The vitamin B12 level is a blood test that measures how much vitamin B12 is in your blood.
How the Test is Performed?
A blood sample is needed. At SOUTH PUNJAB LAB this test is done by ROCHE SPECIAL CHEMISTRY.
How to Prepare for the Test?
You should not eat or drink for about 6 to 8 hours before the test.
Certain medicines may affect the results of this test. Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines. DO NOT stop any medicine before talking to your provider.
Medicines that can affect the test result include:
Colchicine
Neomycin
Para-aminosalicylic acid
Phenytoin
How the Test will Feel?
When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain. Others feel only a prick or stinging. Afterward, there may be some throbbing or a slight bruise. This soon goes away.
Why the Test is Performed?
This test is most often done when other blood tests suggest a condition called megaloblastic anemia. Pernicious anemiais a form of megaloblastic anemia caused by poor vitamin B12 absorption. This can occur when the stomach makes less of the substance the body needs to properly absorb vitamin B12.
Your provider may also recommend a vitamin B12 test if you have certain nervous system symptoms. A low level of B12 can cause numbness or tingling in the arms and legs, weakness, and loss of balance.
Other conditions for which the test may be done include:
Nerve abnormalities, such as peripheral neuropathy
Normal Results
Normal values are 160 to 950 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL), or 118 to 701 picomoles per liter (pmol/L).
Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or may test different samples. Talk to your provider about what your specific test results mean.
What do Abnormal Results mean?
Values of less than 160 pg/mL (118 pmol/L) are a possible sign of a vitamin B12 deficiency. People with this deficiency are likely to have or develop symptoms.
Older adults with a vitamin B12 level less than 100 pg/mL (74 pmol/L) may also have symptoms. Deficiency should be confirmed by checking the level of a substance in the blood called methylmalonic acid. A high level indicates a true B12 deficiency.
Causes of vitamin B12 deficiency include:
Not enough vitamin B12 in diet (rare, except with a strict vegetarian diet)
