Vitamin B12 Test in Pune

 

Vitamin B12 testing measures the level of vitamin B12 in your blood. Having a vitamin B12 deficiency, or a low level of this essential vitamin, can cause a range of health issues, including anemia and nervous system problems.

Vitamin B12 levels may be low for a number of reasons, including inadequate dietary intake, the use of certain medications, advanced age, or conditions that make it harder for the body to absorb vitamin B12 from your food.

Testing for vitamin B12 requires a sample of blood. Measuring your vitamin B12 level helps your healthcare provider to diagnose a possible deficiency and recommend appropriate treatment if needed.

Looking for a reliable Vitamin B12 Cyanocobalamin test in Pune? Look no further than Sunrise Diagnostic Centre. Conveniently located near Warje Malwadi, Karve Road, Shivane, Narhe, Hingane, Sinhgad Road, and Dhayari Pune, our state-of-the-art facility offers accurate and swift test results. Don’t compromise on your health, visit us today for a hassle-free experience. Your well-being is our top priority.

Purpose of Vitamin B-12 test:

The purpose of vitamin B12 testing is to determine whether you have a deficiency or a lower-than-normal level of B12 in your body. Sometimes a vitamin B12 level will be tested by itself and other times it will be measured along with other tests for the purposes of diagnosing or monitoring certain health problems.

Diagnosis

Vitamin B12 testing may be ordered to determine the cause of a patient’s symptoms. It may also be ordered after an abnormal result on a different blood test to learn more about an individual’s health. Diagnostic purposes for vitamin B12 testing include:

• Evaluating symptoms of anemia, a blood disorder marked by a loss of normal red blood cells.
• Following up after an abnormal blood test that suggests megaloblastic anemia, a type of anemia where red blood cells are unusually large and function abnormally.
• Determining the cause of symptoms related to the nervous system, including mental changes, weakness, loss of balance or numbness, pain, and tingling in the arms and legs.

Monitoring

Vitamin B12 testing may also be used for monitoring a patient’s health over time. Checking blood levels of vitamin B12 may be done:

• To evaluate how well-nourished a person is, especially if they have a disease that makes it harder to absorb nutrients from food.
• To monitor people who are being treated for a previously diagnosed vitamin B12 deficiency.

Screening

Screening is testing that is performed before there are visible symptoms of a health problem, like a vitamin B12 deficiency. At this time, there are no guidelines regarding screening of asymptomatic people for vitamin B12 deficiency.

However, doctors may choose to check vitamin B12 levels in people with certain risk factors that put them at a higher risk of a deficiency, such as the elderly or people who follow a vegan diet, which does not include any foods from animal sources.

Vitamin b12 Test Cost In Pune

Get your Vitamin B12 test done in Pune at Sunrise Diagnostic Center for just Rs. 700! Affordable and accurate results for your health needs. Book your test now!

What does the test measure?

Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that is important for many aspects of human health. Adequate levels of vitamin B12 are needed for your body to maintain a healthy nervous system, make red blood cells, and create DNA, the genetic material present in all of our cells.

Vitamin B12 occurs naturally in animal proteins, such as red meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy. Other foods, like breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast, and some plant milks, may be fortified with vitamin B12. This vitamin is also available as a supplement and as a prescription medication.

In food, vitamin B12 is bound to protein. In order for your body to absorb it, the vitamin must be released from the protein. As your body digests food, enzymes in your digestive tract separate vitamin B12 from these proteins. The freed vitamin B12 then combines with a protein made by your body called intrinsic factor, which is secreted by cells in the stomach. Together, vitamin B12 and intrinsic factor are absorbed in the lower end of the small intestine.

When should you get a Vitamin B12 test?

Vitamin B12 test near me is usually performed when you have symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency, such as anemia or nervous system problems. Some people are at a greater risk of having a vitamin B12 deficiency due to their age or preexisting health conditions and may undergo regular vitamin B12 testing, B12 blood test Pune to check whether their B12 levels are normal.

The following information describes several circumstances in which vitamin B12 testing may be recommended by a doctor.

Anemia

Anemia is a condition in which your body does not have enough healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to your body tissues. When you don’t have enough healthy, properly functioning red blood cells, you may have symptoms like:

• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Pale skin
• Shortness of breath
• Diarrhea
• Nausea or vomiting
• Loss of appetite

A vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to a type of anemia known as megaloblastic anemia. In megaloblastic anemia, the red blood cells are large, underdeveloped, and abnormally shaped. These abnormal red blood cells, called megaloblasts, do not function normally.

