Test results

[Cade83]

Hey everyone, I received my test results today from Thriva and I’m just curious whether I should come down on my vitamin D like to dr said and also find a way to get less B12 as she said it’s too high but still be able to get folate as that’s normally low. Any suggestions would be great. Just to clarify I’m currently taking vitamin b complex and 4000iu vitamin d.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Cade43

As far as I'm concerned your Vit D level is perfect, as long as you feel fine with that level. The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L, with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health mentioning a study which recommends over 125nmol/L. According to the NHS lab which offers Vit D testing to the general public (City Assays at City Hospital, Birmingham), a Vit D level of 220nmol/L plus is where the risk of toxicity starts.

I last tested mine in October 2021 and my level was 148nmol/L so I've kept my supplement dose the same. I test the recommended twice a year (when supplementing) in October and April. My October one tends to be around the 130-145 mark, if my April one is any higher I drop off one day a week to bring my level down a bit because there's a very slight chance I may make some Vit D during the summer months, not much for me as I can't sit out in the sun but some people do make a good amount of Vit D in the summer and can reduce their dose quite a bit during the summer months.

Hopefully you're taking D3's important cofactors - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7.

As for your Active B12 level, it's so stupid when they say >150 because it's not giving you a result. One assumes that's as high as the testing equipment measures, which isn't a lot of help when the range actually goes up to 188. It could be 151 which would be fine, if it's over the top of the range of 188 then yes you'd probably want to reduce your dose.

As far as I am aware it's naturally high B12 without supplementing that can be a problem. If it's high due to supplements then excess should be excreted. If you want to try and reduce it all you can do is look for a good quality, bioavailable B Complex with a minimal amount of methylcobalamin B12 and a decent amount of methylfolate such as 400mcg.

[Cade83 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for your reply, could higher levels of vitamin d increase pvc’s as I seem to be getting more lately. Not as many as I was getting in January but certainly an increase. Apart from that I’m ok, still struggle with tiredness a little but not as much as i was when I was on 75mcg. I do take magnesium 200mg but I don’t take K2, I have heard it helps with vitamin d absorption but do I if it’s this high? I doubt I’ll find a b complex with minimal b12 and higher folate but I can try.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Cade83]

Cade83

could higher levels of vitamin d increase pvc’s

Sorry, don't know what that is.

I do take magnesium 200mg but I don’t take K2, I have heard it helps with vitamin d absorption but do I if it’s this high?

K2-mk7 doesn't aid absorption of D3. D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-mk7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissue where it can be deposited and cause problems such as calcification of arteries and kidney stones, etc. And I don't consider your Vit D level is "this high", it's a perfect level according to the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health.

I doubt I’ll find a b complex with minimal b12 and higher folate but I can try

There are some out there, it's just a case of spending time checking out the different brands, I'd start with Amazon as they have quite a lot but do choose one with methylfolate and methylcobalamin.

There is still some room to increase your Levo as your FT4 is currently 68% through range and FT3 is 62.07% through range. Maybe try a small increase, 12.5mcg extra daily could make a big difference.

[helvella Administrator in reply to SeasideSusie]

PCVs = Premature ventricular contractions

But I am not able to say anything about them!

[Cade83 in reply to SeasideSusie]

As helvella put PVCs are premature ventricular contractions or otherwise known as ectopic heart beats. It is a complex medical thing so not many people I guess would know much about them, even though a lot of people have them without knowing, but in most cases they are benign and nothing to worry about but I just wondered if there was a link.

I did not know that about K2-mk7 I will definitely get some. Is there a good brand on Amazon? I’ve never really heard that type before.

I’ll have a look on Amazon for a b complex.

I’m currently on 87.5mcg so possible to go up to 100mcg but I’ll see how this goes first.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Cade83]

Cade83

For Vit K2-MK7 I like Vitabay or Vegavero brands which contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid. Not aways easy to find as they're both German brands, can be found on Amazon or Ebay but they do go out of stock then there's a wait for new stock to arrive. It's possible to buy direct but the websites are in German. If the 100mcg isn't available I buy the 200mcg and take alternate days.

Amazon currently has the 200mcg dose capsules available so you could take one of these alternate days, there are 180 capsules so this would last almost a year - 360 days:

amazon.co.uk/VEGAVERO%C2%AE...

