PRIVATE GP OR NOT

Due to my doctor being no help and won’t do antibodies or vit d test I’m going to go to spire hospital and get blood tests done with blue horizon but my question is would I be better seeing private go their as well has any one done this and it’s worked out would love to know if going private is any good

[shaws Administrator]

Some have been very, very disappointed after paying out for private and it was a waste of time and money.

If you email Dionne at Thyroiduk.org.uk at:-

[e-mail]

she has a list of sympathetic doctors.

I think you know blood tests have to be at the earliest and fasting and if home tests make sure you are well-hydrated a couple of days before and arms/hands are warm. If you took thyroid hormones you'd allow a 24 hours gap between last dose and test and take afterwards.

[trelemorele]

If you're new to the disease than it is best to see a doctor to help you understand bloods and initiate treatment, give advise.

Having said that, the GP you'll see may not be good. At the same time he/she may be fantastic.

Do your research on GP your planning to see first not to be disappointed.

[Peanut31]

Hi Rocky2011

I would obtain your blood results first.

Presume you are doing a full thyroid testing, TSH, T3, T4 as well as vitamins and antibodies?

Once you get the results post them on here and we can advise.

The reason for me saying this, is I paid to see a private Endocrinologist prior to knowing about this forum.

He diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s as antibodies present, and said my vitamin levels were too low. All we seem to do is concentrate on vitamins levels.

As I was not improving, this is when I started to do research and came across this forum.

It was advised after having TSH, T3 &T4 tests I should start Levothyroxine, and with having Hashimoto’s I wasn’t going to improve without Levothyroxine.

When I mentioned this to him he said that no medication would help. So after spending hundreds of pounds I got no where and we parted company.

Fast forward March time, even before this, I was going downhill fast. I thought to myself that as the Endocrinologist who was suppose to be a specialist said he couldn’t help, why would my GP so I left it.

Eventually, my hubby came with me to the surgery as by this time I was a zombie, nothing made sense and I was in a right mess.

Bloods taken, bingo TSH 12.2, started on Levothyroxine straight away.

In fact the GP said “no wonder you felt crap’

It’s only recently that I have learnt that in the UK until your TSH reaches 10 or above you may struggle to get a GP or an Endocrinologist to start you on any medication.

This was the issue I faced with my private Endocrinologist.

Now it maybe different for you, you may find an understanding GP that’s is prepared to treat the patient on symptoms not NHS guidelines.

It also turned out the Endocrinologist was actually on the list here, but, to be fair to thyroid U.K. they removed him when I explained the situation.

When your having thyroid bloods taken always make sure they are as early as possible in the morning no later than 9am, no eating and only drink water.

Why? Well it’s a tip we offer members on here that doesn’t need to be disclosed to nurses/GP’s/Endocrinologist. Your TSH is always higher first thing in the morning, this May help you to get a diagnosed to start Levothyroxine and once on Levothyroxine obtain an increase.

GP’s are obsessed with TSH ranges only, they ignore T3 & T4 ranges, so you could have a perfect TSH figure but, awful T3 & T4 and that can make you feel ill as well.

Your not at that stage yet to advise, but, as said above, once you obtain your blood results post them on here, including ranges and the experts will advise.

Best wishes & Good luck.

Peanut31

[SlowDragon Administrator]

No definitely not yet

Getting full tests first.

Come back here with results. Ask advice on vitamins and how to improve, etc depending on results obviously

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Rocky2011

You might want to reconsider going to the Spire, depending on what test you are considering. Read the following recent thread

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

It might be better to choose a home test and go for the venous blood draw option and pay for the home phlebotomy service. That way you get to post off the sample yourself rather than be at the mercy of the hospital and however long they take to process the test.

[humanbean in reply to SeasideSusie]

I notice that in my reply in the link you gave, SeasideSusie, I never mentioned what I was eventually told was the problem. Apparently Spire have introduced new software to their labs and the implementation and transfer of old customer details to their new system has been a disaster.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

Confused now lol should go to spire for bloods or not

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

Well, that depends on whether Spire have got their act together and their new software is working.

