vitamin d and b12

[suki65]

i am wondering can anyone tell me what the levels of vitamin d and b12 should be does it depend on age ,sex,where you live

i have vitamin d level 17

and b12 376

i am aged 48 female and live in the uk

[shaws Administrator]

When you post numbers for blood tests it is helpful if you post the ranges too as labs differ and it enables someone to comment on the levels.

Laboratories throughout the UK may have different ranges but this is a link of one area - Derbyshire

derbyhospitals.nhs.uk/easys...

This is a link re B12 another very important vitamin as it can lead to serious conditions:-

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

an extract

In the elderly, it can cause dementia, says David Smith, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Oxford University.

‘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,’ he says.

Read more: dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[suki65 in reply to shaws]

Thank you for this i have had no problems but have been on and off statins for 2 years and now my left arm is not right i cant do certain things with it and my thighs have changed shape it looks like my muscles drop .I feel really low,my memory is not the same ,bones sore ,swelling to knees ,ankles and back told i now have osteoarthritis .i am only 48 but feel like i have aged so much in 2 years ,i dont drink ,smoke or eat rubbish i am 5 feet 1 and weigh just below 8 stone and i have never had any other health issues ,before taking statins for the genetic type 3 hyperlipidemia

i asked for my vitamin d to be checked which came back as 17 and they want to bring it up to 25 .

my b12 is 276 but all they said was its normal from research i have done it looks like i could be defficiant

I live in Oldham uk .

I will find out my true results and post them on here

[Hidden in reply to suki65]

I know this is not directly related to your question, but I understand that statins are known to deplete Coenzyme Q10 (unless your statin contained this). I don't know if depleted CoQ10 has any symptoms or whether you can have your levels checked but I am sure someone on here will know.

[suki65 in reply to Hidden]

thank you

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to suki65]

I believe that statins cause muscle wasting, which would explain your problems. It also explains why some studies show that, in people who haven't previously had a heart attack, and then have a first heart attack, those who take statins are more likely to have a fatal one (the heart is a muscle). You also need cholesterol to make hormones, and fat to be able to use vit D, A, E and K2.

[suki65 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

thank you for this i am beginning to understand what has happened to my body

[nightingale-56 in reply to shaws]

So glad you have posted this link Shaws. I have been looking for this information since Friday to give to my son's Endocrinologist. Thought I would have to admit it was just something I had been told, but now I have a link to give him, maybe he will act on it. Many thanks, Janet.

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Suki

I have looked at a couple of your previous questions and see you have now been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and that you also have lupus.

Why did the doctor prescribe statins for you? Was it before or after diagnosis for hypothyroidism?

[suki65 in reply to shaws]

i was prescried statins in April 2011 when i was diagnosed with genetic type 3 hyperlipidemia

[shaws Administrator in reply to suki65]

Thanks. I didn't read it properly on your above post. I have just looked it up in the internet.

I don't know, as it is genetic, whether being on hypothyroid medication will help as higher cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism and usually it reduces when on optimum medication.

If you have recently had a blood test for your thyroid gland if you can get a copy with the ranges and post on a new question and someone will respond.

I don't know whether you will be able to buy your own Vitamin B12 (it has to be methylcobalamin) but you can get sublingual ones from Amazon or lozenges if you prefer. You cannot overdose as excess is excreted in your urine. You should (as the Professor said) aim for 500 or more for B12. I am glad they are giving you Vitamin D.

amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...

[nostoneunturned]

You are deficient in Vit D - all you ever wanted to know about Vit D on this link, note the reference ranges on P 3.

icms.qmul.ac.uk/chs/Docs/42...

B12 is low but with the advice above you can remedy that. if you want to check how you are getting on then you can get serum B12 and folate as a combined test, without need for any doctor to be involved, for £30 from:

myrios.co.uk

If more familiar with NHS units. usually ng/l, just convert Myrios' pmol/l to ng/l. by dividing pmol/l by 0.738

Meantime you can maximise B12 intake by concentrating on chicken livers, lamb's livers, herring, sardines, all come with the necessary B12-methylating folate and B12, plus iron, all packed conveniently together. If you are a vegetarian then bear in mind that your only B12 will come from any dairy/egg consumption as only animal products contain it, and if you are a vegan, lapse a bit, into vegetarianism. Also eat foods high in potassium, like bananas figs blackstrap molasses, as the creation of new red blood cells takes a toll on potassium levels. Your folate should have been checked at the same time as B12, optimal level is at least 10mcg/l, supplements also from Amazon, 800mcg daily if short of folate.

I use to be drastically low in B12, below bottom of range, any treatment was refused, but to recover I used Swanson's 5000mcg (= 5mg) tablets, sublingually only, also from Amazon. Most people actually use Jarrows. but I see that it is considerably more expensive than Swanson's. Just a thought!

[nostoneunturned in reply to nostoneunturned]

Sorry, link to Vitamin D treatise is changed, now:

blizard.qmul.ac.uk/site-sea...

[nostoneunturned in reply to nostoneunturned]

Oops. and when you get through via above link scroll down to: 39 Vitamin D, January 2011.