High B12 in child

[tiokiko]

DD (9) has been very tired for a while, very low energy, very pale with dark circles under her eyes, sensitive to cold and has had headaches and a low-level sore throat for weeks.

She's had blood tests at GP and is generally in terms of iron, blood count, thyroid etc but has very high B12 (over 2000 - not measured as off the scale).

GP said there's no problem with high B12 and it's prob caused by the kids multivitamin that she takes each day. I've since Googled and can see that high B12 can be a significant problem - can a multivit designed for kids (gives 120% RDA for B12) really cause such a high level?

@IB2015 It’s mandatary to be off any form of B12 supplements for 4 months before the test. Otherwise the results don’t mean anything.

Hi. GP replied to me. I had mentioned she is on the multivitamins and he said.

Ahhh… that explains it. If she is supplementing nothing to worry about. Please stop the vitamins.

He will re check her levels again but was pretty reassuring and did not seem worried at all.

Ok. So according to that range, the result is normal for a kid that age. And it also mentions that supplementation might be a cause. Thank you for posting that.

@IB2015 that’s reassuring ! can i ask you what’s the amount of B12 does she have on the multivitamins and for how long did your daughter take it ? I would like to compare with my son’s multivitamins with a very small amount if B12

She took multivitamins since she was a baby but these particular ones for the last 4 years. Not sure if you can see picture attached. I’ve regularly asked when I found myself at GP for different reasons if multivitamins are ok to be taken long term. They always said yes they are.

They also say take 1-2 gummies. I’ve always given her just one.

Just got the reports for my son. His B12 levels are 769 pmol/L. I’m told it’s quite elevated.
Can anyone please shed some light on this.
The gp said he will have to consult with a paediatrician but they are taking very long to do anything and my anxiety is just soaring.

Hi. A while ago my daughters b12 bloods came back elevated. The dr said we will refer you to the children’s hospital. The dr didn’t understand what these levels meant. So, I decided to Google it. Big mistake.
after reading awful stories in google, I decided to take her privately.
The specialist decided to repeat all the bloods again. He called us back the following day and explained that as her other tests were in range there was no cause for concern. He also said they didnt know why some kids have elevated levels of b12. She was also taking vitamins at the time.

By doing a search and getting this

( Normal values are 160 to 950 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL), or 118 to 701 picomoles per liter (pmol/L). ),

looks like your son’s values are slightly above the upper limit. Search says normal values are 118 to 701 picomoles per liter (pmol/L). My daughters came back elevated 1200 with test range stating 700 as the upper limit.

Thanks for replying. I was told by the GP that 569 pmol/L is the upper limit for B12 and it is a bit concerning that his reading were 769. He is going to refer to a paediatrician, whenever that happens. If I do not hear back from the GP then I am just going to ask for a referral to go private. DS was not on any supplements at the time of blood test. He seems fine generally, does get the colds cough quite a bit.
The trouble is the system works so slow so as a parent all we do is worry.

Oh I see.That makes sense. Please comeback with updates.

Hi did you ever find out the reason for elevated b12? Currently going through the same. Thanks!

No. Nothing so far. We only found this at the beginning of November. GP said not to worry and to stop the vitamins for now. He said he will repeat blood test but will leave it about 6 weeks. He will also contact the paediatrician as she was also recently diagnosed with celiac disease to see if it’s related. But no one seems to be concerned so far. I will see how far I get with GP and I might try to go private to a haematologist if I don’t get any reassuring answers, just to double check.

Does your child drink a lot of milk? Mine has dairy free one with fortified vitamins so I’ve stopped that hoping it’s something like that causing it, her multivitamins don’t contain b12

No. My kid doesn’t really like to drink milk so she doesn’t have it that often. However she would eat cheese sometimes but I wouldn’t say a lot. I thought of her diet myself as a cause , and fortified products. because gluten free diet products can be fortified, but couldn’t yet identify exactly what.

I was contacted by the GP after he consulted with the paediatrician. Apparently he reckons we just need to monitor and repeat the blood test in Jan. Because his other blood test parameters have come back normal it’s nothing to worry about at the moment. I also checked if I could give him eggs, spinach, cheese etc and he said that I should because these foods have lot more other benefits than just the b12.

We have just been given the same advice and repeating bloods in Jan. Keep being told high b12 can be normal at their age so hopefully nothing to worry about will just check it’s not getting any higher

Hi my sons bloods results came back few days ago and I’ve been told his B12 levels are high and was told it’s nothing to worry about and they will re do bloods in 3 months. I made the big mistake of goggling and thinking the worst. After reading the posts on here it seems many children have high B12 as I’ve always heard of b12 being low. Really hoping it’s nothing serious as I’m just constantly on edge

We redid bloods the only adjustment we did in her diet was stopping the oat milk which had fortified b12 in. Gone from 1750 to 900 in 2 weeks. Milk has natural b12 look into diet that’s all we changed.

I am glad it went down. Can i ask you what B12 amount was in the oat milk ?

0.38µg (15%*) per 100ml

hi,
My 12 year old daughter B12 is high for 8 months and had 3 blood test first time around 1100 second time 1310 and now 1254

kidney liver function bone profile white blood count all good, this time iron level was low a bit

does anyone have any experience or advice

Read through the thread but the short version is nobody (parents or doctors) have come across any reason to worry about this as an isolated finding.

Hi. I have posted here previously. I have consulted with dietitian, as she also was diagnosed with coeliac disease, pediatrician, GP an no one was worried about this. Waiting on new blood test in May as she is already scheduled see if anything changed. Will comeback with a post. But so far she is well and no issues observed. Had elevated levels back in November 2023

I talked to a doctor in Hungary about it and they said it’s fine too have high B12 if other results are fine it can be from growing up. They don’t even check this for kids in there.
It is worrying for adults to have high B12 for example alcohol use.
But I’m still always worried. My daughter had a FBC and all was normal only iron a bit low this time . I try to give her more veggies and friuit , and less food with high B12 like meat , cheese vitamins etc. it’s just so bad when she catches a cold or has a headache I start panicking and she can see that. I have to tell myself to stop this nonsense she is healthy!