Blood Tests

[Huddy1234]

Morning all,

After visiting a nurse yesterday for a pill check (contraceptive) I chatted with her about menopausal symptoms as def not been myself lately.

The appointment was extremely rushed which was annoying and she was pretty unsympathetic..... she suggested I go for blood tests (I showed her a screenshot of a list of things this site said I should ask forrelating to my under active thyroid) and her reply was "she didn't know what T3 and T4 are so I won't be tested for them'!!!!!!

So, on my blood form she has ticked:

Electrolytes

Liver

Non fasting

Glucose

Thyroxine

FBC

B12

Folate

Vitamin D

So looks like I won't be getting T3 or T4 - can I demand this does anyone know?

I have tests booked 7.20am Weds 8th August so my last Thyroxine tablet will be Tuesday morning yes??

Thanks everyone

[humanbean]

Thyroxine is T4.

I'm not sure what purpose a non-fasting glucose test has, particularly at 7.20am when the blood will be taken. Presumably she is trying to make you eat breakfast before the test. I would ignore the non-fasting and go for fasting. The only difference it will make is which reference range is used. For a non-fasting test it would be higher than a fasting one. I'm pretty sure the test itself will be identical.

A non-fasting glucose result will very much depend on how long it is since you ate, and it would (probably) also be affected by whether you ate mostly carbs or mostly protein and fat at your previous meal.

You should take your previous Levo 24 hours before the blood draw, then take any missing doses after the blood has been taken. The fact that you have to take your Levo after the test is another reason to delay breakfast for an hour after the test since it has to be taken on an empty stomach.

[Huddy1234 in reply to humanbean]

Thanks Humanbean,

So it's just Ferratin, Thyroid antibodies and T3 that is missing from my blood test list! Tempted to actually write it on in the "other" section myself and see what happens??

I will fast for the test (even though Non Fasting has been ticked).

[humanbean in reply to Huddy1234]

Well, I've heard of people doing that, but I've never done it myself, and don't plan to either.

But if you do write it in, remember ferritin has an 'i' in the middle, not an 'a'.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

Don't forget to drink plenty of water because dehydration can affect the results of quite a few blood tests. It also makes it harder for the nurse to find your veins for drawing blood.

[Huddy1234 in reply to humanbean]

Yeah, had a few tests before and aware to drink water - thanks alot for your help.

Sounds like T3 is not widely available for testing on NHS so won't write that one on!!

[Angel_of_the_North]

Well most of that is not useful for thyroid or menopause. Are these people too lazy to look up what they can't remember from training? Thyroxine is T4 (but might end up being just TSH), B12, folate and D are useful. FBC may highlight problems with anaemia, but there are no tests there for sex hormones (FSH, LH, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone), so no use for seeing if you are menopausal, and non-fasting glucose is likely a waste of time - make sure your test is fasting and just apply the fasting range to the results. A non-fasting glucose test can be used to identify high after-meal glucose, but that's a bit sophisticated for the NHS, and I think it has to be done at a certain time after eating a full meal.

[Huddy1234 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Hi,

I do feel like the appointment was a complete waste of time too...... she literally wanted me in and out in 5 minutes (and I was 20 mins early for my appt so she did have some extra time).

I will definately fast but been told to drink lots of water.

These medically trained people do not seem to know (or care) that this stuff affects everyday life and can really bring people down.