Advice please

[PamBow]

I am doing a thyroid and vitamin test through one of the companies. My three monthly b12 injection is due on Wednesday and I am going to do the finger prick blood test the day before in hopes that I may get a more truer b12 reading . All my symptoms ( finger nerve ending pain and lack of energy ) started displaying 3 weeks ago. With this COVID-19 my surgery are insisting my B12 can’t be given earlier...My main reason for having the blood work is so I get more accurate results for my thyroid and to see if I am lacking in vitamins. Has anyone here any thoughts on my reasoning.

[Hidden]

Good morning.i think your doing the right thing although if you’ve been having b12 injections your b12 results are going to come back high.

I am doing exactly the same thing as you because I was advised to optimise all my vit levels then retest in a few months,it’s been nearly 6 months now so I’m hoping for big changes at this next blood test.your braver than I am I can’t do the fingerprick test so had to wait till nurses got back to drawing the blood for me,I pay £25 to have that done on top of test cost but for me it’s worth it. I want to see where my previous tests results have improved and which ones need more work.

I’m havng the medichecks test done it does 47 tests so very thorough I want to see everything.

Good luck and I hope you start to get some answers,my feet burning and numbness got so much worse after loading doses and self injecting,this is another reason I want everything checked.id say go for it ,it can only help you.Good luck x

[Nackapan in reply to Hidden]

Let us know how how the bloods go tc

[Hidden in reply to Nackapan]

Yes I will Nackapan it’ll be interesting thank you and hope your having a better day today x

[PamBow in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou so much for your reply Thrones. I feel less alone now. I’m doing the Medichecks test( first time of using) so it has given me more confidence to read that you are happy with them. I have an under active thyroid hence this test as well.I have always relied on my surgery doing the tests but it’s a problem getting my results printed from reception. Then any results I have acquired and shown on the thyroid site I receive good intentional replies sayiing why haven’t u had certain aspects of thyroid tested. Mainly to get a truer reading of my thyroid. I felt the need to be more in control of my health.... hopefully you understand what I am trying to say.... brain fog sometimes 😆 Good luck with your results Thrones.... and Thankyou so much for your time .

[Hidden in reply to PamBow]

Hi Pambow.yes I know exactly where your coming from.the gp doesent usually test for t3 so medichecks will test TSH t4 and t3 and antibodies which you need to have done,usually at the same time your d3 b12 active etc will also be done depending which package you took but your on the right lines.post your results when you get them and members will advise next steps to help you.

Your gp is required to give you print outs of your blood results but then again we’ve all been there and it’s hard to be confrontational or assertive when your feeling crap so maybe at a later stage you’ll feel up to that battle and try again,it’s always handy to have these Old test results to refer back to.

Best of luck anyway and take care.yiull get lots of good advice from the members here I’m still quite new and still learning.x

[PamBow in reply to Hidden]

Hi Thrones and Nackapan

Just an update on my fingerprick blood tests.

I really struggled with getting blood from my fingers . I was a little cold whilst attempting the first finger prick so warmed my hands in hot water to no avail . It was if my blood was too thick and almost clotting as it went into the tube...I didn’t hit the top line even after using all my fingers and needles. I sent off but received email from Mdchcks yesterday to say my sample wasn’t able to be tested. As I mentioned in my last message I was due my B12 inj the day after my attempt of drawing blood. I have to ring Mdchks today as they kindly stated that they will organise another test free of charge. Isn’t that very good of them to do so . My b12 will be of the scale on next test .When I speak to them I will see if they can arrange a nurse to do withdrawal. Hopefully you both are well. Do you think there could be an underlying problem with my blood clotting so quickly...or not flowing so good.

[Hidden in reply to PamBow]

Good morning Pam no I doubt there’s anything wrong with your blood.

although they say it’s really easy to do I don’t find it easy at all and I would get the odd thick drop ,some people say to slightly twist the jabber once it’s in to make the hole bigger and you’ll get more blood but I couldn’t do that either.

I’ve waited all this time to get my bloods drawn by nurse because of this I just don’t find it worth the stress it causes me.

Medichecks are excellent they've just refunded me for three lots of finger prick tests because I couldn't do them and now the nurses are getting back I managed to arrange an appointment in a Kettering ultrasound clinic for next week that the nurse goes into to do bloods.I opted for the well woman test this time which does 47 tests,so b12 active,d3 folate ferritin female hormones which I’m dying to know,liver,cholesterol ,kidney function etc it’s really thorough,I’m also having the intrinsic factor test done so I’m having to stop b12 injections for two weeks for that but it’ll be worth it.im also doing the 24 hour urine cortisol test as at my last tests,saliva,my cortisol was awful and even though consultant asked gp to do an am blood test for it he refused so this time I’m going to be going into him fully armed with updated tests results.lol.

The girl in medichecks told me that more nurses would be back next week for home blood draws so you could drop them an email they answer within hours they’re excellent customer service and would put your mind at rest.

Sorry about the essay 😉x

[PamBow in reply to Hidden]

Hi Thrones,I’m terrible with IT, is there just you and I communicating, I’m not sure if I’m posting on the site or not.....It doesn’t matter really I suppose...... so apologies if I get things wrong.

Thanks for sharing your experiences... no it wasn’t an essay🤣

What are your foremost health issues?

Sorry if you already have mentioned on early posts.....but sometimes my brain doesn’t absorb info. I can see you also have B12 inj. Are they for P A or Hashimotosetc...... I still don’t know what the difference is.

I don’t blame you for going for having all the tests done. We need to control our own health issues where possible.

I telephoned Medichecks and spoke to a lovely customer care person...... he said there was only Folate levels that hadn’t been able to be checked... the original email said the tests had been unsuccessful so I am really pleased that the B12 results will come through as I originally wanted them to . They are sending another test for me to try again before reverting to a nurse option .... so your advice on turning the pricker once inserted will be observed.

Thanks for reading my novel😂. What are we like !!

Good luck in getting an early appt with the nurse next week x

[Hidden in reply to PamBow]

Hi Pam lol yes your posting on the site don’t worry.

Hashimoto is thyroid disease and P.A is pernicious anemia where the body is unable to process b12 naturally and that’s why people with p.a have to inject.im sure some of our lovely members will explain it in more detail if I’m off.

If you look at the b12d.org website you’ll also get some good info there,I bought dr chandys book from amazon and it’s a good read easy to understand ,Hes a lovely doctor retired now but very passionate about helping patients with b12 deficiency

Most of the symptom checkers List he has covers my symptoms lol,I know we are all different and I’m still learning mostly from the members here.

That’s good that you’ll at least get your active b12 results but you know they’ll be high because you’ve had loading doses.

I was advised to optimise my vitamin levels first then recheck my thyroid levels to get a truer picture of what was going on so that’s the route I’m trying to follow but obviously lockdown delayed everything for lots of us with no access to testing.My blood tests have now been moved to the 21st but that’s ok I’m just relieved to finally get them done.

Stay well and keep reading and learning sme days you will absorb more info than others I’m the same x

[PamBow in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Thrones.... stay safe