Accurate blood tests & minimum levels required

[butlertammy]

I’m a 43 year old American female. I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was about 12 and had been on about .025mg of Synthroid or levothyroxine for 18 years... hypothyroidism runs in both sides of my family and my mother, father and sister also all have always take medication.

Here’s the problem... when I moved here to the UK 15 years ago my dr(s) insisted my thyroid levels were absolutely fine, and not high enough to warrant medication... after 5 years of asking to be retested, with the same results over and over, I gave up... but I don’t believe moving here just suddenly cured my thyroid problem!

Thus year I happened to send a hair sample off to a private testing lab to look for allergies and intolerances... in that test they reported I had a hypothyroid!

After living 15 years with the side effects from not having medication, I am so fed up. Headaches, sensitivity to cold, extremely dry skin, brittle nails, weight gain, etc...

Any suggestions?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

butlertammy

I find it rather puzzling that a UK doctor would suddenly decide that a new patient isn't hypothyroid when they're already on Levothyroxine and take them off their medication. What were your test results at the time that decision was made?

Have you had any recent thyroid function tests so that you have current levels?

Did you know that it is very easy to do a private test with one of our recommended labs? They can be done by fingerprick or for an extra cost venous blood draw can be arranged. The most popular test is one of the following (basically the same):

Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT medichecks.com/thyroid-func... You can use code THYROIDUK for a 10% discount on any test not on special offer

or

Blue Horizon Thyroid Check PLUS ELEVEN bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...

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 Total B12 which measures bound and unbound (active) B12 but doesn't give a separate result for each. Medichecks does Active B12.

Total 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 Total B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)

You can post your results on here and members will help.

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 can give false results (most labs use biotin).

These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.

[butlertammy]

I thought the same and was frustrated when I gave him my US prescription bottle and he refused to refill it.

But I did appreciate he wanted his own test for his records... the results he said came back ‘just under’ the normal limits. I was never given records.

If I have my blood tested privately will a GP give me a prescription based on those results?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to butlertammy]

"I was never given records."

They aren't offered to patients, but in the UK we are legally entitled to have a copy of our results, so get into the habit of asking the receptionist for a print out a few days after you've had any test.

"the results he said came back ‘just under’ the normal limits"

Which test?

"If I have my blood tested privately will a GP give me a prescription based on those results?"

Not necessarily. GPS aren't obliged to accept private test results. However, if the are out of range then there is the opportunity to say to the doctor that he should do his own tests to confirm the results.

The NHS is promoting MonitorMyHealth which is an NHS lab which does tests for the general public. The basic thyroid test - TSH, FT4 and FT3 - costs £29 and should be acceptable to GPs as the test is done by an NHS lab, however some GPs are refusing to accept them due to "the range being different".