It's not me dissing finger prick testing here as I myself have used Blue Horizon and Medichecks over the last year for thyroid testing and my gp happily accepts them but I'm not sure he realises they're a finger prick result.
Anyway a friend of mine messaged me today saying she wouldn't trust them as she had read only that they are not consistent or accurate against an NHS vein blood test and results can be less accurate. Now this concerned me because I relied on Blue Horizon and Medicheck last year to get early morning thyroid testing so that my gp would diagnose me. I had NHS results from the summer before where my tsh was 5.35, ft4 10.2. Both borderline and my gp told me I was fine despite my fatigue. He went on to test me for all kinds of other things and ignoring the thyroid. It led to me being dragged to the clinic often for more appointments and tests and one day I was so fatigued and ill I had a severe panic attack during the a blood test which led to me developing a fear of blood tests and appointments there. I was so fatigued and ill I just couldn't do it anymore.
As of January 2016 after seeking advice here I used Blue Horizon and Medicheck for blood tests via a finger prick testing service. My tsh was 6.8 in January last year, 7.4 by march and 9.28 by May. I was then given treatment. I continue to use Medicheck to monitor my thyroid.
Last November my gp ran a full sweep of NHS bloods at my house. My fatigue wasn't lifting so he thought it was best to do a full MOT. All ok other than 1 glucose raised but hba1c ok and sodium ran low at 129, should have been at least 133. I found the test so anxiety provoking that I said seeing as I was due my thyroid test the week after with Medicheck i would repeat the sodium with them as he was concerned. The range with them was 135-145 and it came in at 138. Gp was pleased.
In January this year he said he wanted to repeat he sodium and hba1c about march time but seeing as now I've this huge phobia I again said I'd add them to my thyroid that was due in March too. It ended up cheaper to do their essentials blood test for £69 than pay individual for the 2 tests he wanted repeating. The essentials test is a full blood count, liver and kidney function, gout, cholesterol and hba1c oh and a full iron check. It came back my liver AST level was 0.5 over range and ALT 0.1. They've always been normal. Gp wants them repeating in 3 months but isn't worried. My serum iron was out by 6 but as my transferrin and ferritin levels were ok he wasn't worried. My hemoglobin was 15.5, highest it's ever been but gp said it was ok. My fbc was ok but my neutrophils ran low at 1.6 (range 2-7.5) and the Lymphocytes were 3.98 (range 1.2-3.65). He just said to repeat in 3 week.
I've repeated them and the neutrophils thankfully have come up to 1.8 but lymphocytes have continued to rise to 4.45. Gp isn't worried about them as I have bad adult acne at present but he's worried about the neutrophils stop being low despite them rising so he's written to a haemotologist for advice.
It's all set my anxiety racing i case I have something more sinister after googling lymphocytes and why they raise.
My friend knows I rely on the private results due to my blood test phobias and I have had a lot of anxiety issues since being hypo but now I'm questioning was I ever hypo, what if what she says is right and the finger prick bloods aren't accurate at all. How can the companies sell these tests if they aren't as accurate as an NHS vein test? She said she tested her thyroid with medicheck 2 days after an NHS test and it was 2 points higher on the finger prick test despite doing it fasted and at the same time of the morning. Her mum tested her cholesterol and it was high so she saw her gp who tested it and told her it was normal.
So now I'm worried was my thyroid ever needing Levo and is it why I'm struggling with fatigue and ill health most days? I now feel an idiot I've relied on these tests the last few months for my MoT too and it's come back with some worrying white cell results yet November it was fine and I didn't even need to repeat the fbc I just did as it was included in the cheaper test. I never expected any results to be out as they weren't really last year.
Has anyone else used these tests for other tests other than thyroid? Can anyone reassure me? I have health issues being investigated and I'm now worried the tests I've done aren't even accurate and I'm worried I've sent my gp results that aren't even accurate. Also worried can I be sure my sodium has raised and the hba1c repeat test was normal. It was normal on the NHS at 35 and Medicheck 34, and last spring 35. So for me they do tally up. Also my fbc done in march was done at County Pathology but the bloods done 2 weeks ago were at a lab in Manchester and the results were pretty dead on the same other than the 2 white cells slightly different.
It's just set my mind worrying and I wish I wasn't told this as it's made me doubt my tests and whether I should even have taken Levo.
Thank you
Julie
or different method or machinery. 
Help - Finger prick blood test
Finger prick test for initial thyroid check. 
Blood tests...finger prick -vs- venous sample
Medicheck finger prick? 
