Hello everyone, I've been lurking here for a while and have learned a lot, so thanks to everyone. But this is my first post. I have Hashimoto's and seem to always have high levels of ferritine and B12 in my blood. Lately though, I have been giving blood regularly and this seems to have brought ferritine levels down. My latest results are:
Ferritine 79 (normal levels 13-150)
B12 2000 (normal levels 191-663)!!!!
The B12 has been flagged up as "super-high" but without any further comment.
I have asked doctors about this two or three times and they don't seem worried, but equally they can't tell me why it's happening or what, if anything, I can do about it. I understand that Hashimoto's can result in a lack of B12 but I seem to have the opposite problem!! Should I be worried?
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Well, let’s start with the obvious. I take it you aren’t
(a) taking a multivitamin which contains lots of B12
(b) taking a Vitamin B complex supplement which contains lots of B12, or
(c) taking B12 on its own, either as a tablet or a spray? Or an injection?
If not, do you eat a lot of liver, offal, pate?
If that’s still a “no”… has your doctor tested your liver function? Because (and don’t panic because if you feel ok you’re probably fine) high B12 can sometimes be a sign of liver problems.
Would be worth asking for liver function tests, just to make sure. Don’t be surprised if your doctor doesn’t know it’s a possibility. I remember suggesting to my husband’s doctor that high B12 could indicate liver problems and getting a very puzzled look in return. (Turned out I was right—but hubby was also seriously ill at the time).
No B12 supplements (I actively avoid them because my levels are already high) and not much consumption of liver, offal or pate. I might ask for liver function tests then, thank you.
If your B12 is high but your folate is low, please note that the body needs adequate levels of folate in order to make use of B12. Also, in connection with that statement, be aware that folic acid is artificial (no human had ever taken it before 1943) and needs to be converted in the body into an active form of folate before the body can make use of it. Some people have high levels of folate in blood testing, but it may actually be a sign of high levels of folic acid which the body can't use because their bodies can't convert it to folate.
Title : The Little Known (But Crucial) Difference Between Folate and Folic Acid
My B12 and Folate levels have always both been top of the range and often higher. I think it’s because these vitamins are higher in blood serum as they aren’t utilised as efficiently in our cells. There’s numerous genetic tests such as DNA health that can reveal genetic SNPs or polymorphisms in our genes. I plan to do one at some point.
Elevated serum Ferritin would definitely need a full iron panel. Too much iron is toxic and needs to be investigated.
This post by the very insightful Dr Eric Balcavage explains why:
Hi there, not much to add I’m afraid, but I posted something similar a while ago. My B12 had suddenly shot up on private blood tests without any kind of supplementation or change to diet. I haven’t managed to do a test since so would be interested to see this and plan to do one soon. Do update me if you get any answers 😊 best of luck x
Hi! Some years back my very good gp at that time told me that I had the bloodwork of a very healthy vegetarian. But I felt absolutely terrible. Confusion, chronic fatigue, weight gain, foot pain, shortness of breath. The only things that seemed odd in my labs as I puzzled over them was extremely high levels of b12 and folic acid. So I researched and found that there is a gene that inhibits the use of b12 (cyanocobalamin) in the body and so it keeps building up.
I did genetic testing through 23andme and sure enough, I had the gene. I looked at the work of dr amy yasko online and used her chart to figure out the combination of bioactive b12's i needed. after i began taking both (hydroxocobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, sublinguals i get through amazon) i felt 75 percent cured!
and i had not been able to get out of bed for more than two or three hours a day for a long time, so this was a very big deal. and my next labs showed my b12 (after several months of the bioactive b12 supplementation), to be much lower, in a healthy range...best wishes, victoria
I'm glad that Pecantrees mentioned the genetic condition related to high B-12 levels. I believe it is related to the "lack of clearance" mentioned in the article link Humanbean posted. It's certainly preferable to my experience.Two studies in Norway indicated a correlation between high B-12 levels and increased risk of colon cancer. When a colon mass was discovered, my B-12 was double the high end of the lab range; following surgery my B-12 dropped to mid-range levels within days. My surgeon said he sees this all the time.
Not to scare you but just to show the importance of not brushing off your finding and determining the cause.
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