Private blood tests

[suetatt68]

Any idea which is the best place to use for private thyroid and antibodies blood tests?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

suetatt68

Blue Horizon, Medichecks and Thriva all use the same lab to process their tests. Just choose the cheapest. Blue Horizon and Medichecks are the easiest websites to order from. I find Thriva confusing, and they have a very confusing way of giving the reference ranges, personally I'd avoid Thriva.

If ever you want just TSH, FT4 and FT3, no antibodies, then MonitorMyHealth is an NHS lab and it's cheaper than anyone else.

Check out discounts by clicking on each testing company here:

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

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.

Return samples the same day you do the test, on Monday - Wednesday, to ensure it gets there in time not to be hanging around over a weekend.

If you decide to do a fingerprick test here are my 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, at the same time try and make a very slight twist with the lancet (the blade retracts very quickly so you have like a nano second to twist the lancet). 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.

If you supplement with Biotin, or a B complex containing it (B7), leave it off for 7 days before doing any blood tests as it can give false results when biotin is used in the testing procedure, and most labs do use it.

Video showing how to do a fingerprick test:

youtube.com/watch?v=w2JzToZ...(Not working as expected?)