A couple questions regarding blood work/lab results.

[trying2figureitout]

Hi, I’ll quickly just give some context and then get straight to the point. I was diagnosed with a very low b12 level 6 years ago at a level of 130 or so accompanied with a myriad of symptoms that were ultimately resolved.

About 4 weeks ago after taking a single shot of tequila on a lark i started to experience shortness of breath, along with fatigue and muscle twitching and some joint pain there after. Due to my experience with b12 deficiency in the past I assumed that maybe that was the issue causing these symptoms, as i hadn’t supplemented or gotten b12 shots in years and out of desperation started supplementing with sublingual methylcolbamin b12 about 7000 mcg a day. My question/issue is:

I just got results back from a full nutritional lab work up, and i think I may have artificially skewed my results because my b12 results were almost 1800. Can supplementing 7000 mcg of sublingual b12 for 1.5 weeks cause my b12 blood levels to be artificially high? The other peculiar thing regarding my lab results is that my iron levels are very low at 41.0L (ref range 69.0-158.0) but my ferritin and hemoglobin levels are both within normal range. I assume there’s some connection between my iron levels and shortness of breath, as I am young and active/athletic and have otherwise been in great health for the last few years. I am planning on getting some b12 shots assuming the consensus is my b12 levels were artificially skewed due to supplementation.

Apologies for the length, any help/thoughts/information would be so very much appreciated. I just want to get through this as soon as possible as the shortness of breath is very debilitating. Thanks so much for your time!

[fbirder]

No. Your B12 levels aren't 'artificially' high. They are actually high. You've been taking massive doses of B12 and they've obviously been absorbed. That means you should be able to keep your B12 levels up with a normal low-dose multi-B tablet from the supermarket.

[Nackapan]

I would see the doctor about the iron level. Or otherwise give s tradin for being so breathless . Great tablets rsuse your b12 so efficiently. Did they make you feel better?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

yes, it is quite possible that your serum B12 levels were skewed by the supplementation

please refer to this article in the pinned posts

b12-institute.nl/caution-no...

healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po...

This forum is actually about anaemia - there are various measures of iron status - ferritin is generally a good one but it doesn't tell the whole story. I would have thought that haemoglobin (which is the transport mechanism for oxygen in your blood) would be more directly related to shortness of breath than iron levels but there are a number of things that could be going on that could affect this - suggest that you speak to GP about your iron status, or ask the lab if they can point you in the direction of someone who could help you with interpreting the tests