How long before symptoms return

[wendyhoney]

My dr has stopped my B12 shots because the intrinsic factor test came back negative, even tho it was positive in 2012 which led to me being diagnosed with PA. After 8 yrs he has stopped my shots and told me he will retest me in 6 months, which will actually be 9 mths from my last shot. Its now 5 mths from my last shot - i am having some symptoms but not severe - is it possible i dont have PA or is it that my body has healed / has enough b12 for now and will start to become ill again over the next few months as the effects of PA take over again?

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi wendyhoney was you B12 level tested at the same time as the IFA?

If you had a positive test for IFA then you have PA - this is an auto-immune disorder which attacks and destroys the mechanisms that facilitate absorption of B12. There is currently no cure for this.

The IFA test is unreliable in that it gives false negatives in people with PA half the time. So a negative result doesn't mean that you don't have PA.

I would list your recurring symptoms and go back to your doctor.

I am not medically trained but have had P.A for over 48 years

I wish you well

[Gambit62 Administrator]

As clivealive says PA doesn't go away - the B12 deficiency that it causes is managed by B12 shots but that doesn't treat the PA just a symptom of PA.

You could suggest that your GP looks up what the BCSH standards say about the IFA test - it gives false negatives between 40-60% of the time whereas it rarely gives false positives (unless done too close to an injection), so the negative on redoing the test is a very long way from ruling out PA.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

There is a section on the various tests and their limitations.