High Levels of Vitamin B12 and Ferritin: Any pointers?

Hi there,
I'm curious if anyone might have some pointers for me.
I received my ferritin results 10 weeks ago - the result was 23. My B12 at that time was around 700 (I was supplementing B12 for a time before that but not a high dose and not consistently).
My doctor suggested 150 mg of elemental iron once a day which I have been taking since.
9 weeks later I had another blood test. This time my ferritin is reported as 138. My Vitamin B12 is now at 1400. (I had stopped individual B12 supplementation after discovering it was at 700, but there is a small dose included in my 150 mg iron pill).
I don't have obesity, thryoid issues, diabetes or fatty liver.
I'm not sure what to make of this as I assume my readings are way too elevated. I must have an underlying condition? Any pointers about what to explore next?
Thanks so much.

Hi there,
I'm curious if anyone might have some pointers for me.
I received my ferritin results 10 weeks ago - the result was 23. My B12 at that time was around 700 (I was supplementing B12 for a time before that but not a high dose and not consistently).
My doctor suggested 150 mg of elemental iron once a day which I have been taking since.
9 weeks later I had another blood test. This time my ferritin is reported as 138. My Vitamin B12 is now at 1400. (I had stopped individual B12 supplementation after discovering it was at 700, but there is a small dose included in my 150 mg iron pill).
I don't have obesity, thryoid issues, diabetes or fatty liver.
I'm not sure what to make of this as I assume my readings are way too elevated. I must have an underlying condition? Any pointers about what to explore next?
Thanks so much.

Hi there,
I'm curious if anyone might have some pointers for me.
I received my ferritin results 10 weeks ago - the result was 23. My B12 at that time was around 700 (I was supplementing B12 for a time before that but not a high dose and not consistently).
My doctor suggested 150 mg of elemental iron once a day which I have been taking since.
9 weeks later I had another blood test. This time my ferritin is reported as 138. My Vitamin B12 is now at 1400. (I had stopped individual B12 supplementation after discovering it was at 700, but there is a small dose included in my 150 mg iron pill).
I don't have obesity, thryoid issues, diabetes or fatty liver.
I'm not sure what to make of this as I assume my readings are way too elevated. I must have an underlying condition? Any pointers about what to explore next?
Thanks so much.

Hi @canada1223, Your ferritin level at 138 is well within the normal range. It’s a safe bet that it raised since your last blood test because of the iron supplements. Ferritin is a blood protein that contains iron. A ferritin test helps your doctor understand how much iron your body stores.

If a ferritin test reveals that your blood ferritin level is lower than normal, it indicates your body's iron stores are low and you have iron deficiency. As a result, you could be anemic. Normal readings for women are 11 to 307 micrograms per liter and for men, it’s 24 to 336 micrograms per liter.

When your reading was at 23 it was in the low normal range for a female and below the norm if you’re a male, so your doctor has you on supplements to get you within a comfortable range. I’ve posted a link below that helps explain the importance of ferritin/iron in our bodies.
https://www.newhealthadvisor.org/Causes-of-High-Ferritin.html
Vitamin B12 is a water soluable vitamin so it is readily removed from the body. If a reading is high and you’re not taking suppliments, that can be cause for concern for a liver condition. However, even by taking a minor suppliment and then having let’s say, a steak which is high in Vitamin B-12, that can increase the level in your blood for a short time. Most of the B12 gets flushed out in the urine; the rest is absorbed in the liver, kidneys and muscle tissues.

The standard reference range for B12 is 200 to 700 ppl. While an optimum range is 500 to 1300 ppl. There’s no evidence that Vit B12 does harm to the body. Now, if you are not taking suppliments and that level is high, then that can be an issue. But you are taking suppliments and there is Vit B-12 in a healthy diet.

In my opinion, I’d stop looking for answers with Dr Google and adding to your anxiety. ☺️ It’s easy to have another blood test run in a couple of months to ease your mind. Your doctor can run a liver panel to make sure there is no underlying source of concern. Have you asked your doctor about your results? What do they say?

Hi Lori, if you do your medical research on Google correctly, you might find that what you never knew may save your life, it did mine, twice. Don’t look for the correct answer, ask the correct questions, that will lead you to the correct answer.

Back in 2019, I noticed something was wrong with my CBC. The numbers didn’t seem right but my doctors and pcp just fluffed it off like it was my imagination. I’m my own health activist and began my research on Dr Google. After reading material from the top 5 hospitals in the United States, for hours and hours, I was ready to present my case to my new pcp. I told him that there were 5 problems I had that I wanted him to check out. Blood was immediately drown and within 48 hours I got a phone call from my local hospital’s cancer clinic. They wanted me to be seen by an Oncologist and Hematologist immediately. Those numbers in my old CBC that nobody saw anything wrong, Dr Google led me to the correct answer. What had I discovered I had, a precancerous condition known as MGUS. Yes, that’s correct and so was my research. At present in 2022, my bad guys that I noticed in 2019, are progressing in my body to be full blown cancer in my near future.