I used Spire via this website :

privatebloodtests.co.uk/

It was Spire that caused problems, but BH wasn't helpful 9n explaining what was going wrong.

The choice is yours. You could go for BH at Spire, just BH, just Spire or some other company altogether.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Rocky

What do you want tested?

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thyroid antibodies vit d

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Rocky

If you think you can do a fingerprick test then the cheapest way is with Medichecks Thyroid Ultravit test. It does more tests than you need but at £79 it is much better value than antibodies at £69 and Vit D £39.

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

You can arrange venous blood draw if you prefer, either with your GP or local hospital if they will allow it, or you can use one of Medichecks clinics for blood draw or arrange a home visit for £39

Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus Eleven is the same test and home blood draw is £49.

[Saggyuk in reply to SeasideSusie]

I use medichecks and the test for £79 mentioned above. I just pay local hospital £10 to take the blood for me - cheaper than getting it through medichecks which is £25 last time I looked.

[Saggyuk in reply to Saggyuk]

My results are often posted day after blood test - I chose express though so no doctor comments.

[Hidden in reply to Saggyuk]

So if I contact medicheaks get the kit tell my doctor I’m doing it private can they do blood draw for me what all together should I test for

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Rocky

Some doctors will do a blood draw for private tests, some won't. Some NHS hospitals will, some won't. You need to find out before you order the test, that way you will know whether to also order and pay for blood draw through Medichecks or Blue Horizon.

If you want a full thyroid panel and vitamins and minerals to include

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies - TPO and TG

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Then you need Medichecks Thyroid Ultravit or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus Eleven.

If you don't need all those tests then you will have to look through each lab's online catalogue and decide what you do want.

[Saggyuk in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi there, if it helps find somewhere nearby that does it cheaper, you can always call medichecks and ask where's the nearest place you can get the blood test through them - on the assumption that if they do it through them, they'd be happy to do it for you too. They told me the nearby hospital so I then rang them directly and found they charged less if you do it directly. They actually prefer it as they sometimes get delayed payment from medichecks lol! Medichecks are great in all other things though and have always been happy to answer anything and help on the phone

[Fruitandnutcase]

I would go for a blood test first then decide what you want to do after that. You could organise a home blood test - as early as possible and without taking any thyroid meds if you are taking thyroid meds.

I use Blue Horizon home fingerprick tests and have great success with them. I sent one off my Thyrois 11 fingerprick test on Monday morning this week and the results and their doctor’s report appeared in my inbox by lunchtime on Wednesday and that included an HbA1c to see what was happening with my blood sugar.

Then once you get your results post them on here and see what people think. Then decide on your next step from there.

[Hidden]

I went to Spire as I was beginning to ( correctly with help from this forum)

suspect I had adrenal issues. The Spire dr told me I didn't have Cushings disease. £120 CHA CHING ! Obviously she went to the same chocolate teapot school as my GP. They will ask you for your GPs details. I didn't give mine as my GP would undoubtedly have thrown me out of the practice for having the audacity of asking for a second opinion. If I were you I'd do the same. Good luck

[Hidden]

Contacted my surgery this morning they will do blood draw for me I’m getting thyroid and thyroid antibodies done and vit d but already had b12 folates ferritin full blood count is it worth doing again also shall I be taking folic acid an b12 up till test or stop now and what about levothyroxine is it just stop the day b4

[Saggyuk in reply to Hidden]

You should post all those results into a new thread also. The NHS do the serum B12 blood test which shows total active and inactive B12 (inactive being useless) so not really the best test. Medichecks do the active B12 which is a better test - or so most believe?

NHS won't test your T3 unlike the tests recommended here - unless it is a consultant rather than a GP requesting them - this is quite an important one too. If you only want one or two of them, that would cost little less than just getting the £79 one as singular tests are about £30-40 each.

I can't quite remember how long you should stop your vits before the test but post your other results first and ask them there as taking the meds before the test will skew the results. SeasideSusie will know better than me. Then others will advise on what tests you might need on top after checking your results.

Levo you should just take after the blood test as it peaks in your blood for some time after you take the dose so do the blood test first thing in the morning and take levo straight after.