Needle phobic - Dr who will treat underactive thyroid from private tests? Blue horizon/zrt

[Salphy]

Hi, does anyone know of any drs who will treat from private blood test results? I've done the blue horizon finger prick test today but my blood clots very fast and had already congealed before I put the tube in the envelope. I sent it off anyway but BH customer services basically said it was pointless to send it and finger prick testing probably isn't a viable option for me

My next option is the zrt labs dried blood spot test but having wasted £50 on the bh test I'm reluctant to spend £200 on the zrt if there aren't any drs who will even consider the results.

Does anybody know of any one or have any advice other than it's not that bad, take a friend, numbing cream etc. It's not the pain I have a genuine fear. My gp made the appointment for my thyroid blood test 2 years ago... I know it's pathetic but I nearly passed out just from the finger prick today. I couldn't stand a life of yearly blood tests

Thanks x

[Ruthi]

I'm needle phobic, to the extent that I couldn't possibly do my own finger prick test! I had to let my hubby do it while I lay down.

Go to your GP for the blood test. Make sure you have drunk plenty of water. Wear warm clothing, and warn them you are a fainter so they lie you down. Its a fact of life, and we just have to put up with it.

[puncturedbicycle]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but if your blood is unusable I thought BH would send you an alternative test method (though of course a needle will still be involved). I know other people here have been able to do that when they couldn't fill the phial.

My advice is to ask your gp (or dentist) if you could get a mild sedative to help you relax. My dentist doesn't blink an eyelash and gives me a nice big dose of diazepam when I have a dental procedure which goes beyond a filling.

[Clutter]

Melissaemily,

I would check with your GP or other GPs at your practice whether they will accept private blood tests before ordering any more. Perhaps you could discuss CBT or hypnotherapy with your GP to help you with the needle phobia.

[Hidden]

I'm like you, a total needle-phobe. I did my test via BH and went to the doc with the result. She wanted me to do a second test (not because she didn't believe the BH results, but I was borderline hypo and 6 weeks had passed, so she wanted me to repeat it. I told her about my phobia and she grudgingly agreed to let me do my tests via BH, so it is possible. I simply will not have a needle in my arm and fret for so long about it that it's unhealthy. Very happy doing things via BH.

Are you sure you're hydrated enough? Might that have something to do with too-rapid blood clotting?

[Salphy]

Thanks everyone. my other half had to do it for me too I couldn't have done it myself, I couldn't even keep my hand still over the tube I was shaking so much.

Thanks Jadzhia, that gives me hope! Not sure if I'm hydrated enough, I had a big glass of water about an hour before and one during. The guy on the bh online chat said it's just one of those things and peoples blood clots at different rates.

It's happened to me before on a proper blood test and I had to repeat it because it had clot (that was the last one I had about 10 years ago)

Did you have to prove their reliability or anything to her? I'm a bit worried they'd immediately dismiss zrt labs over bh because it's in America and a dried blood spot.

I spoke to a bh dr about 6 months ago who said they are in the process of developing their own dried blood spot test and to watch this space over the next 1-2 years. I've already been putting it off for 2 x

[Salphy]

And sorry yes bh advised to go to bmi for a proper blood test for an extra £35 then when I explained they offered a replacement test but said it's likely to happen again x

[Justiina]

Can't you lay down while blood drawn at laboratory?

I am not a fan of needles either and I often ask may I lay down especially if drawn lots of blood.

No doctor over here in finland ignore zrt tests as same method is used for newborns. Mine has been accurate, once confirmed in normal lab.

[Salphy]

Hi Justiina, thanks for your reply. I'd still get just as stressed in the run up to it. Just thinking about it stops me sleeping even when I haven't even got one booked. If anything I think lying down would make me panic more. I think I'll have to try the zrt one and hope I can find an understanding gp.

Part of me if still hoping the bh one will be OK! I just don't understand how anybody's wouldn't clot by the time it reaches the lab if not done in a vacutainer. I've just Googled it and it says typical time is 25-30seconds and that even some vacutainers have anticoagulants in them to mix it with.

The instructions said that for tests with purple or green tubes they had to be mixed as soon as the blood went in to prevent them from clotting as the sample would be unsuitsble.

But for the yellow tube I was sent for thyroid it didn't say anything other than fill as full as you can and you can mix blood from seperate finger pricks in the same yellow bottle.

I don't understand how anybody can fill one from three different finger pricks without their blood clotting either during the process or in transport back to the lab. I even paid extra for delivery by 1pm tomorrow