Case #2: It’s August 2021, I’m having serious trouble that 3 of my cardiologist keep overlooking. It’s the 2nd problem of the original 5 I was concerned about. My cardiologist don’t know why I’ve had 3 heart attacks without exertion. I told them I could shovel 15” of snow away from my car without a problem. But just walk down the hallway in my high rise building and BAMM, a first class heart attack. They’re just scratching there heads and have no clue why! So I decide to see Dr Google instead. It’s a challenge all right but after nearly 50 hours of research, I found the correct answer. Ever hear of WPW? It stands for Wolff, Parkinson, White Syndrome a heart condition that can be very fatal. It seems there’s a short circuit of heart cells from the SA Node to the AV Node in my right Atrial Chamber. When a misfire happens, the signal to squeeze the right ventricle and we’re off to the races. Btw, there’s a regular pathway that’s also sending a signal to the right ventricle to squeeze. This creates Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia, my heart’s racing at 197 bpm. I’ll be dead if it cannot be stopped. In comes the correct answer from Dr Google, I need to be seen by an Electrophysiologist, a what you say? They’re a cardiologist specialist that deals with the electrical wiring of the heart. They’re very difficult to get an appointment with, so my pcp (same one as the blood) devise a plan. Lots of prep work, test results, exterior heart monitor. To shorten this, I now have a $25,000 loop heart monitor emplaned under my left breast. My heart is monitored 24/7 from the company that makes the monitor and my doctor receives a daily report of any activity happening to my heart. So once again Dr Google, thank you for leading me out of that rabbit hole and saving my life, twice.

Now for #3, with over 100 hours of research done, I’m working on the progression of my blood and which rare form of cancer I’m heading for, NHL or WM. I have to wait and see if it’ll be a 1 in a million rare form or the 1 in a 3.5 million very rare form. Only time will tell Lori, if my 1 in a million rare heart birth defect doesn’t kill me first.

It’s great that Dr Google has been a beneficial aide for you with some of your unique medical conditions. Your due diligence paid off. But for the majority of people who are looking for answers with relatively uncomplicated issues, it can have them searching for zebras instead of horses when they hear hoof beats.

Hi Lori, if you do your medical research on Google correctly, you might find that what you never knew may save your life, it did mine, twice. Don’t look for the correct answer, ask the correct questions, that will lead you to the correct answer.

Back in 2019, I noticed something was wrong with my CBC. The numbers didn’t seem right but my doctors and pcp just fluffed it off like it was my imagination. I’m my own health activist and began my research on Dr Google. After reading material from the top 5 hospitals in the United States, for hours and hours, I was ready to present my case to my new pcp. I told him that there were 5 problems I had that I wanted him to check out. Blood was immediately drown and within 48 hours I got a phone call from my local hospital’s cancer clinic. They wanted me to be seen by an Oncologist and Hematologist immediately. Those numbers in my old CBC that nobody saw anything wrong, Dr Google led me to the correct answer. What had I discovered I had, a precancerous condition known as MGUS. Yes, that’s correct and so was my research. At present in 2022, my bad guys that I noticed in 2019, are progressing in my body to be full blown cancer in my near future.

Case #2: It’s August 2021, I’m having serious trouble that 3 of my cardiologist keep overlooking. It’s the 2nd problem of the original 5 I was concerned about. My cardiologist don’t know why I’ve had 3 heart attacks without exertion. I told them I could shovel 15” of snow away from my car without a problem. But just walk down the hallway in my high rise building and BAMM, a first class heart attack. They’re just scratching there heads and have no clue why! So I decide to see Dr Google instead. It’s a challenge all right but after nearly 50 hours of research, I found the correct answer. Ever hear of WPW? It stands for Wolff, Parkinson, White Syndrome a heart condition that can be very fatal. It seems there’s a short circuit of heart cells from the SA Node to the AV Node in my right Atrial Chamber. When a misfire happens, the signal to squeeze the right ventricle and we’re off to the races. Btw, there’s a regular pathway that’s also sending a signal to the right ventricle to squeeze. This creates Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia, my heart’s racing at 197 bpm. I’ll be dead if it cannot be stopped. In comes the correct answer from Dr Google, I need to be seen by an Electrophysiologist, a what you say? They’re a cardiologist specialist that deals with the electrical wiring of the heart. They’re very difficult to get an appointment with, so my pcp (same one as the blood) devise a plan. Lots of prep work, test results, exterior heart monitor. To shorten this, I now have a $25,000 loop heart monitor emplaned under my left breast. My heart is monitored 24/7 from the company that makes the monitor and my doctor receives a daily report of any activity happening to my heart. So once again Dr Google, thank you for leading me out of that rabbit hole and saving my life, twice.

Now for #3, with over 100 hours of research done, I’m working on the progression of my blood and which rare form of cancer I’m heading for, NHL or WM. I have to wait and see if it’ll be a 1 in a million rare form or the 1 in a 3.5 million very rare form. Only time will tell Lori, if my 1 in a million rare heart birth defect doesn’t kill me first.

Hi there,
I'm curious if anyone might have some pointers for me.
I received my ferritin results 10 weeks ago - the result was 23. My B12 at that time was around 700 (I was supplementing B12 for a time before that but not a high dose and not consistently).
My doctor suggested 150 mg of elemental iron once a day which I have been taking since.
9 weeks later I had another blood test. This time my ferritin is reported as 138. My Vitamin B12 is now at 1400. (I had stopped individual B12 supplementation after discovering it was at 700, but there is a small dose included in my 150 mg iron pill).
I don't have obesity, thryoid issues, diabetes or fatty liver.
I'm not sure what to make of this as I assume my readings are way too elevated. I must have an underlying condition? Any pointers about what to explore next?
Thanks so much.

Hi there,
I'm curious if anyone might have some pointers for me.
I received my ferritin results 10 weeks ago - the result was 23. My B12 at that time was around 700 (I was supplementing B12 for a time before that but not a high dose and not consistently).
My doctor suggested 150 mg of elemental iron once a day which I have been taking since.
9 weeks later I had another blood test. This time my ferritin is reported as 138. My Vitamin B12 is now at 1400. (I had stopped individual B12 supplementation after discovering it was at 700, but there is a small dose included in my 150 mg iron pill).
I don't have obesity, thryoid issues, diabetes or fatty liver.
I'm not sure what to make of this as I assume my readings are way too elevated. I must have an underlying condition? Any pointers about what to explore next?
Thanks so much.