Private blood tests

[Sunnydevon]

Can anyone recommend private blood test company for Gastrin test and parietal cell test ?

[fbirder]

I doubt you'll find anybody doing the GPC antibody test as it's no longer recommended.

The gastrin test isn't simple. When I had mine done I had to go to a major hospital, rather than having it taken at my health centre.

[Sunnydevon in reply to fbirder]

My doctor won’t agree to the Gastrin test so I want to do it privately. Medichecks do both tests but you have to go to London for Gastrin test. Why is GPC test no longer recommended? Thank you for your reply.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Sunnydevon]

WHO does not recommend GPC as a test for PA because the probability of a false positive is quite high, meaning that the potential for misdiagnosis is very high

[Sunnydevon in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you. Is Gastrin test a good idea do you think?i am concerned about my stomach as have heartburn most days.

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Sunnydevon]

as far as I am aware there has been some discussion of using it as a diagnositic test for PA but it isn't formally recognised as a test.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the expense but that is me personally

[Sunnydevon in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you, I can’t really afford it but am so worried about my stomach and thought if I it could show anything it may put my mind at rest.

[fbirder in reply to Sunnydevon]

A positive result for GPC antibodies is pretty meaningless on its own.

If you take 100 people and test them for GPC antibodies about 6 of them will give a positive result. Of those one will have PA.

So a positive result means there's about a 20% chance of having PA.

However, if you get a negative result then the chances of over 90% that you do not have PA.

southtees.nhs.uk/services/p...

Of course, if you have a positive result alongside other indicators (especially low B12 and symptoms that respond to injections) then it is a good indicator that you do have PA.

[Sunnydevon in reply to fbirder]

What would be the best test to have to indicate the gastritis associated with PA please?

[fbirder in reply to Sunnydevon]

You can really only tell from a gastroscopy with microscopic examination of tissue samples.

[Sunnydevon in reply to fbirder]

Would high levels of Gastrin point to it at all? I had an endoscopy last year and I think they only did biopsy of esophagus. Doc won’t do another. I’d have to pay.

[fbirder in reply to Sunnydevon]

Yes, Autoimmune Metaplastic Gastric Atrophy (the root cause of PA) would cause hypergastrinaemia.

There are many other possible causes, PPIs, H. pylori infection, gastrinomas, or final-stage renal failure. So your PPIs would mean you will possibly have raised gastrin levels. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Sunnydevon in reply to fbirder]

So I should stop PPI before Gastrin test? Do you know for how long? Sorry I know it’s a lot of questions. I really appreciate your answering me.

[fbirder in reply to Sunnydevon]

I'm sorry, but I really have no idea.

What I did find was that people taking omeprazole had a higher incidence of atrophic gastritis (25%) than normal people (1%). That would suggest to me that the effects will last a long time.

[Bmwx]

Hi

I had mine done at Cheshire spire hospital

Found positive partial cell

[Sunnydevon in reply to Bmwx]

Thank you for reply. Can I ask how much it cost please?

[Bmwx]

I think it was around £80-£90 for partial cell

[Sunnydevon in reply to Bmwx]

Thank you.