Starting to have a few doubts about Medichecks

[elaine2447]

I always use this company for thyroid and cortisol testing. Quite recently on another forum it was advised to use Regenerus saliva testing as apparently there was a big query about the accuracy of Medichecks on the evening sample.

Apart from that I am always puzzled why I feel as if I am constantly wracked with arthritis type pains in joints and muscles, and have a compressed T5 which doesn't help. I put this down to thyroid/Hashimotos which is being ignored by GP so I am not on any medication. With Medichecks my CRP has always come back over the months 1.7, 0.9 and 1.1. I feel particularly rough today and am due to see a rheumatologist tomorrow so I was sorting out some test results. To my surprise I hadn't noticed that my GP surgery had my CRP done on May 9th in the walk in phlebotomy clinic at our hospital in Cambridge, mainly for calcium and parathyroid, and it read 4mg/L (0.0 -6.0) but on May 17th according to Medichecks 0.9mg/L (0.00 - 5.00). Surely CRP doesn't fluctuate to that extent in a matter of 8 days?

My idea was to go armed with all my results tomorrow but as some of these specialists can be pretty scathing about private tests, I feel I cannot do that now.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

Hi Elaine2447

It is very difficult when people try to compare different tests performed at different labs on different dates.

Medichecks tell me:

The cortisol issue arose because we don't need to freeze samples because they are not being sent to the US and some of our results were different from previous results sent to Genova or Regenerus' lab.

The lab we use uses a Roche analyser and there is no reason to doubt their accuracy.

Similarly, the CRP results this person has received from us are very consistent with previous results. The test the GP did may not have been the same test - ours are usually High Sensitivity CRP which is not the same as CRP.

Tests performed on different dates can be different, even if performed at the same lab with the same analyser. In particular, inflammation markers can change rapidly if you have a virus, an infection or even take vigorous exercise which might cause short term inflammation. Both our results and her GP's results are normal.

I hope that this explains things and that you are not so worried. Lyn

[elaine2447 in reply to lynmynott]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I realise labs have different ways of testing. However I was rather concerned a couple of months or so ago that Medicheck was relating parathyroid to thyroid on their selling page for PTH testing. I contacted them and explained that the two are in no way related. They wrote back immediately to thank me and said they would look into it and they changed the wording and removed anything thyroid related. But I am very concerned and disappointed that they are still advertising this expensive blood test to be done at one of their alocated clinics but then posted to them. You cannot post a pth sample it has to be carefully kept at a temperature and preferably on ice as it can go off. The reason my gp surgery are reluctant to do it and send me to the local hospital phlebotomy walk in clinic. Also it has always to be done with calcium and preferably vitamin D. The next time I might give Blue Horizon a go as a comparison with the the thyroid test. At the moment I'm sitting waiting for my rheumatology appointment and had intended to be armed with my private results but have decided best not to now.

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to elaine2447]

Hi Elaine,

Oh dear! I had no idea about that. Did you explain all this to them? If not, would you like me to send them your post. If there is a problem, it needs sorting....

[elaine2447 in reply to lynmynott]

I told them all this. I haven't checked their pth page recently, got so.many other problems. If they haven't changed it or removed the option of pth testing altogether I feel sorry for anyone paying out for nothing.

[Helena877 in reply to elaine2447]

On my first visit to see a private Endo he instructed that parathyroid hormone was also tested (and as you mention) it was tested alongside calcium and vitamin D.

When it came back I think it was just saying that it was intact. Clueless as to why he'd test if it wasn't thyroid related.

[elaine2447 in reply to Helena877]

It may be that you had higher than range 2.60 calcium so he wanted to check your pth. The intact pth is the name of the test. The max range is 6.9 nearly everywhere but my surgery very conveniently has it at around 7.35, same with their TSH max 5.50!!!!