Where to get private testing done

[BEE2019]

Hi I just wondered is anyone can tell me where I could get more in depth testing done for B12 deficiency and pernicious anaemia as my GP only orders the standard serum B12 test and intrinsic factor test

Thank you in advance 😊

[Gambit62 Administrator]

St Thomas's in london seem to offer a full B12 panel as a private test - Otherwise I think some companies like medichecks offer a complete panel.

Please note that if you have had an injection or supplemented it can interfere with further testing, making results difficult to interpret.

[Blackpanther46 in reply to Gambit62]

If you get a medichecks full panel done and take it to the GP will the GP follow up ?

[BEE2019 in reply to Blackpanther46]

Thank you 👍

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to Blackpanther46]

Blackpanther46 They may do they or may not do - most will prefer to do the tests themselves because then they know the conditions under which the sample has been taken.

[BEE2019 in reply to Gambit62]

Yes I guess im thinking therefore that the St Thomas hospital ones might be a better option as GP maybe more likely to accept those 🤔

[FlipperTD]

Scientist, not medic.

NHS laboratories are the ones I'd always go to for analyses. [Biased, certainly!] Any lab that doesn't offer any particular test has access to a network of other labs for referral.

Rather than attempting to manage this complicated process yourself by ordering 'private investigations', personally, I would consider a referral to a consultant with an interest in PA.

If your GP doesn't think this is appropriate, at that point you may wish to consider a private referral. I hope this helps.

[BEE2019 in reply to FlipperTD]

Thank you for your reply I’d dearly love such a referral unfortunately my GP says Low normal results such as mine are perfectly fine and don’t merit any investigation as numbers show I’m not deficient 🤷‍♀️ (My symptoms are irrelevant to them 🙄)I know I can self refer to a private consultant which I may have to

I just thought I could more easily afford some tests first as a starting point 🤔

I think the St Thomas’s ones are the ones I will go for

[FlipperTD in reply to BEE2019]

Thanks for your considered response. It's disturbing to hear of another one who 'treats the numbers' rather than the symptoms, or, perish the thought, 'the patient'. If you go down the 'Private Tests' route, you still face the question of 'what tests to request' and 'what to do with the results' which is why I (personally) would start with a consultation. I don't think you should have to pay for anything; you've already paid through taxation.

The St Thomas's route is a good one. I would certainly avoid any 'High Street' shops at this stage.

Good luck.

[BEE2019 in reply to FlipperTD]

Thank you Yes I know where your coming from 🤔

I am tempted by my local iron clinic at the Cambridge Nuffield as well

there was a great piece about it recently in the news re long covid treatment

The treatment completely turned around a patients health suffering from long covid

(I am not suffering from that thankfully as not had covid )

but it seems to have sparked some interest into new research into vitamin B12 deficiency and funding has been being applied for

I was thinking to phone and inquire what tests they run exactly as even if I may not require this iron infusion treatment that they specialise in I would be interested to know which investigative tests they run etc

the patient in question had had all standard B12 and iron tests done previously that had been requested by her NHS GP which came back as low but in range so she was not diagnosed as deficient

however when she saw the specialist at the iron clinic here he did more complex testing and found her to be extremely deficient not just in iron but in B12 also

She is a new woman now apparently ! 🤷‍♀️🤔

[FlipperTD in reply to BEE2019]

It sounds like they're the sort of folks who could help. Reference ranges are all very well but it's important to treat the patient and the symptoms, not the numbers, and to listen to the patient.

Good luck.