Blood levels

[Brooklynrae]

Ive recently had blood work done once in june and once in august both results showed my b12 levels were high my b6 was low and my folate was high. I dont take any supplements or shots does anyone have any idea why this could be?

[PAS-admin Partner]

Do you have the exact results? Could you post them?

You also don't take for example vitamin-enriched foods, like some cereals?

[Brooklynrae in reply to PAS-admin]

No I don't have the results on me but in June my primary mentioned my levels and yesterday I got paperwork in the mail from a specialist saying the the same thing and no I don't take any vitamin enriched foods.

[PAS-admin Partner in reply to Brooklynrae]

Try and get the levels. It's hard to say anything without them.

[linda96]

Iv got the same (but no b6 results). Also had back a week ago my genetic results and Iv realised Its a processing problem caused by a faulty MTHFR gene. There are parts of this gene that cause an interruption to the methylation process (gives you energy). C677t and C1298t. My C677t is only working at 30% hence the build up of iron and b12. To help with absorption you need something called TMG. When iron gets too high in the body it can cause a build up of homocysteine, which isn't good. Mines been high for a few years now.

It's only really since the human genome was completed in 2003 that a lot of this has come to light. I'm glad Iv had my DNA "plotted" because Iv got something definite to go back to the Drs with. And they can read all about it just as well as me!

My energy levels were fairly alright until a couple of years ago (your body has a secondary methylation pathway) which means my body was throwing everything into making sure I had energy but eventually it stops working properly. Iv now been diagnosed with CFS (symptom of a faulty methylation process) my ferritin is over 1100 and b12 over 1600.

i can't praise health unlocked enough for helping me to understand my body processes and giving me the courage to go and look for answers.

[fbirder in reply to linda96]

There's a lot of confused information out there about methylation, so I hope you don't mind if I clarify some points.

Problems with the MTHFR enzyme aren't as serious as some people make out.

An enzyme is a bit like a spark plug in a car. It is essential to the extraction of energy from petrol - but it doesn't get used up in the process. The spark plug can participate in thousands of individual reactions. In the olden days it wasn't uncommon for spark plug to require replacing. In some cars the replacement frequency was higher than in others. So you just got new plugs.

The 677C>T MTHFR mutation means that the enzyme isn't as stable as in normal people. But the body is quite good at getting round these sorts of problems - by making more enzyme when it's needed.

The 1298A>C mutation seems to cause no functional defects to the enzyme: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Some people may find that they can help the body out by supplementing with methylfolate - which is the product of the reaction catalysed by the MTHFR enzyme.

Even without such help 30% efficient MTHFR can still do a good job (I never noticed a problem for over 50 years).

Iron and B12 levels will not be noticeably affected by any MTHFR problems.

Low B12 and/or low methylfolate can both cause elevated levels of homocysteine (as can other factors - but not high iron). Fixing the deficiency responsible (by taking B12 and/or methylfolate or folic acid) should lower hCys.

TMG (trimethylglycine) isn't involved at all in the absorption of B12. It can be used to lower hCys, but should only be taken for this purpose if blood tests have shown that hCys levels are too high.

There's a really good video about methylation problems -

youtu.be/MzT-iU8UIwo(Not working as expected?)

[Lilnicki]

High results for B12 and folate without supplementation can indeed be due to methylation issues , particularly MTHFR. I'd suggest joining an online support group, I belong to a good one on FB.

[fbirder in reply to Lilnicki]

I've not found any source for MTHFR mutations causing high B12. Can you share please?

[Lilnicki]

If you type MTHFR and high B12 into Google there are lots of links.

This one explains quite nicely :

stopthethyroidmadness.com/m...

[PAS-admin Partner in reply to Lilnicki]

Nice link but gives no scientific reference to a high B12 because of this (or high folate)