Nurse today said this? Confused b12 normal range

[Charlwobble]

The range my b12 should be in is 150 to 650?

Mines in 100 and people on here are low in b12 with results of 230?

So confused if I’m only 50 away from being in the normal range then why do I feel so bad and why does it take 5 injections?

[Sstephens]

Does this help? 150 is not normal!

“Patients with serum B12 levels between 150 and 400 ng/L are considered borderline and should be evaluated further by functional tests for vitamin B12 deficiency. The plasma homocysteine level is a good screening test. A normal level effectively excludes vitamin B12 and folate deficiency in an asymptomatic patient.

B12 - Clinical: Vitamin B12 Assay, Serum - Mayo Medical Laboratories”

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Charlwobble if your serum B12 level is 100 as opposed to the "normal" level of 150 to 650 (of whatever scale was used) then you are Vitamin B12 Deficient - hence the need of having five injections.

These "loading doses" will boost your B12 levels so high as to be "off the scale" in the "hope" that enough will make its way into the cells where it will start to work repairing the damage done to your nerve endings caused by the deficiency.

It is also important that your Folate level is monitored as this is essential to process the B12.

There is a complex interaction between folic acid, vitamin B12 and iron. A deficiency of one may be "masked" by excess of another so the three must always be in balance.

Initially, replacing B12 will lead to a huge increase in the production of blood cells and platelets (which occurs in the bone marrow) and can lead to rapid depletion of folate and iron stores; this can then limit the expected recovery of Haemoglobin. Both iron and folate may be needed so please have these levels checked by your doctor.

Do you know why your B12 level has fallen so low?

I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.

I wish you well.

[dianewilson1900]

Hello. Im severly deficient in B 12. Im 119.3. My doctor said here in the US, 145 or less is deficient, 145 to 180 is a grey area, and 180 or above is optimal. But many people in the grey area drag, feel tired, out of breath and manifest many classic low B 12 symptoms! Ask for supplements anywayand see what yoyr doctor says. Read up on what the symptoms of low B 12 are and explain to your doctor all of the problems you are having. Perhaps this will pursuade his or her mind to give them to you. Talk to the the ATTENDING DOCTOR! Not some nurse who doesnt have the final power and jursidiction to make the final call about this, anyway. But it probably wont come to this simce your getting injections, right? Keep in mind having low iron and or folate levels can make you feel tired amd slugglush too. Have those tests done on those as well. I had to have a shot and my doctor said i will be given both that and supplements for life. I dont know if thats the case with you, but you may want to ask your doctor if thats what your future holds as well... Hope this helps.

[Hidden]

I'm 415 which is tip top but I've had symptoms and the b12 helped those symptoms go away. There is such a thing as subclinical deficiency. Where something is present in the blood results but symptoms of deficiency present. Things can be in your blood stream but not be being used. For example you could have lots and lots of vitimin d in your blood but it can't do its job without vitimin k so you could still have some of the effects of d deficiency if you don't have the other things. A vitimin is a small molecule which is essential in the functioning of your body...the long journey a vitimin takes and the many things it interacts with along that journey means there are many things along the way that can delay it or cause it to be unable to work... Being present in the blood is only one aspect. Just like being present at work doesn't mean you're doing any work. You can say if the person isn't present they can't be doing their world. But you can't say that just because they are present they are working. So you have lowb12 present....others have it present but not working... Hope that makes Sense.