Doctors a waste of time for blood tests!

[nikki2975]

I had an appointment late last week to request some blood tests for my Thyroid and tests for Celias disease and hormone imbalances to help with my dieting ( I have been diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and Hashimoto's disease)

When i got there, my doctor told me that it doesn't work like that and i can't request blood tests...I have to write my symptoms down and then they will decide if i need a blood test to eliminate or diagnose a condition. He looked at my recent blood tests and said i'd recently had blood tests (Nov '15) for B12, Vit D, Iron, Ferritin & Folate which i'd requested during my appointment.when i asked for a copy he told me it would be better for me and my specialist if i wait till the end of February when i have to go for another blood test so we can go of them results.

In terms of the FT3, TPOAb & TGAb apparently the hospital will do that...my appointment is not till the 15th March and they have already cancelled it once.

For the celias disease he said i had to write down my symptoms and then go back and see him even though i told him there and then what they were. I also said i read about it online and how it's quite common to get it when your Hyperthyroid plus from posts on healthunlocked. his response was that it doesn't mean that i have it and that the symptoms could be for a number of different conditions it doesn't necessarily mean i have Celias and as for the tests to check for hormone imbalances...he agreed that, that could be apart of my Hyperthyroidism.

so all in all i left without previous test results which i asked for 3 times and no blood test forms apart from one i can't have till the end of February that has none of the tests i'd asked for during my appointment on.

[galathea]

You have a right to see your medical records under the Data Protection Act 1998. Guidance on The Data Protection Act 1998 can be found at: ico.org.uk/for-the-public/p...

Suggest you write a letter, say that under the Act above, you would like to know the results of all blood tests undertaken in the past year

Give them 7 working days to comply and send a stamped addressed envelope. Send it to the head of practice, and give them all the info to find you, like name, address, dob.

Xx g

[nikki2975 in reply to galathea]

Thank you, i'll send a letter tomorrow

[Hidden]

How dispiriting. You can get a celiac test for yourself though. Last time i looked about one in twenty hypots had celiac, but it is true that the nhs doesn,t automatically screen thyroid patients for it. I think we should all exclude it. It is a chameleon disease, and doesn,t necessarily have the classic symptoms.

[nikki2975 in reply to Hidden]

My previous doctors thought i had it or that i had mild IBS after touching and prodding my stomach for a few minutes but the symptoms eased so i never had any real tests but it keeps coming and going.

I did do the test on their website and it said i could have it and to inform my doctor to do the test but i forgot about it till now. i'll keep more of an eye on it and see what i eat around the time the symptoms start and take it from there.

I've just re-looked at the symptoms of IBS on the NHS website and think it might be that after all as i have all of the symptoms of this too. it's so confusing that many illnesses and diseases have similar symptoms.

I've made an appointment for a different doctor, so i'll see what she says about it and hopefully get to the bottom of it one way or another.

[Marz]

You can test negative for celiac and still have it unfortunately. Why not go gluten free for a month or two and see if your symptoms improve. Being gluten free is good for many health problems - and not just the thyroid.

Can you afford to go privately for your blood tests through Thyroid UK ? I believe you receive a discount. There was a post this week about it all.....

[nikki2975 in reply to Marz]

After doing more research i think it might be IBS as mentioned by my old doctor a few years ago and not Celiac's but it might be worth trying gluten free anyway and see if it helps as i've heard it can help some symptoms of IBS too.

I didn't know you could get blood tests done through Thyroid UK... i'll see if i can find the post.

[Marz in reply to nikki2975]

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

[Hidden in reply to nikki2975]

If you have gut problems and hypot then I would think you meet nhs criteria for a celiac test.

Once you've had it, even if it is negative, you can then try gluten free.

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

Marz, I agree, you can test neg, but still I think it is best to exclude celiac through a test before trying a gluten free diet, because usually the blood test will work. That's the standard medical advice, and I think it is sensible, because once you are gluten free the symptoms on trying gluten again are twice as bad, and the idea of eating enough gluten to then do the blood test is awful. If you have celiac you want to know, close relatives should then be tested.

I'll never know if I have celiac or not, because I had no idea of any of this when I went g free.