many people who see benefits from B12 supplements have readings of 2000 or higher.

There are no studies showing an upper limit of toxicity for B12.

Is this what you are taking?
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=110
If so it doesn't have much in it to worry about. The B12 level in it is only 100mcg.

In other countries (Japan for example) anyone lower than 500 is treated with supplements. In fact your levels are rather low considering you are supplementing..
http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders...n_b12/faq.html

http://www.labtestsonline.org/unders..._b12/test.html

I'd suggest you do some Googling, and print out stuff for your doctor to read. He needs some updating.

Hi MrsD thanks for replying. Yes those are the b complex that I am taking. Why would my levels be so high if I am only taking 100mcg? I was taking 5mg methyl b12 but that was last year and I haven't taken them for months and months.

Well, when I had my B12 done a few years ago, when I was NOT taking supplements it was 849.

Your level doesn't strike me as high. Just above the normal range. You could have been much higher and it has come down some if you were using 5mg/day previously. You may just be on the way down.

The B-right is not alarming at all, and 100mcg is below what is used to treat frank deficiency.

I wouldn't worry about it, and I'd ignore the doctor on this one. If you feel well, then just continue what you are doing.
(as long as you have normal kidney functions).

I really am not a fan of doctors who falsely alarm their patients when they don't know what they are talking about.
Sounds like yours is just blindly used to following lab ranges for other things, and has generalized the mental job to include alarming responses to an unalarming situation.
Most doctors don't have a clue about nutrients and testing.
Sounds like yours is one of those.

Look at this one from Quest---
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/kbas...20/results.htm
160 considered normal? Blech! :vomit:

With many vitamin and mineral (esp magnesium) testing, it is the DEFICIENCY that is the
major target looked at. Interpreting them is not always accurate for others.

My B12 level was 1237, and now I am taking more B12 then when the level was done, and I came back at 1013...none of my doctors have told me it's too high. I wouldn't worry about your B12 level, like MrsD says, lots of people are a lot higher than that!!!

Hi. Mine was 2000 and that was after I stopped b complex before it was 1500. I have no idea I think sometimes blood work can be off. My doc said the same thing as you.

To High B 12 can give you pins and needles symptoms.

I did not know about the pins and needles...

How high is to high? I thought that once your body had obsorbed what it needed the rest was eliminated. Am I mistaken? When I developed PN back in May my B12 was 879 I think...it was in the high 800s. Since that time I have been taking 5mgs methyl a day. Do I need to back off the B12?

I have never found any evidence--
 

--that very high levels of B12 can cause true nerve parastheses (pins and needles), though often the energizing effect of sudden large influxes of B12 can seem that way.

There have been cases of peopel reacting to additive in B12 supplements, though. In my case, it was sorbitol. One has to be careful of what the B12 is combined with. (Once I figured it out and stopped taking a sorbitol-containing brand, the effects dissipated.)

Now large doses of B6 (pyridoxine) taken over a period of time, that can have neurtoxic effects in some susceptible people:

http://neuromuscular.wustl.edu/nothe...yridoxineintox

I currently take 1000mcg (1 mg) methylcobalamin each day, primarily as a nerve protectant, considering my idiopathic acute onset full-body burning neuropathy history, and my current cervical spine radiculopathy. My last B12test was 1864 (and I'm probably due for another one, but I imagine it would be somewhere around there again).

As far as I know, B12 has no known toxicity level, Unlike other B-vitamins, there is a substantial bodily ability to store extra, primarily in the liver, though after a certain point excess will be excreted. But there have been some studies, particularly in Japan, in which subjects were given up to 36,000mcg (36mg)/day without ill effects.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I know that my B12 level was around 450 in June 2007 and I had another test earlier this year (can't remember which month) and the result showed 1200. I read somewhere that liver problems can sometimes be the cause of high B12 levels. I guess the only way to tell is to stop B12 supplements for a few months and get tested again...