Disappointed - any testing companies that deal with under 18s?

[Harribear]

I was diagnosed with hypothroidism a couple of months ago, with vitamin b and vitamin d deficiency (I suspect I've had it much longer, as my mum also has it). I now believe my 15 year old daughter may also have thyroid problems - she is constantly exhausted, has heavy and painful periods, has terrible anxiety and to me her neck appears a little swollen. I went to the doctors with her today hoping for at least a further appointment for blood tests and was basically fobbed off with a referral to CAMHs. The doctor who I saw was really not interested in what I had to say (not my doctor, who is marvellous) so I am now looking to get my daughters blood tested privately - just not sure if any are willing to test under 18s.

[humanbean]

Blue Horizon Medicals (BH) will do testing of under 18s. But I have no idea if there are any "strings attached".

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk/

There are BH discount codes available here :

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

...

Oh, yes, I've just remembered there is an issue according to the FAQ. Some companies who do phlebotomy for BH customers won't do phlebotomy for patients under 18, so be aware of that one. Presumably getting finger-prick testing done isn't a problem - but do be careful before spending any money.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Suggest you try again with your doctor first

Do you have autoimmune thyroid disease

This frequently runs in families

With heavy periods GP should absolutely be testing your daughter for full iron panel test including ferritin for anaemia

What’s her diet like, is she vegetarian or vegan

B12, folate and vitamin D need testing

Plus thyroid levels including thyroid antibodies

Assuming you get blood test form for her, book early morning blood test. Iron testing should be fasting and don’t eat red meat night before test

[waveylines]

Id definately ring your GP Surgery and request that you see the one who is great........am so sorry you were fob off! Not good enough.

[Harribear]

Thank you everyone. I will try again with my own doctor first - he found out I was hypo, has sorted out my b12 injections and my vit d loading doses and was generally wonderful. Just shows the difference between gps - I'm sure the one I saw yesterday was a heartbeat away from telling me to 'shut up'

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Harribear]

And they probably get paid the same amount

Glad to hear you have at least one GP who is excellent

[humanbean]

A personal anecdote...

I suffered from depression throughout life, and also suffered with anxiety to some extent.

When I started testing and treating my thyroid and my nutrients I discovered that improving/optimising my ferritin (iron stores) eliminated my anxiety and massively reduced my depression.

Anything iron-related must be tested before supplementing and must be tested regularly while taking iron, because iron is toxic in overdose.

Also, another common problem is low magnesium and it can lead to mood disorders amongst other symptoms:

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

There is no point in testing magnesium before supplementing because the tests available are useless. The only thing to be aware of is that people who have non-functional kidneys or extremely poor kidney function shouldn't take it except under medical supervision. In people with functioning kidneys excess magnesium is excreted in the urine.

Has anyone suggested your daughter might have endometriosis?

I'm shocked that your daughter has been referred to a mental health organisation. Has she been prescribed anti-depressants? They are absolutely awful, very addictive, and very difficult to come off of, and they help very few people. Why ruin a teenager's life rather than fix underlying problems?

Also, there is no such thing as an anti-depressant deficiency. But there are such conditions as iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, low folate, low vitamin D, and various other low nutrients. Improving them is better for mental health than anti-depressants.

[sandy471]

Your daughter may have endometriosis which I had from a young age. Get her tested for thyroid too. The more tests the merrier. Your doctor should be dealing with the patient and wonder why she is fatigued etc and not fob her off to a mental health org. Having pain and thyroid or whatever does make you happy! So many women go through life thinking that painful heavy periods and fatigue is normal! My friend was put on the pill when she was 11 and didn’t know what was wrong until she came off the pill to start a family! Information is everything.