Very high IF Antibodies 300s

[strazzin]

In August before my treatment my IF antibodies were 1.2 and I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia (B-12 160 with neuropathy). Now, after weekly injections on June 11th my B-12 is 2,000 and my IF antibodies are in the upper 300s. Does this jump in antibodies indicate pernicious anemia OR is it a side effect of my B-12 injections? 300s seem super high. Would a normal person without PA have that high of antibodies from weekly injections? Or does that mean I have severe PA? My symptoms are better though finally.

[Nackapan]

I didnt even realise a number was given.I thought positive or negative.

I hope a member who understands the 'numbers' with a scientific background will come along to help soon.

B12 levels mean nothing after injections .

The levejs will ve very high flooding the blood stream so you csn utilise some at cell level.

Then the healing starts.

It sounds to me as though you've been'caughtt' in time .

Levels not gone very low and improvelment made all ready.

As far as PA I think you've either got or not.

Symptons are the things that vary in seriousness

if late treatment or in some undetectable b12 in their blood, anaemia abd neurological problems set in.

Your first test would give you a firm diagnosis of PA.

No more testing needed. .

Same goes for b12 levels as you will be on injections for life.

May the improvements Continue for you.

T c

[strazzin in reply to Nackapan]

Thank you. I was so scared and had so many off symptoms last year at this time. I’ve had to advocate so hard to get the weekly injections. I hope I can help others who might go through this experience because even though I’m not all the way better, I’m a lot better so long as I get my weekly injections. I did not think it would happen but after 10 months I noticed an improvement.

[Nackapan in reply to strazzin]

Very good to hear and to share.I was told no more improvements after 6 months

Then no more after a year!!

Maybe thars not on enough injections. ??

I now feel I will never be my 'old self'

But I've plenty of goals to achieve yet.

Read a book

Be able to have a light on in the winter evenings

Walk and cycle up to 1.5 Mile's

And travel okay withing the UK.

An evening with the TV on to watch a programme fom start to finish

Rather thsn listening / snap looks snd breaks.

And as strange as it might sound to be able yo hoover the house.

Quite a long list really.

But improvements I believe are still possible .

Keep going and I wish you very well.

Well done for getting the treatment you need.

You are proof to them it was the right decision. .

[FlipperTD]

Scientist, not medic.

I spent a very long time testing for IF antibodies. There are numberous methods available and as far as I'm concerned, they are either 'Positive', 'Negative', or 'Equivocal, please repeat in three months'. The degree of positivity is [as far as I'm aware] irrelevant. There isn't [as far as I'm aware] any internationally recognised unit of IF antibody activity, so the numbers are somewhat arbitrary. We didn't report any number from the analysers, although we did have units. If we found a positive sample, then the degree of positivity tended to increase over time. I would have been suspicious of a '1.2' Positive result whereas a '300' is clear, but I doubt it has any clinical significance other than you having PA. A normal person without PA wouldn't have any IF Antibodies. [If they did, they'd have PA!]

PA is just that; PA. If untreated, then 'Severe PA' is the outcome, but treated with B12, it's under control.

Don't worry about the 'IF numbers', just keep on taking the B12.

I hope this helps.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to FlipperTD]

There is one situation in which IFAB can give a false positive - when it is done two close to an injection - the sharp rise in antibodies may actually be down to confusion with other metabolites. In any case - the initial result would seem to have been a positive and that is what counts.

[FlipperTD in reply to Gambit62]

You're absolutely right, in some circumstances. However, I'd have much more confidence in the '300' than the '1.2' because of how the tests that I used worked. If it was possible to generate a false positive with such positivity as '300' then I suspect no-one would actually use the test. [Well, I wouldn't!]

Oh, for the Schilling Tests!

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to FlipperTD]

Thanks - agreed that 300 does sound exceptionally high, but as the units of measure are determined by the lab ...

[FlipperTD in reply to Gambit62]

Correct! It's almost certain they will be using a commercial kit, and the kit will generate a number, so at least there will be some comparison between different labs using the same kit, but no-one's going to tell you what kit they're using, or where the 'reference range' they're using actually comes from. For me, 'Pos', 'Neg' and 'Equivocal, please repeat' is quite sufficient. The most important thing for me with relatively unusual tests like IfAb was to contact the requesting clinician [not always that easy] and explain exactly what the test means, what it signifies and so on.