Supplementation and blood tests - when to stop?

[HashiHolly]

Hi there - I have Hashimotos and have been supplementing for three months with Liquid Vitamin D/K2 and Sub lingual B12 with a B Complex chaser! I feel a little bit better but still have a lot of tingling in my hands and feet and terrible brain fog at times. I'm about to repeat my blood tests to see whether my B12 and D levels have improved but of course my GP has said nothing about stopping my supplements prior to testing. So, learned friends, hoping someone can advise as to how long I should leave off the supplements prior to retesting? I want to get an accurate result as I'm tired of these symptoms and am wondering whether it's time to try B12 injections. I've also been gluten, grain and dairy free for the three month period - have been following the Paleo Auto Immune Protocol but have probably had more fruit than recommended! Hey, it's cherry season where I am! Have also been eating chicken livers twice a week.

My levels over the past two years were as follows:

2016

Active B12 58 - Units pmol/L - Reference (23-100)

Total B12 217 - Units pmol/L - Reference (200-700)

2017

Active B12 59 - Units pmol/L - Reference (23-100)

Total B12 241 - Units pmol/L - Reference (200-700)

In closing I'd just like to say a general thank you to all of the the generous people on this site who answer questions from newbies such as myself. I can't believe how many ill informed GPs there are out there. I had my B12 levels tested two years running and it wan't until the second test that I was advised I needed supplementation - grrr!

Thanking you in advance, Holly

[Gambit62 Administrator]

in terms of testing for B12 supplementation is going to affect the tests for several months at least - recommended that you stop for 3-6 months before most of the related tests like serum B12 and active B12 - the only one that doesn't require a long period without supplementation is IFA (varies from 24hrs to 10 days depending on the test method) which is a test for PA as the specific cause of a B12 absorption problem.

Please take a look at the pinned posts on the forum.