They also have an oil based liquid (different brand but just as good and pure) if you prefer, each drop is 20mcg so you would take 5 drops daily and that works out at 340 doses so again almost a year's worth:

amazon.co.uk/Menaquinone-Al...

90-100mcg K2-MK7 is enough for up to 10,000iu D3. It's a fat soluble vitamin like D3, so needs to be taken with some dietary fat if it's not an oil based supplement, so it's best taken at a different time to D3 otherwise they'll both compete for the available fat for absorption.

If looking for a combined D3/K2 supplement, this one has 3,000iu D3 and 50mcg K2-MK7. The company has told me the K2-MK7 is the Trans form

natureprovides.com/collecti...

It may also be available on Amazon. It's a slightly lower dose D3 than you're currently taking and the K2 is also lower.

Whilst on Amazon you might want to check out this food based B Complex which has only 24mcg B12 methylcobalamin yet 400mcg methylfolate

amazon.co.uk/NATURELO-Compl...

and this one by Time Health which is cheaper (and cheaper still if you buy from Time Health direct) which has 378mcg methylfolate and 3.9mcg methylcobalamin B12

amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-Comple...

timehealth.co.uk/product/b-...

[Cade83 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hey thank you so much, I got the naturelo b complex and vitamins d3 with k2 mk7 combined from tdn nutrition. Hopefully that’ll do the trick to level things out.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Cade83]

Your choice of course, but that form of K2-MK7 is not the bioavailable "trans" form, if it was it would say, so it will contain the unconverted "cis" form.

[Cade83 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Awe I could of swore it said 100% trans maybe it was the other one. I was looking at so many. I’ll ask and if they say no I’ll switch to the other one.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to Cade83]

Hi. I actually don’t think you can take vit k as it’s implemented in clotting. I actually asked this question on the MPV forum last week and a couple mentioned the k thing. You may want to check it out. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about it to be of further help, only to flag it up.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Yeswithasmile]

Yeswithasmile

There are two main forms of vitamin K:

Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone): Found in plant foods like leafy greens.

This is the blood clotting form, the one they give newborn babies to prevent a now rare bleeding disorder called 'vitamin K deficiency bleeding' (or 'haemorrhagic disease of the newborn'.

Vitamin K2 (menaquinone): Found in animal foods (high-fat dairy products from grass-fed cows, egg yolks, as well as liver and other organ meats) and fermented foods such as natto and sauerkraut.

This is the form that directs calcium to bones and teeth and away from soft tissues and arteries

Obviously everyone should do their own research to satisfy themselves.

[Yeswithasmile in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks SeasideSusie. I raised this issue with my mothers nurse. Mainly because the nurse said not to supplement vit d due to hydroxycarbamide. Hence my initial question this week on the MPV forum as it seem strange. I have started to look into it now but not enough and the haematologist says no to vit k full stop now. Trouble is I’m not present at the appointments 🙄. So I can’t ask exactly why.

[Beads]

A ‘natural’ way of upping your folate without increasing your B12 is yeast extract.Marmite isn’t gluten free, if that’s an issue, though Sainsbury’s reduced salt and Morrison’s brand both are. I have it with cheese spread on rice cakes, coz I’m a total heathen!

[Cade83]

I don’t think I’ve had calcium levels checked.

[Noelnoel]

I use a lot of Metabolics products (stopped using the D3/k2 as the wrong kind of k2 I think. SeasideSusie alerted me to this). The b complex liquid and separate folate liquid allow me to dose according to my needs, more or less. Use as many or as few drops as you like. They’re not the cheapest but good value ultimately as last for ages and the larger the quantity you buy the better value it becomes

Both my B12 and especially my folate levels are good now. There was a time when my B12 was at the very top of the range but folate low when taking just the B12 complex

[Roadrunnergreg]

Hi cade83 your vitamin D is excellent, 70-100 you have enough to make cathelicidins, cathelicidins are natures antimicrobial gobbling up bacteria viruses and fungus etc. 110-150 there's enough to protect you from several cancers, the bits that most doctors either don't know or don't want to tell us... seasidesusie gave good info...

Looking at your results it seems the issues that are high are tied back to the liver, could be inflammation, or liver damage by varying factors, I've included an article with info on it, maybe you can see a cause for the problem/s in your lifestyle.

webmd.com/digestive-disorde...

Hope that helps you