Malabsorption of Vitamins? High serum levels

[Briswife15 889]

I'm waiting to hear from my doctor, but was wondering if anyone has has very high serum levels of Vitamin B12 and Folate, and if that might mean my body is not absorbing tham? Reading on the Internet there are some scary reasons for high B12, but I'm hoping it is circulating in my blood because my body can't utilize it. Thank you!

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[FluffyChix 17,409]

When did you take your B12 prior to your bloodwork?

[Losingit2018 1,170]

Following

i do know that we are not supposed to take B12 unless confirmed low for non bariatric patients.

I wAs only taking it once a week or so with sleeve. I feel sure that when I see my dr for first time after revision to bypass he is going to tell me to take it daily. It can build up and cause issues if not needed. I plan to talk to him about that.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Losingit2018

[FluffyChix 17,409]

5 minutes ago, Losingit2018 said:

Following

i do know that we are not supposed to take B12 unless confirmed low for non bariatric patients.

I wAs only taking it once a week or so with sleeve. I feel sure that when I see my dr for first time after revision to bypass he is going to tell me to take it daily. It can build up and cause issues if not needed. I plan to talk to him about that.

As an RNY I'm supposed to take 500mg of B12 daily.

But if you take it even the day before, most of us will have high levels circulating in our blood. And bari surgeons aren't super concerned. Mine is always high and I stop my vits 3 days before testing. The RD said, they see that in the majority of patients and generally isn't anything to worry about.

[Briswife15 889]

When did you take your B12 prior to your bloodwork?

Him. 3 days before the test.

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[Briswife15 889]

As an RNY I'm supposed to take 500mg of B12 daily.
But if you take it even the day before, most of us will have high levels circulating in our blood. And bari surgeons aren't super concerned. Mine is always high and I stop my vits 3 days before testing. The RD said, they see that in the majority of patients and generally isn't anything to worry about.

What kind of high levels are you talking about? My Folate was off the charts, too. I'll wait and see how concerned they are. My understanding is that excess B12 is excreted in the urine, and that high B12 is not very common. Hoping you're right!

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[catwoman7 10,843]

I take B12 since I"m an RNY patient. My levels are always at or above 1000 - and one time was over 2000. My surgeon and his PA just shrugged. I don't think high B12 is usually a problem (unless like you said there's some underlying issue that's causing it - other than too much supplementation?).

a lot of long-time RNY patients like their B12 levels above 1000 - they don't feel as good when it drops below.

you can always ask your clinic - but it may not be a problem. The PA at my surgeon's office said I could cut back on my dosage a bit when my level got over 2000 - but he never said having that high a level was problematic.

[FluffyChix 17,409]

11 hours ago, Briswife15 said:

What kind of high levels are you talking about? My Folate was off the charts, too. I'll wait and see how concerned they are. My understanding is that excess B12 is excreted in the urine, and that high B12 is not very common. Hoping you're right!

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Here's my chart of B12

(I cut back on the dosage a bit cuz I forget to take 'em and rolled it into my B-Complex vitamin.)

Here's my Folate Chart

Here's my B6 Chart

Here's my B1 Chart

As @catwoman7 mentioned, it is not unusual for bariatric patients to have skewed Vitamin levels - especially of the B Vitamins. My doc has never mentioned anything to me about my B12 or Folate levels being dangerous. When I was low on B1 and B6 and Potassium, we supplemented until the levels came back to norm. But I did it under doc's care.

[Briswife15 889]

Thanks! My GP says my levels are so high, 2000, because I have deficiencies. Im going to ask bari surgeon if I need B12 injections because it's obvious my body is not absorbing it.

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[catwoman7 10,843]

13 minutes ago, Briswife15 said:

Thanks! My GP says my levels are so high, 2000, because I have deficiencies. Im going to ask bari surgeon if I need B12 injections because it's obvious my body is not absorbing it.

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that doesn't sound right - mine was that high because my body didn't require as much B12 as I was taking, so I had to cut back. But then he/she is a GP, not me, so... Ask your surgeon. They see those kinds of things a lot. When mine got that high, my surgeon wasn't alarmed, but he said I could cut back quite a bit on my dosage.

[2Bsmaller18 435]

Mine was tested 6 months post and said over 2000. I don’t even have the exact number. It was from lab Corp. my surgeon wasn’t concerned. I was under the impression that the excess just gets peed out. I can’t cut back on mine since I take one bari Multivitamin (Pro care brand) with everything in it.

[2Bsmaller18 435]

I think I skipped it just the night before the test.

[Losingit2018 1,170]

7 hours ago, Briswife15 said:

Thanks! My GP says my levels are so high, 2000, because I have deficiencies. Im going to ask bari surgeon if I need B12 injections because it's obvious my body is not absorbing it.

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That makes sense. I saw your post in another thread and all of those symptoms pointed to deficiency.

So since you are not absorbing, they are high in your blood?

[Briswife15 889]

Well, now I'm confused because my GP says it is indicative of a deficiency, yet the bariatric nurse says to cut back on the B12! The Internet is no help either. I don't know who to believe and bariatric nurse said to go to GP for follow up anf management.

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[catwoman7 10,843]

43 minutes ago, Briswife15 said:

Well, now I'm confused because my GP says it is indicative of a deficiency, yet the bariatric nurse says to cut back on the B12! The Internet is no help either. I don't know who to believe and bariatric nurse said to go to GP for follow up anf management.

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when I had that issue (B12 level over 2000), the bariatric clinic told me to cut back on my dosage - they said I was oversupplementing. They see vitamin-related issues a lot - probably a lot more than a GP does - so I'd be inclined to believe them. You could always cut back and they can test your levels again later.