I posted a while back about having a bad neck and being generally ill. I’m on 100mcg of thyroxine but I have bouts of where i feel fatigued, depressed, spaced out. My hair falls out (a lot more than usual). When I posted my last results someone mentioned about being a bad converter. I’m wondering if I have hashis, because I have these “bouts” a couple of times a year. I’m thinking hashis or thyroiditis. I started end of May with my last flare and only in the past week have I felt semi normal! Even my husband was getting worried... it was the worse I’ve ever been. Anyway I’m going to have private tests as doctor as GP on does TSH and T4. I’ve got a bit of an autoimmune family. My eldest is coeliac and has low b12. She’s also had high antibodies. My youngest is type 1 diabetic with low ferritin and a raised TSH. Sorry for the long post but this is ruining my
Life and really want to get sorted. 🙁
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Tinacros
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When you have your new results, post them on the forum with their reference ranges (usually in brackets at the side of the result) and members will comment.
For a full picture you need a full thyroid panel plus vitamins and the most popular tests here are the following which can be done by fingeprick or venous blood draw if you prefer (at extra cost):
Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT medichecks.com/thyroid-func... You can use code THYROIDUK for a 10% discount on any test not on special offer
Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test but with the following small differences:
For the fingerprick test, Blue Horizon requires 1 x microtainer of blood (0.8ml), Medichecks requires 2 x microtainers (total 1.6ml)
Blue Horizon includes Total T4 (can be useful but not essential). Medichecks doesn't include this test.
B12 - Blue Horizon does Serum B12. Medichecks does Active B12.
Serum B12 shows the total B12 in the blood. Active B12 shows what's available to be taken up by the cells. You can have a reasonable level of Serum B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)
Medichecks have random special offers every Thursday and today they just happen to have the Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT on offer at £79 instead of £99 but you need to order it before midnight as then it goes back to it's normal price.
When doing thyroid tests, we advise:
* Book the first appointment of the morning, or with private tests at home no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. If we are looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, or looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction then we need TSH to be as high as possible.
* Fast overnight - have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before but delay breakfast on the day of the test and drink water only until after the blood draw. Eating may lower TSH, caffeine containing drinks affect TSH.
* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw. Adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.
* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it will give false results (Medichecks definitely use Biotin, they have confirmed this and the amount of time to leave the supplement off).
These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.
Some people find the fingerprick tests easy, others struggle. If you decide to do the fingerprick test then here are some tips:
* Be well hydrated, drink plenty of water the day before, and before you do the test.
* Some people take a shower before hand, some run up and down the stairs to get blood flowing. Personally, as I can't run up and down the stairs, I circle my arm round, windmill style.
* Have a bowl full of hot water, dip hand in and out, swish around, hand needs to go red. If blood flow stops, you can always swish round in the hot water again.
* Stand up to do the test. Make sure your arm is straight down when collecting the blood. Either use a small step stool to raise yourself well above the work surface, or put the collection tube on a lowish shelf. One member uses an ironing board so she can get the perfect height.
* Prick finger on the side, not the tip. I find that half way between the nail bed and tip is about right, or maybe slightly nearer the nail bed rather than the tip. I use my ring finger, but middle finger is next best for me.
* Do not squeeze your finger to get the blood out, it can damage the blood and it may not be usable
I've recently done 2 tests. The first one there was very little blood coming out which was unusual for me so I used a second finger and between the two I gradually filled the tube. However, when I checked the prick site for the first finger the actual cut was very small and as I've had some of these lancets fail before I put it down to that. When I did the second test this is what I did
* Prick my finger as usual, make a very slight twist with the lancet whilst blade is still in the finger. I'm not talking 90 degrees or anything, just a very slight twist to make the cut just slightly bigger, it doesn't hurt or cause a blood bath! This made a big difference, 11 generous drops of blood filled the tube in less 2 minutes.
Usually within 48 hours, maybe a bit quicker if you don't have the doctor's comments. Occasionally it may take a bit longer.
Don't do your test on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. It needs to be posted the day you do the test and to arrive the next day. It's best to do the test Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and post back that day. I recommend sending it back Special Delivery Guaranteed Next Day by 1pm. Hand it over at the post office counter and get a receipt with your tracking number. If it should fail to arrive on time then as long as you have your receipt with tracking number then you can claim the cost of the service back. Normal first class post or first class recorded delivery doesn't guarantee that it will arrive the next day.
When you make your new thread with your results you can either add the picture to your opening post or you can type the results and ranges into your post.
It’s fine to do it on a Friday as long as you do next day special delivery for 1pm, as their labs are open until 1 on a Saturday. It’s how I did mine, it is processed on that day too but Monday counts as your first day for turnaround. I didn’t get my results until the Friday though (that was with GP comments though)
The doctor's comments will very likely reflect what any GP would say, the lab's doctors are NHS trained so comments are bound to be the same. Often not worth bothering with, you'll get a better interpretation of your results on the forum.
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