IFA & PCA blood tests

[ATS1304]

Hi, I’ve been booked for bloods for intrinsic factor and parietal cells antibodies, the GP said they are antibodies so no need to stop B12 before hand. I’m reading both 48 hours and/or 2 weeks clear of injections, I don’t want to mess these tests up but at the same time am desperate to get the B12. Is it vital to stop B12 or is 48 hours enough?

[Nackapan]

Just leave ad long as you can. It's more important you get your b12

With the IFA test it'd possible to have a false positives after a b12 injection.

I had the PC antibody test before b12 injections .

Gps all seem to say differng things.

The labs used will know if you can access a helpline or a plebotomist might know.

[ATS1304 in reply to Nackapan]

I decided to cancel my B12 for tomorrow and Tuesday as the bloods will be done Wednesday, I will then have the injection Thursday. If I feel really bad I have everything I need to self inject. I’m going to speak to the nurse at my first shot to request I do them myself as my daughter is prescribed them by a consultant to self inject and I did them for her originally so I can’t see why they would refuse. At least it’s all on file now that I have a functional deficiency. Next stop is gastroenterologist on Monday.

[Nackapan in reply to ATS1304]

Good you have a plan. I'm prescribed b12 and inject some at home sc and go in for IM injections

Hope you get on okay

[Gambit62 Administrator]

the exact length of time depends on the exact test method. More modern test methods have the shortest time scales.There is a chance of a false positive if test is too close to an injection.

[ATS1304 in reply to Gambit62]

It will have been 9 days since my last injection when I have the blood tests done, i’ve only had two so far.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support in reply to ATS1304]

I wish you all the best for Thursday. Glad your daughter is on hand to help if the wait proves too much. Also interested to hear how the functional B12 deficiency was diagnosed.

Does this condition also affect your daughter ?

Let us know how it goes.

[ATS1304 in reply to Cherylclaire]

Thank you, I think GP said it was functional B12 deficiency as I have peripheral neuropathy symptoms which are gradually getting worse despite supplementing and eating meat / dairy daily. My MMA test came back high so we are following up with the others. I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist Monday so hoping to finally get to the root cause of why this is happening. I’ve been sick for 2 years but the last few months i’ve been going downhill fast.

My daughter has been diagnosed with CFS/ME but the first thing that showed up in her bloods was a B12, vit D and iron deficiency. A consultant prescribed B12 and told her to self inject which she does weekly.

[Rexz]

I concur with Gambit it depends on lab and test being used. I use LabCorp here in U.S. Their patient prep for Parietal Cell Antibody test is silent on period since last B12 supplement but I have read elsewhere you should wait 72 hours since last supplementation for PCA. For IFA Test they definitely state wait one week since last injection...

labcorp.com/tests/010413/in...

For the vitamin B12 deficiency cascade which includes PCA/IFA/MMA, they also say to stop any biotin (vitamin B7 and B8) consumption for 72 hours prior to that test.

labcorp.com/tests/141503/vi...

Honestly what I've discovered is that doctors don't always know what the patient prep requirements are for every test. It does depend on the lab and test being used. I always check with the lab prior to test. Also if you can stand it just stop all supplementation 1 week prior to test. That way you can be assured you're OK. I think anyway it can be confusing.

Rex

[ATS1304 in reply to Rexz]

I’ve stopped B12 and am trying to push through until after bloods. I’ll have been 9 days clear of B12 by the time of the test. It will be nice to finally find out what’s causing all these problems and why my B12 is deficient to the point of muscle weakness etc. It’s very frightening when your body isn’t co-operating.

[christiegr]

I learned the hard way that the IFA test can be wrong. And this test was done by my friend. He had just graduated from law school and was in dire need of work, and I just needed to perform this test. He took this case as seriously as possible, but still screwed up, which led to problems.

[ATS1304 in reply to christiegr]

My IFA was negative so the lab decided not to do the parietal cell antibodies, our system is a joke. I’m having to pay for everything including blood tests to get answers. I’m now about to pay for a private colonoscopy as I was told my symptoms required a two week fast track. The doctors that triaged my case decided I can wait for 12 months.

[christiegr]

I learned the hard way that the IFA test can be wrong. And this test was done by my friend. He had just graduated from law school and was in dire need of work, and I just needed to perform this test. He took this case as seriously as possible, but still screwed up, which led to problems. The person I contacted to correct my friend's mistake advised him to seek advice from Henson Crisp( hensoncrisp.com/ ). He has pointed out his mistakes and taught me how to do many things right. He was very satisfied after this consultation and apologized for the wrong job.