Posted by Patient on March 3, 2003, at 7:09:00
In reply to Re: Not able to empty bladder-anticholinergic, posted by noa on March 1, 2003, at 22:34:17
That is quite unusual compared to one being deficient in B12. I would also find it strange that suddenly the test shows a very high increase in B12. It can be high in certain blood disorders, as well as obesity. If I were the doctor I would want to make sure a glitch didn't happen with the test, as well as test your gastrointestinal mucoprotein intrinsic factor-this helps one to absorb vitamin B12. Many people with malabsorption problems have problems with deficient intrinsic factor that they do not absorb B12 readily--that is why I suggested a sublingual form of B12, which absorbs through your mucosa in your mouth-that way, bypassing the stomach.
It could be the fish oil. One of the largest amounts of B12 source is seafood.
The intrinsic factor is part of the gastric juices and assists in absorption by binding to vitamin B-12, which helps attach the vitamin to a receptor in the membranes of the lower small intestine. The vitamin is then transported into the cells. Vitamin B-12 is transported in the bloodstream bound to transcobalamin 1 and 11. In this way it circulates to the tissues, and is concentrated in the liver and, to some extent, the kidneys. Vitamin B-12 is then released as needed to other tissues of the body and to bone marrow. I would think if it is in your blood serum, then it is available to cells, but I'm not certain--I would ask your doctor certainly about this. Vitamin B 12 is not normally part of a general blood test. Are you getting it tested due to anemia?
Water-soluble vitamins in excess tend to be excreted in the urine, rather than stored in the tissues as are fat-soluble vitamins. The body stores up to one year's worth of vitamin B12 in the liver, kidneys, and heart.
The next time I was tested I would stop the fish oil supplements a week or two prior to testing, just to see if this would make a difference. Tell you doctor that you are taking them, as they should know more about this.
poster:Patient
thread:204632
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030301/msgs/205464.html