A follower sent me this Question:
I has just received my lab results indicating high levels of Vitamin B12. I was sitting at my desk looking at my phone with the lab results on display. suddenly I see the results loaded and I got elevated vitamin B12 which is something made me confused, is high vitamin B12 range a bad thing or just fine because I received a lot of supplementations this month but I was convinced that vitamin supplementations are good for health but didn't expect that too much vitamins can cause harmful side effect, please explain this argument carefully.
Answers:
It’s great that you’re proactive about your health! Vitamin B12 is essential for many bodily functions, but like many things, balance is key.
According to medical textbooks, elevated levels of Vitamin B12, like the 1,419 pg/mL shown in your test results, can sometimes be a sign of underlying health conditions such as liver or kidney disease, or certain types of leukemia. However, if you’ve been taking a lot of supplements recently, this could also explain the high levels without serious illness.
While Vitamin B12 is generally considered safe and non-toxic, excessive supplementation can sometimes lead to side effects like dizziness, headache, anxiety, and even more serious issues if there are another underlying health conditions.
Take care! Too much of any medicine can potentially cause harm. It’s always best to follow the recommended dosage and talk with your doctor or pharmacist especially if you’re taking multiple supplements to ensure you are not overdoing it.
If you were asking what's the benefit of taking Vitamin B12? it's optimum levels are crucial for nerve cells processes and involving in producing DNA and red blood cells.
According to the lab results inside image, the normal range for Vitamin B12 is between 211 and 911 pg/mL. If your levels fall within this range without any illness or taking supplements, it generally indicates that your body has an adequate amount of Vitamin B12 to support body essential functions (also called Vitamin B12 level is satisfactory). And of course within this range typically you will not experience symptoms related to Vitamin B12 deficiency, such as fatigue, weakness, or neurological issues.
When your Vitamin B12 levels are below 211 pg/mL (the lower normal limit), it called a deficiency in medical terms. below this level you probably experience anemia, nerve damage, and cognitive difficulties. Symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency can include fatigue, weakness, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating on daily life. It's recommended to address the causes of low Vitamin B12 levels through increasing dietary meals or supplements to prevent long-term bad health experience.
But, according to your lab results that are seen on the image, your Vitamin B12 level is 1,419 pg/mL (with a red line or H letter), which is significantly higher than the nominated normal range which can be called Elevated levels of Vitamin B12 in medical books.
Some diseases can cause increased Vitamin B12 than the nominated upper limit such as liver disease, kidney disease, or certain types of leukemia. However, high Vitamin B12 levels above the normal range can also result from excessive intake of supplementation or rarely due to excessive dietary intake. You may or may not experience any health changes.
Certain types of tumors and cancers that can cause side effects such as too much vitamin B12 in the lab results include:
Breast cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer which called solid neoplasms
Leukemia and lymphoma Cancers that affect the blood cells in the bone marrow and lymph nodes which cause improper production and release of vitamin B12 as a bone marrow and lymph node interruption to misuse by cancerous cells. You may see high platelets and very low hemoglobin in your lab results.
When cancer spreads to the liver from other parts of the body, it can cause elevated Vit. B12 and doctors consider that as Liver Metastases.
Recommendations:
- You may retest Vitamin B12 blood test again in a trustworthy medical laboratories to make sure there's no technical errors and the first lab result is correct.
- Take blood tests for Liver function test, kidney function test including eGFR test and complete blood count in order to ensure there's no other disease that elevate your vitamin B12 over the upper normal range. Also Ultrasound on abdomen may be needed.
- If there's no error in final lab results and all other lab test results seen within normal ranges, then you must stop your supplements to let your body vitamin B12 stabilize to the healthy required levels.
- Finally, you may consult a diet specialist if you did all the above constructions and still have abnormal serum vitamin B12
you can send your results too and get a free pro interpretations.
