B12 levels

[Alice2]

B12 levels

Would anyone be able to tell me what a normal b12 level is? Thank you

[Nackapan]

On my blood form 'in tange is 190-900pg/ml

[Gambit62 Administrator]

normal range is an average of where most people who are healthy sit.

The range will be quoted on lab tests and there are two ranges around that are rather similar because there are two ways of measuring B12 levels in blood.

Ranges may vary a bit from lab to lab because test methods may vary slightly as may the sensitivity of different machines.

There are some problems applying averages to individuals (logic) as people's aren't averages. Some individuals do naturally sit outside the normal range - but most sit somewhere within this range.

The normal range for B12 is extremely large. Unlike other B vitamins the human body is designed to maintain B12 levels pretty consistently in an individual using stores of B12 in the liver. This means that B12 levels in a healthy individual tend to be quite consistent in an individual. However, it also means that it is very difficult to interpret the results in relation to a particular individual, particularly if you are using it as a single point test. Its actually more useful to look at trends over time if you are trying to identify an absorption problem, which is what PA is, but this is rarely appreciated and rarely done. There are also some problems in using it in this way because serum B12 is only accurate to 20% so you would either be looking for a drop greater than this between two points, or a consistent drop over time.

[fbirder]

The normal range is set by the laboratory doing the measurements. It will be different for different labs. There can be a big overlap between the levels in people suffering from a deficiency and those who do not. See this post - healthunlocked.com/pasoc/po....

You need to post your result stating - what sort of test (serum or active B12), the units (pg/mL, ng/L, pmol/L) and the range xxx-yyy.

[EllieMayNot]

You can still come back right in the middle of "normal" and still have a problem with a functional B12 deficiency on a cellular level. Maybe not common but that is what I have experienced and went undiagnosed for many years. My blood level was right in the middle of normal yet I had antibodies to myelin basic protein and, upon further testing, came back positive for parietal cell antibodies and elevated MMA/HCY. I don't say this to cause alarm but to alert you to the fact that this is possible and to not give up on finding answers if you know that something is wrong.