high B12 -no supplements

[alchemilla12]

hi

I have recently had an above range testing of B12 at 660 9 lab range 180- 630 ). I am not taking any supplemental B12.someone on the thyroid site said because the test level is only 20 % of the active B12 I am actually deficient as the figure is around 548....

could someone help me understand whether this is the case or not as I m not sure I get this. I understand the difference between serum and active B12 but it seems rather pointless to get a result that says above range if it is in fact low....( I have ordered an active B12 test from Blue horizon )

[fbirder]

someone on the thyroid site said because the test level is only 20 % of the active B12

That's irrelevant as it is taken into account when they set the ranges. The experts actually do know that cobalamin bound to TC ('active' B12) is only about 1/4 the amount of cobalamin bound to HC (inactive B12).

Your result is only a little above the top of the range. Indeed, the test is only around 10 to 20% accurate, so your level might really be closer to 500.

[alchemilla12 in reply to fbirder]

yes ~I assumed that would have been taken in to account when setting the levels but this person was adamant that wasnt the case. Hence my confusion. So at around 500 that is in fact a bit on the low side isnt it?

[fbirder in reply to alchemilla12]

Nope. 500 is nowhere near low. Some people will say that levels should be above 500, like yours is. My level was 85.

[alchemilla12]

so my levels are not particularly high enough to worry about then?

[fbirder in reply to alchemilla12]

No. Not sure really.

But some people can have symptoms of a deficiency with high levels. What are your symptoms? What is your folate level?

If you really want to be sure, get an MMA test done.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

The serum B12 test suffers from a number of defects - one is that it looks at all B12 not just active B12 - another is that it tells you what is happening in your blood not what is going on at the cell level where B12 is actually used. Evaluation of results really means looking at symptoms, though it can be difficult as there is a huge overlap with other symptoms.

However, with the levels you have it is extremely unlikely that you have a B12 deficiency - you would definitely be an extreme case.

This does, of course, assume that you haven't been supplementing in any way.

Please look through the pinned posts - you will find a checklist of symptoms ... and also a cautionary note on the risks of using supplements prior to diagnosis.

[alchemilla12]

I have no symptoms... the test is part of an annual panel of bloods

as I said previously my issue is not that I might be deficient - my concern is that if I DO have elevated levels then accompanied by my high GGT levels this may indicate a serious underlying problem. I am trying to find out if my levels are in fact high ....

[fbirder in reply to alchemilla12]

Is it only your GGT levels that are high? What about other liver enzymes? B12 levels can be raised in cases of liver disease. But that would show up in other tests (things like ALT, ASP and ALP).

[alchemilla12]

yes its only GGt -they have been raised but variable ie up and down in the higher ranges for about 6 years. ALP was raised a few years ago but has been in range for about 4 years