Megaloblasts may be detected through routine blood testing before a person develops symptoms of anemia. When this happens, follow-up testing is typically performed, including a vitamin B12 test.

Nervous system symptoms

Your healthcare provider may recommend a vitamin B12 test to determine if a low level of vitamin B12 is causing nervous system symptoms. These symptoms may include:

• Neuropathy, which is a nerve problem that causes pain, numbness, tingling, and muscle problems
• Weakness
• Poor balance
• Confusion
• Changes in the way a person walks
• Dementia, a condition that affects mental functions such as memory and language skills

Risk factors

Certain factors make an individual more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency. Your doctor may order vitamin B12 testing for you if you have one or more of the following risk factors:

• Age over 75 years
• Decreased intake of animal proteins, including vegetarian or vegan diets
• Medication interactions with drugs that interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, including histamine blockers, proton pump inhibitors, metformin and nitrous oxide
• Decreased nutrient absorption due to stomach or intestinal surgery, including surgery for weight loss or cancer
• Decreased absorption due to diseases of the stomach and small intestine, such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease
• Pancreatic insufficiency, a condition that can affect how well enzymes are able to separate vitamin B12 from food proteins

Taking a Vitamin B-12 Test

Vitamin B12 testing requires a blood sample, which is usually taken from your arm in a medical office, health clinic, hospital, or lab.

Before the test

Before taking a vitamin B12 test it is important to fast for 6-8 hours, which means you must avoid eating and drinking anything other than water.

Since some medications can affect the results of the vitamin B12 test, you should ask your healthcare provider if you need to temporarily discontinue any of the medications you normally take.

During the test

During a vitamin B12 test, a small sample of blood is usually taken from a vein in your arm.

The health care provider drawing your blood sample may tie a band around your upper arm to make it easier to see where your veins are. Next, they will clean the area where the needle enters your skin. A needle attached to a sample tube will be inserted into your vein, and a small quantity of blood will be drawn into the tube. You may feel a slight sting when the needle enters your skin.

The process of taking a blood sample usually takes less than a minute. we also offer blood tests at home for free.

After the test

You may be asked to apply gentle pressure to the site where the blood was removed with a piece of cotton, gauze, or bandage. Next, a bandage is applied to the site where blood was extracted.

Providing a blood sample is a very low-risk procedure. In some cases, you may have slight bruising at the site where the blood sample was taken.

Vitamin B12 Test Results

Receiving test results

Your healthcare provider may share your vitamin B12 test results with you, or you may be able to access results through an online portal. Vitamin B12 results are typically available within a few business days.

Interpreting test results

Your test report will indicate your blood level of vitamin B12, as well as the laboratory’s reference range. Reference ranges are the test result ranges that are considered normal.

Reference ranges can vary slightly, depending on the laboratory used. A normal vitamin B12 level generally falls between 200 to 800 picograms per milliliter (pg/mL).

If your result is between 200 and 300 pg/mL, your result is considered borderline, and your doctor may have you retake the vitamin B12 test or undergo additional testing.

Values under 200 pg/mL indicate a vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency may be due to known causes such as a vegan diet, medications, problems with the pancreas, or surgery or diseases affecting the digestive system. Deficiency may also be a result of:

• Inability to produce intrinsic factor:Intrinsic factor is normally secreted by the cells of the stomach. An inability to produce this protein may be caused by weakening of the stomach lining or an autoimmune condition and leads to a condition called pernicious anemia.
• Overgrowth of bacteria or fish tapeworm infestation in the digestive system:In these disorders, bacteria or parasites consume vitamin B12 and leave less for the infected person to absorb.
• Poor absorption of vitamin B12 due to low stomach acid:Low stomach acid can be due to age, diseases that cause low stomach acid, or the use of drugs to decrease stomach acidity.
• Other autoimmune problems:These can include thyroid disease or vitiligo.

Higher vitamin B12 levels are uncommon since excess vitamin B12 is usually removed in the urine. However, some conditions can cause an increase in vitamin B12 levels, including liver diseases and myeloproliferative disorders, which are diseases that affect the production of blood cells.

Why Sunrise Diagnostic Centre?

Sunrise Diagnostic Centre (A Unit of Aadishakti Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.) is an integrated healthcare model, providing multiple healthcare services under one roof, in a state-of-the-art facility, equipped with ultra-advanced medical equipment with cutting-edge technology.

Sunrise Diagnostic Centre is NABL and ISO Certified & Trusted by 122 Doctors & 30+ Hospitals, We offer a comprehensive range of 4000+ clinical laboratory tests and Home Collection Services in Pune. which are used for prediction, early detection, diagnostic screening, confirmation and/or monitoring of the disease.

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