Vitamin B12 blood test UK and Europe
Order guidelines and laboratory info
- Payment and ordering - You do not need a doctor’s referral to order the test, you can order the test on your own accord. If you are ordering for someone else please include their name at checkout. If you are ordering more than one of this particular test then please include the other name/s in the notes section at the final checkout screen. There are no age restrictions but the individual needs to be able to collect a valid sample, if you are unsure then please contact mindovermetal. Payment is made via PayPal, you will need to accept the cookie notification for the mindovermetal website at the bottom of the screen to be able to checkout via PayPal. You can pay via your PayPal account or if you do not have a PayPal account you can use your credit or debit card. After you have entered in your payment details via PayPal you will then be taken back to the order screen on the mindovermetal website, please then select ‘complete order’ in the ‘review and submit order’ section to completely confirm the order/payment. Once you have paid for the test you will receive a confirmation receipt email, if you do not receive the receipt email then please contact mindovermetal so one can be sent to you via email. If you are ordering the test outside of the UK and within Europe, there will be a £7 delivery fee of your overall order and not per test. The delivery fee is included in the price of the test for residents in the UK.
- Test kit delivery - The test kit is sent directly to your address. Test kits ordered before 3pm Monday to Friday will be sent out the same day. Test kits ordered after 3pm Monday to Thursday will be sent out the following day morning time. Test kits ordered after 3pm Friday and over the course of the weekend will not be sent out till Monday morning the following week. The time frame for receiving the test kit is 1 - 3 days within the UK and 2 - 7 days outside of the UK and within Europe, the delivery time frame will depend on which country you are ordering from. If you do not receive your test kit within the time frame then please contact mindovermetal.
- Testing laboratory - Biolab Medical Unit. They are based in the West End of London and they specialise in nutritional and environmental medicine by providing laboratory tests. Biolab is open Monday - Friday 9am - 5.30pm, they do not send test kits and results over the course of the weekend. For their website please click here. Please contact mindovermetal and not the laboratory if you have any issues with your test order or result.
- Test preparations/instructions - Avoid all B vitamin supplements 48 hours prior to collecting the sample.
- Sample collection/sending - The test kit comes with instructions on how to collect the sample and with the relevant packaging and preserving substance for you to send the sample back to the laboratory (address details included). The test kit will come with a full phlebotomy pack (this should only be used by a medical professional) - antiseptic pad, needle, needle holder and small plaster. The blood sample needs to be collected and carried out via a phlebotomy service, healthcare professional, at your doctor's surgery or it can be collected at Biolab's location in London free of charge. If you would like an appointment at Biolab then please contact mindovermetal so we can arrange one for you, appointments are available 9.30am - 5.30pm Monday - Friday. If you have not collected the sample at Biolab's location you will need to post the kit back to Biolab yourself. If you are wanting to have the blood drawn via your doctor’s surgery then please explain that this is a blood test analysed by Biolab Medical Unit and that you would like a nurse to draw the blood sample for you and explain that you already have the full phlebotomy kit. The blood sample will need to reach the laboratory within 2 - 3 days. Normal postal charges will apply (usually large letter rates if in the UK). Blood tests that are being sent outside of the UK and within Europe will need to be couriered. You will need to have the blood sample taken and sent on a Sunday or at the start of the week – Monday or Tuesday latest. This is so Biolab receive your sample the same working week (Biolab is closed at the weekend). The test does not expire and can be used at any time.
- Refunds - Refunds are only possible if the test kit is unused and no sample has been sent to Biolab. Refunds can only be processed within 60 days after ordering the test. If a refund is required then please contact mindovermetal.
- Results - The test result is sent directly to you from mindovermetal and not from Biolab. The result is sent to the email that you provide when you place your order, it will be sent as a downloadable document. The test result will come with a summary of your result reading. The test result is simple to understand and shows if you are above, below or within certain reference ranges. If there is anything you do not understand and unsure of in your test result then please contact mindovermetal by replying via the results email.
- Result turnaround time - The time frame for receiving your test result is 3 working days from the first day that it reaches the laboratory for processing. Please make a note of the date you send the sample and if you do not receive your results within this time frame then please contact mindovermetal.
- Support - Email support is included in the price of the test.
- For any issues regarding your test order please contact mindovermetal at – orders@mindovermetal.co.uk, Whatsapp is also available via the mindovermetal contact number. You can also call if need be and if you have more of an urgent issue.
Description from Biolab
As vitamins go, B12 is a rather large molecule. One part of its structure is a "corrin" nucleus, which resembles the "haem" of haemoglobin. While the haem moiety in haemoglobin holds an atom of iron, in B12 the corrin group holds an atom of cobalt. In order to be true B12, cobalamin must have one of a number of attachments to the corrin group: depending on the attachment, cobalamin can be cyanocobalamin, hydroxycobalamin, aquacobalamin, nitritocobalamin, methylcobalamin, or adenosylcobalamin. Only two of these cobalamins are active as co-enzymes in the human body: methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Most supplemental B12 is supplied as cyanocobalamin, in which form it is stable; cyanocobalamin must be converted to methyl- or adenosylcobalamin before it is biologically active.
Deficiency states induced by poor dietary intake of B12 (i.e. vegetarian or vegan diets) take up to 20 years to manifest. However, clinical deficiencies as a consequence of abnormalities in one of the multiple steps that regulate cobalamin absorption or its enterohepatic circulation present more rapidly. Vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common in the U.K. population and occurs in patients with autoimmune disease (pernicious anaemia), severe primary hypothyroidism and ileal disease, as well as in subjects receiving chronic therapy with antacids, proton pump inhibitors (PPI) or H2 antagonists. B12 deficiency is also seen in chronic malnutrition states, including alcoholism, while other causes include vegetarian diets, pregnancy and lactation.
The timely detection, and correction, of vitamin B12 deficiency prevents the development of macrocytic anaemia, as well as elevated homocysteine (which is a thrombotic risk factor), potentially irreversible peripheral neuropathy, memory loss and other cognitive deficits.
Deficiency states induced by poor dietary intake of B12 (i.e. vegetarian or vegan diets) take up to 20 years to manifest. However, clinical deficiencies as a consequence of abnormalities in one of the multiple steps that regulate cobalamin absorption or its enterohepatic circulation present more rapidly. Vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common in the U.K. population and occurs in patients with autoimmune disease (pernicious anaemia), severe primary hypothyroidism and ileal disease, as well as in subjects receiving chronic therapy with antacids, proton pump inhibitors (PPI) or H2 antagonists. B12 deficiency is also seen in chronic malnutrition states, including alcoholism, while other causes include vegetarian diets, pregnancy and lactation.
The timely detection, and correction, of vitamin B12 deficiency prevents the development of macrocytic anaemia, as well as elevated homocysteine (which is a thrombotic risk factor), potentially irreversible peripheral neuropathy, memory loss and other cognitive deficits.
