private blood test..was it a waste of money

[babymaker]

I paid £114 for a private blood test from blue horizon.....when i told GP of test results she said we use a different module or something to count so have i wasted my hard earned cash...:(...i have to wait a few more weeks until GP will repeat tests...i seem to be crying most of the day but ok at night...so strange.....

[PinkNinja]

Your GP is spouting a load of rubbish! It doesn't matter what units are used provided you are using the reference range for that lab. Your GP clearly doesn't want to listen to what your results say. Can you post your results here? It may help us to know why your GP is behaving the way he is.

Your blood tests are not a waste of time or money. Your GP just doesn't want to pay any attention to them. I have never heard a GP behave in such a way to private tests!

Please post your results and someone will be able to help

Carolyn x

[babymaker in reply to PinkNinja]

thank you Carolyn,,,total thyroxine (t4) was 91, TSH was 0.42..free thyroxine was 13.1 and free T3 4.0

thyroid antibodies

thyroglobulin antibody 13.5 iu/ml 1-115 negative

peroxidae antibody 6.4 iu/ml 0-34

this may have changed as i have been reduced from 100 to 75 levo past 4 weeks

thanks mandy x

[PinkNinja in reply to babymaker]

Do you have the reference ranges for these? It's difficult to tell, particularly for the free thyroxine, where in the range you are. I think your thyroxine is a little on the low side, as is your T3 but I don't know without the ranges. If they haven't supplied the ranges, you could contact them and ask. This may be what your GP is talking about. Different labs have different ranges based on local population and measuring techniques. Once you have the reference ranges the tests are just as useful as the ones your GP does; actually more useful as it includes T3

[babymaker in reply to PinkNinja]

HI, the ranges T4 nmol/l 59-154..i am 91 so in range

TSH 0.27-4.2 i am 0.42...so in range again and free thyroxine 12.0-22.0 i am 13.1..again in range and free T3 i am 4.0 and range is 3.1-6.8 ...I feel bad in the mornings and very low mood and tearful but by 5-6pm i come round and emotional symptoms ease...i did fall asleep tonight lol...have to see my GP on monday...was hypo then said i was hyper do reduced me from 100 to 75....

[PinkNinja in reply to babymaker]

Your T4 and T3 are very low in range which is why you are feeling so bad. Your TSH can go as low as 0.04 without being a problem according to a paper I found the other day. I'll see if I can find it again.

You might also like to get Dr Toft's booklet 'Understanding Thyroid Disorders' where he states that for patients on thyroxine TSH should be below 1, and in some people below range, and that T4 needs to be at the top of the range, and in some people, above range for them to feel well. He states this is fine provided T3 is normal. The book is published in association with the BMA and he himself is former chair of the BTA, the body responsible for the current thyroid treatment guidelines. It is available at some chemist (our Lloyds chemist stocks it) or Amazon for less than £5.

So your blood tests are not worthless. They have told me that you are under-replaced and that your T3 is also on the low side, which is probably why you feel so bad. An increase of thyroid medication will probably help. Aiming for a free T3 around 5 would be good, and perhaps a little higher if you still don't feel well.

If you were able to see a private doctor (one that is recommended because private doesn't necessarily mean good!) these results would be useful to them.

Hopefully you can convince your doctor to increase your thyroid medication again.

Carolyn x

[PinkNinja in reply to babymaker]

Here it is;

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/199...

It states that there is no increased risk of atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular disease or osteoporosis in patients with a TSH below range as long as it is above 0.04. Those groups at higher risk are those with TSH below 0.04 (i.e. suppressed) and those with a TSH above 5. This paper is also useful for those who have a TSH between 5 and 10 but whose doctors won't treat.

I hope it helps you, along with Dr Toft's book.

Carolyn x

[Moggie]

Unfortunately you are not the first on this site to have spent money on private blood tests only for their GP to totally dismiss them, some wont even look at them. When someone comes on here saying they are going to have private tests done I always tell them to ask their GP if they will except private tests before they have them done, unless they are having them done for their records only.

When I wanted my VitD done and my GP refused 3 times I then asked her if she would take any notice of a private test and her first question was "what lab are you going to use", I named a few from this site but in the end she relented and did a NHS test (which proved I was totally deficient in vitD).

It's wrong that GP's can and do refuse to except private testing and another thing I always inform people on here is that their own GP's can do private testing, that way the GP can't effuse to except them.

Moggie x

[BlueHorizonMedicals]

Private Blood Tests from Blue Horizon Medicals or any of the other private blood testing providers out there such as Bupa or Nuffield are fully valid in the UK as long as the Laboratory used is an accredited one.

All of the laboratories we use in the UK for our standard thyroid blood tests are fully accredited and are also used by the NHS.

Most GPs accept our results, and they are always welcome to call to discuss, but occasionally they do not. That's all I am at liberty to say unfortunately!

WIshing you well.

In health,

Paul Harris

Blue Horizon Medicals.