Labs Question

Hello,

I am 7 years out. I recently had my labs taken and the doctor says that my Vitamin D and B12 are out of the range of normal, meaning, they are too high. Now, the doctor wants me to only take my 5,000 b12 every other week and to take only 5,000 D daily instead of the 10,000 I had been taking. I just want to know if you agree with that. Also, I am now required to take Metformin now, which is a bummer. My sugar levels are borderline now, but they were not borderline and perfectly normal 3 years ago. What has changed the reason for being borderline is exercise. I have moved around the past 3 years and my exercise program got off track. My weight has remained stable for the past 7 years, so no weight regain issues going on. I have a strong family history for diabetes and several siblings have been taking Metformin for years. I guess I am in denial a little bit about this. I do not want to be on diabetes medications. I believe if I get my exercise program back on track that my levels will come right back down and below borderline. What I have experienced though since having surgery in 2011 is bout of hypoglycemia infrequently. I just want to get everyone's take on this. Sorry for such a long post.

Monica

Do you know, exactly, what your vitamin levels are? Some doctors say things are high when, for us, they really aren't that high. If you don't have all of the exact lab results, you should get them.

You can be maintaining your weight just fine, and still be eating things that are leading to blood sugar issues and diabetes. And there is a lot more involved, as well. Plenty of regular weight people who eat healthy and exercise still get diabetes.

The vitamins levels are not there by themselves. Too low is bad, but too high can be really bad either.

For me personally, I try to keep my B12 high enough for me. Even though my labs states B12 should be 250-900, I feel down when my B12 drops below 800. But my doc doesn't only look at B12, but also at blood values (in B12 case - MCV) and mine stays either borderline high, or above normal. My goal is to keep my B12 between 800-1500.

As for D, I like mine to be 60-75max. So I make sure it is there. Too high is not good for me, since with high D, my body can absorb too much calcium. Calcium is good for the bones, but we need other minerals and vitamins to direct calcium to bones. And if we get too much calcium in our blood our body may deposits it in veins, arteries, cause stones sr even calcification of internal organs.

Some people strive to get D as high as possible, but I read enough and talk to enough smart people to be careful with that one.

The minerals and vitamins work as a team. Evaluating individual items without looking at the ones that can get affected by them can be misleading.

High Vitamin B-12 is not usually an issue. Mine is 1500. At one point I was normal but on the low side and having low Vitamin B-12 symptoms.

Vit D- I had one test that was slightly over the recommended amount and I got a freak out call from the Doctor's office- stop taking Vit D! I had just come back from a sunny spot on vacation when I had my test, maybe that bumped it up a little. I kept my regular routine and when they retested I was fine.

If you are borderline with the sugars, it is your call - maybe do what you think needs to be done and retest in 3 months- as that is supposedly the period the A1c covers and go from there. Not medical advice but just reading into what you are expressing. Talk to your Doctor about it again. Reality is there are thin people who need to be on diabetes meds even if they are doing the 'right' things. Maybe have a Registered Dietician evaluate what you are eating.