B12 level of 1,200 without supplements and loss of power to both legs

[jarlethblue]

hi all....hope for some help and advice. Currently I have a herniated disc L4/L5 and having surgery later this month. But I have ongoing loss of power and weakness in both legs and my neuro surgeon says it is not connected to my disc problem and has arranged a brain scan for me as my balance was poor, as were some of my reflexes and I failed the heel to toe walking test. For the last three weeks my legs are extremely weak and I can only walk a short distance with the aid of a crutch. My other symptoms are poor balance, pins and needles in my feet and hands, burning feet, stabbing pains, poor memory recall, awful muscle cramps and flutterings in my legs and feet, the odd panic attack, daily diarrhea, fatigue that sometimes feel like hitting a brick wall and I need to lie down. These symptoms have been building over 18 months but have become worse in recent weeks. I also had a frozen shoulder last year which resolved quite quickly but has left residual pain and soreness. I had blood tests done last week and they show B12 level of 1,200, Folate 5.2, Serum Ferritin 172.0. My Cholesterol is also raised to 5.9 and my glucose is also high at 6. I must point out that I do not supplement with any vitamins, including B12. My liver and kidney function results were normal. My doctor is not open to a discussion that perhaps I have a functional B12 deficiency and would not give me an injection, saying I had 'buckets of it!'. After I learned of my high B12 result I began taking Solgar sublingual Methylcobalamin 5,000 twice a day. in the last few days I have not had any cramps and i feel i am regaining a little strength in my legs. Could this be possible? Any advice on how to go forward would be most welcome. Thanks in advance. J

[Gambit62 Administrator]

One effective treatment for functional B12 deficiency is to raise B12 levels and maintain them at a higher level.

You don't say if you have a B12 absorption problem - sounds like you don't if you aren't supplementing at all - most of what you will be absorbing from the sublingual will be passive absorption outside the ileum - which averages 1%- so that means you are actually getting quite a high dose of B12 - the amount absorbed in the ileum seems to be restricted for one meal - can't remember the amount off the top of my head but pretty sure it's less than 10mcg - but as the daily need is around half that you are potentially getting a lot of B12 from the sublingual.

Some people do have higher B12 levels quite naturally and a few people need much higher levels because of rare genetic factors that affect the way their bodies process B12.

Generally in functional B12 MMA would be significantly elevated.