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B12 vitamin level question
Hi,
I've been suffering symptoms such as short term memory loss, confusion, obsessive thoughts, anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, extreme fatigue, low motivation, etc.
After testing, my B12 level range came back as 509 or 512, I don't remember which but it was one of them two numbers. I live in Europe and found out that at this range people can experience numerous psychiatric and physical symptoms. Has anybody else experienced symptoms at that kind of range? Here in the UK, those kind of numbers are scraping at the bottom of the very lower normal limit.
I told my doctor that I found out that normal levels should be in the region of 1,000 or above and he agreed so I am now on a strong B-Complex to try and bring it back up again. Before the test was conducted I told him that I had been taking a strong B-Complex for a while and that I experience a remarkable improvement in my symptoms when I take it, so I think that's what persuaded him to do the B12 and folic acid test.
Can anybody else tell me the B12 levels in which they feel at their best, and have you heard of a range level of the low 500's causing symptoms?
Oh, also, strangely I seem to be getting more of a positive effect from the B-Complex that contains the cyanocobalamin form of B12, not the allegedly superior form of methylcobalamin of which I also have. No idea why.
I've been suffering symptoms such as short term memory loss, confusion, obsessive thoughts, anxiety, heart palpitations, irritability, extreme fatigue, low motivation, etc.
After testing, my B12 level range came back as 509 or 512, I don't remember which but it was one of them two numbers. I live in Europe and found out that at this range people can experience numerous psychiatric and physical symptoms. Has anybody else experienced symptoms at that kind of range? Here in the UK, those kind of numbers are scraping at the bottom of the very lower normal limit.
I told my doctor that I found out that normal levels should be in the region of 1,000 or above and he agreed so I am now on a strong B-Complex to try and bring it back up again. Before the test was conducted I told him that I had been taking a strong B-Complex for a while and that I experience a remarkable improvement in my symptoms when I take it, so I think that's what persuaded him to do the B12 and folic acid test.
Can anybody else tell me the B12 levels in which they feel at their best, and have you heard of a range level of the low 500's causing symptoms?
Oh, also, strangely I seem to be getting more of a positive effect from the B-Complex that contains the cyanocobalamin form of B12, not the allegedly superior form of methylcobalamin of which I also have. No idea why.
Thanks for your input, Red! I am taking the sublingual B12 with the B-complex now to give it that extra help. I'll give it a few months and have my levels checked again.
This excerpt is from a great article entitled "B12 deficiency: a silent epidemic with serious consequences" by Chris Kressler.
"Why is B12 deficiency so under-diagnosed?
B12 deficiency is often missed for two reasons. First, it’s not routinely tested by most physicians. Second, the low end of the laboratory reference range is too low. This is why most studies underestimate true levels of deficiency. Many B12 deficient people have so-called “normal” levels of B12.
Yet it is well-established in the scientific literature that people with B12 levels between 200 pg/mL and 350 pg/mL – levels considered “normal” in the U.S. – have clear B12 deficiency symptoms. Experts who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of B12 deficiency, like Sally Pacholok R.N. and Jeffery Stewart D.O., suggest treating all patients that are symptomatic and have B12 levels less than 450 pg/mL. They also recommend treating patients with normal B12, but elevated urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine and/or holotranscobalamin (other markers of B12 deficiency).
In Japan and Europe, the lower limit for B12 is between 500-550 pg/mL, the level associated with psychological and behavioral manifestations such as cognitive decline, dementia and memory loss. Some experts have speculated that the acceptance of higher levels as normal in Japan and the willingness to treat levels considered “normal” in the U.S. explain the low rates of Alzheimer’s and dementia in that country."
I make sure my vitamin B12 levels are always at the upper end of the reference range, never going below 600pmol/L (800pg/mL). The B vitamins work together (synergistically), so it may not be the form of B12 but the combination of all the B vitamins which may explain why you feel a more positive affect.
"Why is B12 deficiency so under-diagnosed?
B12 deficiency is often missed for two reasons. First, it’s not routinely tested by most physicians. Second, the low end of the laboratory reference range is too low. This is why most studies underestimate true levels of deficiency. Many B12 deficient people have so-called “normal” levels of B12.
Yet it is well-established in the scientific literature that people with B12 levels between 200 pg/mL and 350 pg/mL – levels considered “normal” in the U.S. – have clear B12 deficiency symptoms. Experts who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of B12 deficiency, like Sally Pacholok R.N. and Jeffery Stewart D.O., suggest treating all patients that are symptomatic and have B12 levels less than 450 pg/mL. They also recommend treating patients with normal B12, but elevated urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine and/or holotranscobalamin (other markers of B12 deficiency).
In Japan and Europe, the lower limit for B12 is between 500-550 pg/mL, the level associated with psychological and behavioral manifestations such as cognitive decline, dementia and memory loss. Some experts have speculated that the acceptance of higher levels as normal in Japan and the willingness to treat levels considered “normal” in the U.S. explain the low rates of Alzheimer’s and dementia in that country."
I make sure my vitamin B12 levels are always at the upper end of the reference range, never going below 600pmol/L (800pg/mL). The B vitamins work together (synergistically), so it may not be the form of B12 but the combination of all the B vitamins which may explain why you feel a more positive affect.
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