Hi Missy,
Your B12 level should be *at a minimum* 500, preferably higher, and hematocrit is not a measure of any B12 deficiency. The Japanese consider one is B12 deficient if they are below 500. And that test is not the most reliable anyway. The gold standard is the MMA urine test (methymalonic acid) and has the least numbers of false positives or false negatives.

And hematocrit also is not a good measure of iron deficiency either. Serum ferritin is the best as it measures your storage iron. One can have symptoms of iron deficiency with a low ferritin even though it hasn't yet progressed to outright anemia, which would then be reflected in the HCT.

So I would suggest you ask for the urinary MMA and also a serum ferritin level

Thanks for the response. I had heard these things myself, which is why I am continuing to take the sublingual B12. In the past, my ferritin level has been abysmally low -- 10, as I recall. My former doctor put me on iron supplements for eight weeks then we retested. It went up to 18. I stopped taking the supplements since they didn't seem to make a whit of difference. My doc said some people just can't build up their iron.

With such low iron stores, low B12, deficient Vitamin D -- I'm wondering what the heck else I could be deficient in, and whether there's some reason I can't seem to hang onto nutrients.

I have been tested for celiac and that is negative.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Missy

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a host of symptoms.I was diagnosed with Vit B12 deficiency a year ago. I had to have 8 vitamin B 12 injections to bring my level up and take folic acid supplements for 4 months. The deficiency can cause tingling sensations,a sore tongue/mouth/bleeding gums, ringing in the ears and rarely digestive problems i.e. heartburn. I got checked out by a consultant and felt a lot better after the injections. You have to keep monitoring your B12 levels every 3 months by blood test after that. Mine have been Ok but I'm due another test next week. the tingling has crept back & so has the ringing in the ears....think I might be due for another injection! I posted this for the information of others as I have noticed that a lot of you suffer from tingling and this can be a symptom of deficiency and NOT anxiety.....I had been wrongly diagnosed with anxiety when it was Vit B12 deficiency all along. Get your blood tests done girls.

Thanks for the note. Do you know what your levels were? From what I understand, there's difference of opinion about what constitutes a deficiency. Missy

Hi Everyone,

Is anyone knowledgeable about B12? A few months ago I crashed with a lot of varying symptoms, many of them neurological. I asked my doc to check my B12 levels (I have been deficient in the past) but she said no, that if I had a B12 deficiency I would be anemic and she had already verified that my hematacrit was normal.

I started taking sublingual B12, anyway, one of the many things I've been trying to help myself feel better. That is slowly happening, although I still feel pretty crappy and depressed about how I feel physically, especially this week as I'm pre-menstrual.

Two weeks ago, when I finally got into the gastroenterologist my doc referred me to because part of my symptom profile included digestive issues, he checked my B12 level of his own accord. He called me to say it was normal at 379. However, I know (he doesn't) that I'd been taking B12 supplements for 4 weeks before the test was done. For a few of those weeks, it was the sub lingual 1000 mcg a day variety that are supposed to be equivalent to shots -- then I switched to a B-complex supplement which I swallow. Now I'm taking both.

I'm not sure how much my B12 could have gone up from taking the sublingual and other supplements for a month, but I'm certainly thinking it went up some, so I'm wondering whether I did have a deficiency. I've also been reading that some people get symptoms even with low normal B12 levels.

Meanwhile, after finally convincing my doc to do a Vitamin D test I have found I have a deficiency there. So I'm taking these vitamins, but feel like I'm kind of shooting in the dark with the B12. Just doing my own research, and as we know the internet isn't always reliable.

Guess I'm just looking for people's ideas and knowledge about B12. Do folks think that vitamin deficiencies can interact with peri-menopause issues, etc. etc.

Thanks,
Missy

I take b-12 injections every two weeks. I think that it boost you immune system. By the way, I found this site that I thought had good information. http://www.doctoryourself.com/nasal.html

Years back, I used to use a prescrip. nasal gel. This site shows you how to make it yourself. I am taking a lot of supplements including bio hormones. I think that the combination of everything at once is causing me to feel great and my body to heal. Hmmmmmmm....time for a handful of pills! LOL!

Best wishes,
Shebee

Oh, I take D-3, too. I read where taking D-3 can kill many virus pathogens within 3 days.