How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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Jmac
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How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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I'm getting ready to do the blood testing for ReCode (Bredesen Protocol). I asked them the question as to how long I should stop taking my supplements before doing the blood tests to ensure accuracy. I want to find out what my real levels are on the tests, not what they are with supplements or to skew them. Maybe I'm low on something and it'll show normal because of the supplement...or it'll show high and it's due to a supplement like D3, C, etc...

They said that I had to ask my doctor, they couldn't answer. I can shoot my doc a question but who knows if she really knows the answer...I'm not doing the tests with her & it's kind of a general question, not really medical.

Anyone know the general time? I did a search and got anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. I'm thinking the 12-hour window for fasting is not enough time to rid my system of all the stuff I'm putting in my body every day. :-)
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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Jmac wrote:I'm getting ready to do the blood testing for ReCode (Bredesen Protocol). I asked them the question as to how long I should stop taking my supplements before doing the blood tests to ensure accuracy. I want to find out what my real levels are on the tests, not what they are with supplements or to skew them. Maybe I'm low on something and it'll show normal because of the supplement...or it'll show high and it's due to a supplement like D3, C, etc...

They said that I had to ask my doctor, they couldn't answer. I can shoot my doc a question but who knows if she really knows the answer...I'm not doing the tests with her & it's kind of a general question, not really medical.

Anyone know the general time? I did a search and got anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. I'm thinking the 12-hour window for fasting is not enough time to rid my system of all the stuff I'm putting in my body every day. :-)
Hi jmac,

What an interesting question! I had about 12 vials of blood taken every 3 months for about 3 years as part of a clinical trial of healthy ApoE 4/4s, and was never asked to halt medication before the blood draws, which included electrolytes, lipids, Hemoglobin AIC, TSH, folate, and Vitamin B-12. They did always ask for detailed information on dosages and brands of all prescriptions and supplements and even OTC medications, as in "about 1 Tylenol a week". As a result, they were able to advise me early on to add methylcobalamin 500 mcg/day to bring my B-12 up from about 450 to 675, well within Dr. Bredesen's recommended range. And I got detailed reports each quarter on my levels that I could enter in a spreadsheet, a nice benefit!

From people I've known who have received ReCODE reports, they have not stopped their usual dosage, and have similarly gotten recommendations when they need to move levels in one direction or another.
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Jmac
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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NF52 wrote:From people I've known who have received ReCODE reports, they have not stopped their usual dosage, and have similarly gotten recommendations when they need to move levels in one direction or another.
I guess if the results come back "normal" in various ranges that would mean I need to keep supplementing... If it's high maybe I should cut back on some. I have a tendency to read about something that shows it's good for APOE4's or brain or joints or...whatever...and I just incorporate it either with pills or stuff I add to smoothies. I'd prefer to get a straight read-out, and I'd much prefer to try to get more in my foods, have the choice to find out I need to eat more spinach or take a pill.

I found out when I did my DNA that I should avoid taking Vitamin E supplements... I have to give blood regularly to dump my iron... I just wonder if there are other things I'm overloading on or not getting enough.

I filled out the questionnaire's --- they didn't ask anything about my supplements or medicines (still filling it out so maybe they do later on)...maybe they will at Quest when I get the tests done.

I've decided to go for a week without any "extras" if I can't find out anything definitively about a time-frame for stopping. It'll have the side benefit of letting me know how much of the time I'm bopping around feeling good just 'cause of the extra stuff I'm pumping into my body! :lol:
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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Jmac wrote:Anyone know the general time?
My approach has been to test with the supplements to see if I'm hitting the mark and based on the results I know whether to drop or up the doses as needed. But I'm also very clear about why I take each supplement that I have in my stack based on genetic snps and previous blood tests (for like folate, B12, homocysteine, Vitamin D level, etc), or my healing goals at the moment (extra glutathione for some GI work I'm doing right now).

If you have some you are only taking because they sounded like a good idea based on a paper you read, those are certainly ones to try dropping before your tests. My best strategy has been to add supplements one per week, so if something happened, either good or bad, I could identify the likely source.

Good luck with the testing!
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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Jmac wrote:guess if the results come back "normal" in various ranges that would mean I need to keep supplementing... If it's high maybe I should cut back on some. I
I filled out the questionnaire's --- they didn't ask anything about my supplements or medicines (still filling it out so maybe they do later on)...maybe they will at Quest when I get the tests done.

I've decided to go for a week without any "extras" if I can't find out anything definitively about a time-frame for stopping. It'll have the side benefit of letting me know how much of the time I'm bopping around feeling good just 'cause of the extra stuff I'm pumping into my body! :lol:
Hi Jmac, my approach has always been to continue with the supplements I am taking when I get blood tests. As you say above, if the results are in the optimal range ( as opposed to normal) then I figure what I am taking is fine. If I stopped all my supplements my tests, the results would be skewed, showing a condition that is not my day to day supplement-enhanced state. To me, those results would be meaningless. Ie, if my D3 came back low, I wouldn’t know whether the degree of supplemental D I take everyday is right for me.
They will not ask you About your supplements at Quest. When you get the Recode Report, you’ll see where you stand in relation to target ranges. The report doesn’t give you the actual ranges, but they are listed in Dr, Bredesen’s new book. The ReCODE Report includes a page of suggested supplements.
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Jmac
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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SusanJ wrote:If you have some you are only taking because they sounded like a good idea based on a paper you read, those are certainly ones to try dropping before your tests. My best strategy has been to add supplements one per week, so if something happened, either good or bad, I could identify the likely source.

Good luck with the testing!
Thank you! I had stopped using Cronometer for a bit...decided to get back into it again. It's helping a lot already. Thus far nothing I've added has caused a physical or noticeable issue but I was rather surprised at some I was over the top on in Cronometer. I over-corrected :-). What a journey we are on! Always have to stay on top of everything.
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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floramaria wrote:They will not ask you About your supplements at Quest. When you get the Recode Report, you’ll see where you stand in relation to target ranges. The report doesn’t give you the actual ranges, but they are listed in Dr, Bredesen’s new book. The ReCODE Report includes a page of suggested supplements.
Getting a lot out of the new book already --- and have made some changes! Melissa from Apollo contacted me, said she'd walk me through things. You saved her from having to answer a few questions! I am making a list of things to ask...poor Melissa getting stuck with me :D .

I love this forum...even though sometimes I get a gentle kick-in-the-butt (always given nicely).
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Re: How long to stop taking vitamins, supplements before blood tests...

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You should stop taking significant Biotin supplements 5 days or so before blood tests. Biotin is used as a solvent/extractant in some blood tests and excess Biotin in the blood will cause defective results. The FDA issued an advisory on this a few years ago and Labcorp has a note to this effect in their general 'before you get your blood tested' instructions.

A year ago I found an article from a Doctor who had a patient with thyroid test results that did not make sense. He sent them to 3 different labs and got both high, low and reasonable results. Stopping the Biotin supplements fixed the lab problems.

This does not seem to be a common problem or more doctors/labs would make note of it. I suspect Biotin amounts in typical multivitamins are OK.
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