Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12?

[lynmynott]

It's always a good idea to check you have enough vitamin B12 as symptoms of deficiency are very similar to those of hypothyroidism.

Medichecks are giving 20% off all tests until midnight on Sunday for World Health Day so why not take this opportunity of buying a test to check your levels?

To take advantage of the 20% discount offer go here: goo.gl/aR2mlr

[shaws Administrator]

It is a good idea if you've not had B12 checked. I was unaware that low B12 could/may cause dementia/alzeimers if our homocysteine levels increase thus causing brain shrinkage. B12 can reduce homocysteine levels.

Second link in particular. although first is also an eye-opener.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Marz in reply to shaws]

People are often told their B12 is fine when in range - however that is the amount of B12 in the blood only. If testing the Homocysteine as well reveals a high in range result it could indicate B12 deficiency at a cellular level - where the B12 is needed. Also the MMA test.

youtube.com/watch?feature=p...

Talking about B12 and the shrinking brain starts a few minutes into the video.

[Knotty in reply to Marz]

"Talking about B12 and the shrinking brain starts a few minutes into the video."

about 3 mins 30 sec

[Marz in reply to Knotty]

In the many previous posts on the topic I have mentioned 4 minutes - so 30 seconds out 😊 Thank you for the correction ....

[joannagof]

what are the main symptoms of b12 low?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to joannagof]

Hidden

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

[Naomi8]

NB-I have been advised to stop ALL B12 supplementation for several months before testing.

[Marz in reply to Naomi8]

Is it worth it ?

[Clutter in reply to Naomi8]

Naomi8,

If you want a baseline result you need to allow 4 months after last dose before testing to allow red blood cells to die off and renew.

If you want to see what your level is while supplementing just skip your B12 dose on the day of the blood draw.

[Gambit62 in reply to Clutter]

Sorry Clutter but not clear what tests we are talking about here.

a B12 serum baseline would mean not supplementing for at least 3 months and possibly even longer if supplementation has taken place - as it can take a lot longer than 3 months for excess B12 to cleared out of the blood completely.

Macrocytosis - enlarged and rounder red blood cells is a potential symptom of B12 deficiency, and folate deficiency but it is only a symptom and looking for macrocytosis isn't a direct test for B12 deficiency. Macrocytosis will take 4 months to correct completely as new red blood cells are only produced as old blood cells die - and the average life of a red blood cell is 4 months.

[Clutter in reply to Gambit62]

Gambit,

I was talking about baseline serum B12.