18 Weeks Pregnant B-12 Very Low

[Lindsay630]

Hi Ladies,

I am 18w1d and had labs drawn last week to check vitamin levels. I found out today that my B12 level is extremely low and my vitamin D level is 31 when 30-100 is normal. I am really stressed out about the B12 and my OB doesn't seem to get why I am insistent on more monitoring. I have been Celiac my who life I believe but diagnosed 1 year ago. I had to insist OB even do these tests as she felt they were unnecessary. I have asked to be referred to a high risk OB/perinatoligist(sp?.

Anyone have these issues? What happened?

Thanks

Lindsay

[Angels]

I am now 35 weeks pregnant and my ob didn't seem to really say much about celiac, other than just stay on the vitamins that are prescribe to me by my general dr, calcium and vitamin D. I think as long as you stay away from any sources of gluten your body tends to make it easier to absord the proper nutrients. I thought I would maybe have to double up on prenatal but that was a no too. My Ob did start to schedule monthly ultrasounds after 18 weeks to monitor the babys growth. But other than that it seemed like she wasn't to overly concerned. Take care and let us know how things are going.

[cyberprof]

Hi Ladies,

I am 18w1d and had labs drawn last week to check vitamin levels. I found out today that my B12 level is extremely low and my vitamin D level is 31 when 30-100 is normal. I am really stressed out about the B12 and my OB doesn't seem to get why I am insistent on more monitoring. I have been Celiac my who life I believe but diagnosed 1 year ago. I had to insist OB even do these tests as she felt they were unnecessary. I have asked to be referred to a high risk OB/perinatoligist(sp?.

Anyone have these issues? What happened?

Thanks

Lindsay

Hi Lindsay, did you have your vit levels tested before you go pregnant? If you didn't, they may have been low all along. If you are going to see a high-risk OB, then hold off. Otherwise I'd get a sublingual B12 tablet (gluten-free of course) and take that daily. Sub-lingual means "under the tongue" and is sometimes the only way we can take it as the damage to the digestive tract lingers and may prevent absorption in normal ways: Try GNC or a health food store. Trader Joe's has one. The most easily absorbed/used form is Cyanocobalamin but if you can't get that, then get the more common Methylcobalamin, which is harder for the body to use, as I understand it (but I'm not an expert). But it will still help.

As I said, I'm not a doctor but I find that if I skip the sublingual, my energy goes down and I don't feel well.

For vitamin D, you may have to take higher levels. I think the maximum limit now is 10,000 units a day, but I'd be worried about taking that much while pregnant without talking to an expert. B vitamins are different- there's less risk at higher levels. So you should talk to a specialist or a nutritionist on this one. Some people who are deficient in D get infusions monthly. And get as much sun as you can without sunburn.

[Lindsay630]

Hi,

Thanks for your great responses. I finally talked to OB who was not very nice at all. She said well obviously you need B12 injections but my office doesn't do them so figure it out. I was so outraged! Told her I needed a referral for high risk and she said fine! So I called my GI Dr who gave me a B12 injection yesterday and I will take them every other day for 2 weeks and retest and see what is happening. He was not as concerned with the vitamin D. I will see the high risk Dr tomorrow and see what they think.

Thanks again.

[organicmama]

You can get a prescription and inject the b12 yourself or have your partner do it. It goes in the arm or bottom and is super cheap (free on our not so great HMO). I have been doing it for years. There's no reason to have to go to a doctor for that.

I personally don't see the need for a high risk OB, although I do think you need a new OB period that has a little better demeanor. Many high risk docs primarily end up doing c-sections, so you greatly increase your risk of getting one. The studies indicate that you and the baby are much more at risk typically with a c-section, especialy when they constitute about a third of US births. The estimated rate that they are really needed is 5 - 10%.

B12 often comes combined with folic acid, which is very important to pregnancy. Have you had that checked?

[sb2178]

at 18w, the critical point for folate is past (not that you shouldn't fix any deficiencies, just that it's not incredibly time sensitive at this point).

I would also recommend trying to talk someone into testing the infant after birth, or at least discussing whether supplementation might be helpful. Infants of mothers with depleted B12 are sometimes born with insufficint stores since they get it from mama. You'll need a pediatrician with serious knowledge about nutrition or possibly an RD, as that's one thing that was briefly mentioned in a clinical class i had but would not be brought in the vast majority of MD training programs given they get very little nutrition.

31's a bit on the lower side, but the med community is all over the place on where they think it should be, so some would treat, some wouldn't. I'd be sure you are taking an MVI and/or calcium with it, and again, make sure you give the baby vitamin D drops in the recommended amount.