B12 levels question

[Jenergy]

I do shots every 3 weeks and my levels never go higher than 500 it so. My doctor told me my levels would never be higher due to PA. I tested positive for not being able to absorb it. Is this similar to your experiences? Is there something else I can do to boost it up? I was diagnosed when I was 27 (33 now). Been doing shots ever sense.

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi Jenergy many folk on here self inject but personally I use a methylcobamalin spray between my three weekly injections of cyanocobamalin.

Fortunately you cannot overdose of B12 as any excess is excreted via your urine.

It may pay to have your Folate level checked as this helps process the B12.

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.

[JanD236]

Once you have injections, the result of a B12 blood test tends to be meaningless. The important point is whether or not you feel well and symptom free?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

I'm afraid your doctor really isn't thinking through the logic of what happens when you inject a lot of something into a person. Right after the injection your serum B12 levels will be off the scale and then they will fall over time - but how quickly varies a lot from person to person. Presumably your levels are being tested at roughly the same time after a B12 shot which is why they are not showing as higher than 500.

Normally B12 levels are regulated using stores in the liver but having PA means that you are no longer able to use this method to regulate your B12 levels (because release uses the same mechanism that is used to absorb B12 from your food - so basically any B12 you have stored is released into the gut and rather than being re-absorbed just passes straight through. This means that you will continually need to top up levels of B12 by a method that by passes the illeum - injections being the most efficient way of doing this.

A level of 500 after loading shots may be in the normal range but the normal range is totally skewed by the prevalence of another reaction that means significant numbers of people need B12 levels well above the normal range after loading shots.

Some B12 is absorbed outside the ileum by a process called passive absorption (averages 1% but does vary from individual to individual) this means that very high doses taken orally, sublingually or nasally, can help keep levels high - but they need to be used very frequently and you need to start using them when your levels are still very high after a shot.

If you are still symptomatic then keep a diary of your symptoms and inject when the symptoms start to return.

Serum B12 isn't a test that can be used to manage a B12 absorption problems - there isn't a good test for this - so the best you can do is go by symptoms.

[fbirder]

You don’t say whether the three-monthly jabs keep your symptoms at bay.

[dianewilson1900]

I'm not an expert but...could it be that maybe you need to inject once a week maybe? Or perhaps the strength and dose of the injection? I'm not a medical expert and don't know what the doses are, but I think I read in the past its something like 3000 mcg a couple times a week or 5000 mcg once a week? Perhaps someone can clarify this? Injecting ONLY once every three weeks seems really scarce! I read a lot of articles on B 12 and most say injections are typically started off a couple times a week or once a week at least. Then again, you may have been injecting B 12 for quite sometime now, so perhaps you don't need injections as frequently. Also, may I point out perhaps the quality of the B 12 May not be so good and you may do better with a different type? There are three types in the US, and I don't know what country you live in. But here in the US, the three types are: Cyano, Hydraxo and Methyl. Perhaps you can ask your provider to switch to a different brand and see what happens? Keep in mind what matters most is not lab numbers and the LEVEL of B 12 in your blood. What matters is how well your body is UTILIZING it and weather it not you are feeling better and noticing a reduction in symptoms. Don't get stuck in lab numbers hon, you'll get depressed and it will sidetrack your progress. Just focus on feeling better because standard B 12 tests are sometimes iffy and don't tell the story anyway. They are HIGHLY misleading anyway and you have to have an MMA and homocysteine test done in conjunction done with the B 12 test anyway. Never rely on a B 12 test as a standalone test because it can produce false results. Since you have been injecting, the lab results will be off anyway. Just go by weather or not your feeling better!