Thanks for all the help.

So concerning the MMA test, which is better the blood test or the urine test for the MMA?

Also, if I'm not able to schedule the tests for about a week and a half will the 12 day period of not taking any B12 make the tests more accurate or will they still be somewhat higher due to the 3 week supplements?

I would go for the blood test for an elderly person for MMA. Kidney functions are not so great in 70+ yr old patients.

I don't know how much higher the test will be if you stop supplements now. There are no studies on this situation.

But I'd expect some difference from NO supplements ever.
When people don't stop their supplements, very high readings can result. Perhaps those of your mother's won't be so high, but they won't say much about where she started from.

If she is testing out very low, then I'd believe that reading. But closer to "normal" 400pg/ml may not say much.

Well I went ahead and made the appointment for the tests so hopefully in a week and half will know something.

There is one thing that me and my siblings have noticed lately and I was hoping someone might have more knowledge about this. I was spending the day with her the other day and there were no issues at all with her memory during the day. Then later in the evening she complained about having an headache and feeling light-headed. It was then shortly after that she started calling me by another name and didn't recognize who I was. My siblings have also noticed that everything can be fine and then all of a sudden she doesn't recognize them or thinks they are someone else and most of the time while that is happening she says she has a headache or feels light-headed.

So does anyone have any experience with something like this and does this sound like a symptom of B12 deficiency?

Alzheimer's has a symptom called "sun downing" where
Forgetfulness occurs in the evening.

She really needs some medical evaluation.
The B12 may help simple memory problems, but it will not treat
Alzheimer's.

Her test is scheduled in 8 days. She stopped taking the B12 supplement 3 days ago and will not take anymore before the test. I also recommended that she stop here multivitamin (since it has some B12 in it) for the next 8 days.

She also takes the following:

Vitamin D3
Coconut Oil
Chromium
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Vitamin K-2


So should she not being taking any of these above before the test and would any have any effect on the B12 test results?

I don't think any of those would have a problem with B12 testing.

Check the diet also for fortified foods/cereals etc... those may have some B12 in them. Energy drinks, etc.

Just got the blood test results back and I am bewildered at the results:


Vitamin B-12 1032 pg/ml range (211-946) was flagged as high

Folate 19.9 ng/ml range (>3.0)

MMA 15.2 umol/L range (1.6-29.7)

MMA-Normalized 0.8 range (0.4-2.5)


I am wondering what these results mean. As noted in an earlier post she was taking twice daily 5,000mcg of methylcob B-12 tablets for 3 weeks and then stopped taking those B-12 tablets for 12 days before this blood test.

So do the results show anything abnormal or have they been skewed because of the supplementation for that 3 weeks and then not taking anything for 12 days before the blood test?

I suspect that if she hadn't stopped the B12 she would have been close to 2000 in that test.

I think it now shows she is absorbing the B12 at least, but since she had started it, the original reading before any at all is no longer available.

one dose of 5mg daily should be enough for now.

The level she has now is adequate for most neurological symptoms and for getting the B12 into the CSF and hence the brain where it is needed.