Oncologist | Medical Oncology Questions Oncologist

Should I be worried?

I am on clonazepam and Pristiq. My last CBC showed high natural b12 1433 and high ferritin 233. White and red are normal. Liver enzymes are normal. The receptive sonogram is normal. Should I be worried? I have no symptoms.

Female | 71 years old
Complaint duration: 11/29/2020
Medications: Pristiq. Klonopin
Conditions: None

2 Answers

No
Hello. You pose an interesting question. You are a 71year old lady with elevated vitamin b12 levels and elevated serum ferritin levels. Your WBC and RBC counts are normal as are your liver function tests. I am not sure what was imaged by the receptive ultrasound, but I presume that was an imaging of your liver. You feel well.

Vitamin B12 is important for blood cell maturation. There is no major knowledge of the effects of high blood levels although there is some evidence that supplementation may result in lowering incidences of depression. Are you taking over the counter B12 pills? Most of the time excessive intake of B12 is excreted by the normal kidneys.

Ferritin levels that are elevated may be due to multiple reasons. Many times they may be elevated due liver disease. I am not sure why your doctor ordered these levels since they are not usually routine in a CBC and must be ordered individually. If you have an elevated level it may be due to some condition that causes you to store large amounts of iron. These conditions may include hyperthyroidism, liver disease, other inflammatory conditions, or rheumatoid arthritis. All of these conditions have other associated symptoms. It is important to understand the reasons that your doctor ordered the tests. Other follow up tests will depend on your overall findings in the history and physical exam that your doctor is performing.

In general I would not be concerned about these test results. Excessive intake of iron pills or vitamin B12 pills can result in these findings. You should ask your doctor for the reasons that these tests were ordered.