103 ngl

My B12 has been measured at 103 ngl. Is that low?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

It depends on which test you had

- if it was serum B12 then it is very low.

If it was active B12 then the test is well into the normal range.

[Hidden in reply to Gambit62]

Yes serum vitamin B12. 103 ngl

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Hidden]

highly unlikely that you aren't B12 deficient with a level that is that low.

[Nackapan in reply to Hidden]

Yes low. Look at the range beside the result in brackets .

Ask for a print out. Mine was 106 range (200-900. )Serum blood test in UK. You should be investigated and get injections if you have symptoms.

[pvanderaa]

Depends on the lab and test that was conducted. The limits should come with the results.

That said, Sounds like it is near the bottom which some GPs will interpret as “normal”

Japan considers <500 pg/ml (ng/L). Lab here in the USA add a caveat to the results under 400 pg/ml that 10% of the population may exhibit neurological symptoms in a hidden (“occult”) B12 deficiency.

I’m on injections and supplements and want any results to be off the top of the test i.e. >1500 pg/ml. To repair my nerve damage.

[fbirder in reply to pvanderaa]

"Japan considers <500 pg/ml (ng/L). "

No they don't. That is a myth that has been repeatedly busted.

[pvanderaa in reply to fbirder]

What? Did I get the units wrong? pmol/L ? Not pg/ml

[Elijahhawk in reply to pvanderaa]

It wouldn't matter.....

"If serum vitamin B12 levels are <200 pg/mL, vitamin B12 deficiency is very likely. If serum vitamin B12 levels are >300 pg/mL, vitamin B12 deficiency is unlikely."

"We would like to thank Drs. Shigeharu Ueki, Tomoo Saga, Ayumi Omokawa, and Yuki Moritoki for their careful and critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan (MH, 15K08639) and the Idiopathic Disorders of Hematopoietic Organs Research Committee of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Nanc72 in reply to Elijahhawk]

Mine was 313 and I had PA with a slew of neurological symptoms.

[mountainice in reply to Elijahhawk]

How can that be. Not according to Dr Chandy and Sally Pacholok

[Elijahhawk in reply to pvanderaa]

I have to agree with fbirder on this.

I've spent quite a bit of time looking for this claim. I have seen several articles referencing this claim, but then they provide no documentation to any Japanese standards or research.

I'm not at home so I don't have the links, suffice it to say the Japanese standard for what is considered "normal range" for B12 levels is quite similar to the U.S., U.K, and probably what you'd find world-wide.

[fbirder in reply to Elijahhawk]

Many thanks for that link to the japanese Government paper.

I've traced the myth to three sources.

There was a wikipedia article that made the claim. They used a paper from many years back that made the claim in the abstract. I got a look at the full paper and there was zero mention of any limit in the main body of the paper, let alone any justification for it.

Then there was the book. Pacholok's book says "we believe normal serum levels should be greater than 550 pg/ml... In older adults serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1,000 pg/ml". Of course, they offer no justification for their belief that over 90% of the population should have treatment.

Then there was a claim that Prof David Smith of Oxford University said

"B12 deficiency is more common after the age of 60 and, once levels fall below 500 pg/ml (picograms per millilitre — the normal range being 500 to 1,000), the brain starts to deteriorate at twice the usual rate, making memory loss six times more likely."

This was published in the Daily Mail. Then spread all over the interwebs (especially the TUK forum on here).

I emailed Prof Smith about this and he said -

"I never said or wrote that" "I have no recollection of speaking to this reporter - she just made it up!"

[mountainice in reply to fbirder]

My elder grandson was 267, now 309 and ended up in a mental health unit, still having treatment from a psychologist, no B12 treatment. His brother has been having panic attacks with a level of 247, no treatment, his sister 329, fainting. Low ferritin for the girl, low potassium, high bilirubin in two cases. All very worrying

[JanD236]

When the test result was provided, a range would also have been given. It would be best if you checked back to that result and re post the result, the range (which is likely to have been shown in brackets) and the actual test (serum or active).

[wedgewood]

What is not mentioned in all of this , is the presence ,or not , of B12 deficiency symptoms . . This is all important. Your B12 serum reading is low, but have you symptoms of B12 deficiency ? If you have , you need treatment ASAP . We are all different, and people vary at which level of B12 serum content , deficiency symptoms manifest themselves . I wouldn’t be surprised if there are huge variations in levels at which symptoms occur .

[Hidden in reply to wedgewood]

I have many symptoms of b12 deficiency. Been to docs repeatedly long story. My own stupid fault for not pushing the point. Apparently docs knew I had low b12 since 2015 - 136 ngl serum - but forgot to tell me.

[Nackapan in reply to Hidden]

How awful. You should complain. I hope you get a print out from now on. Hope your treatment gets the repair going very soon.

[Nackapan in reply to wedgewood]

Yes I agree and put that earlier.

[wedgewood]

I’m really sorry to hear that . That’s shocking that the doctor forgot to tell you .Hope he/she hasn’t forgotten about a cancer patient . He/she should have arranged for you to have loading injections ( 6 over 2 weeks) and then injections on alternative days until any neurological symptoms stopped improving . If you have any irreversible neurological symptoms , i would feel like complaining formally . Have you been tested for PA? I t is a very unreliable test if it turns out negative , unfortunately . I hope you see your doctor soon and say how upset and worried you are about this failure to act . Very best wishes .

[Hidden in reply to wedgewood]

Thanks. Will post any news