MMA Test

[jrmuniz96]

Is anyone aware if recent B12 supplementation will throw off my results for an MMA test? I recently took 5000 mcg of b12 and am concerned that If I go some time soon it'll be for nothing since the results will be thrown off.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

There's a link below to info about blood tests associated with B12 deficiency.

Some info on the website may be specific to UK.

b12deficiency.info/testing/

Two B12 books I found useful

"Could it be B12? : An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" by Sally Pacholok and JJ Stuart (US authors)

"What You Need to Know About Pernicious Anaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency" by Martyn Hooper.

Martyn Hooper is the chair of PAS (Pernicious Anaemia Society).

Pernicious Anaemia Society

Based in Wales, UK

pernicious-anaemia-society....

[jrmuniz96 in reply to Sleepybunny]

The article says that B12 supplementation can throw tests off for up to a few months so I'm honestly not sure what to do at this point. I feel concerned that I'm only going to continue to worsen. I've got an appointment with my PCP three months from now and can speak to him about it but I honestly don't know at this point.

[sunshinebee]

I started supplementing with sublinguals and was tested a week later. My intrinsic factor antibodies were very high but my MMA was normal.

[jrmuniz96 in reply to sunshinebee]

How much were you taking and how often? Are you on shots now?

[sunshinebee in reply to jrmuniz96]

Yes I'm on shots now. I was taking 5,000 mcg methylcobalamin sublingual per day. That was before I could get in to my doctor to start shots.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

If you took only one dose then it probably won't have much effect as you won't have absorbed much B12 from that one dose, even if you don't have a B12 absorption problem - it would be regularly taking B12 that is more likely to skew the results in someone with A B12 absorption problem.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

It can also depend on what the problem is.

My MMA wasn't tested until my GP wanted to know why the B12 injections weren't working and I was getting worse. My B12 was above 2000 ng/L by then, but MMA was found to be raised. This gave me a diagnosis of "functional B12 deficiency", confirmed by the laboratory. I was given 2 injections a week for 6 months, and then I continued with frequent injections myself.

My MMA remained raised until the 6th test, three years on, when finally it dropped into range.

Usually, MMA will link with the injected B12 in bloodstream and so clear any MMA accumulation that B12 deficiency could have caused - so the loading dose should have normalised MMA levels.

There can be other causes for raised MMA besides B12 deficiency: renal problems or small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The first can be eliminated as a cause by blood test, the second needs a fasting series of breath tests.

[Sleepybunny]

Article about MMA(From Dutch B12 website)

stichtingb12tekort.nl/engli...

US article about B12 deficiency

nhlbi.nih.gov/health/anemia...

[RexandBoone]

Hi, I'm waiting for my appointment to draw blood for MMA test, but in the meantime I've got an interview. I want to feel 'sharp'. Did you find the 5000 mcg B12 gave you a noticeable kick start?(I've Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and low B12 and GP is happy, I'm not)