Best place to get bloods done and timings of Ar... - Thyroid UK

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Best place to get bloods done and timings of Armour Thyroid before

Blanche1960•

2 years ago•4 Replies

Hi there, just wondered if anyone could advice on the best place to get private blood test done TSH/T4/T3 and any tips on actually taking the blood please!

Know I need to do it first thing in the morning before taking meds… if I take my last dose of Armour around midnight would that be ok!

Thanks In Anticipation guys!

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Blanche1960

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SeasideSusieRemembering2 years ago

Blanche1960

If you just want TSH, FT4 and FT3 and are happy with a fingerprick test then the cheapest is MonitorMyHealth, details and discount code here:

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

Armour should be split the day before into 2 or 3 doses and last dose 8-12 hours before test.

Tips for fingerprick test:

* 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.

In fact, 9am is the perfect time, see first graph here, it shows TSH is highest around midnight - 4am (when we can't get a blood draw), then lowers, next high is at 9am then lowers before it starts it's climb again about 9pm:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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. However, when taking Armour the T3 it contains will lower TSH and may even suppress it.

* Nothing to eat or drink except water before the test - 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. Certain foods 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 phlebotomists or doctors.

Your previous post says that you ran out of Armour. You need to be on a stable dose for 6-8 weeks before testing.

Blanche1960 in reply to SeasideSusie2 years ago

Thanks SeasideSusie for valuable info… yes I ran out of Armour for couple of weeks two months ago now… been horrendous since, had those first two awful wks just on 200 Levo, to replace NDT as advised … then got new armour so stopped Levo… wks 3 &4 building Armour back up to 2 1/2 grains, felt not as bad… been on this full dose over two wks (7 wks in total) and feeling dreadful again! Had routine bloods/ tel appt with endo last wk T4 and TSH just in range… no T3.. hit and miss with T3 testing but put it in for future testing apparently!

Sorry for long saga I am Not sure if under or over medicated … got both symptoms… chronic fatigue, terrible migraines everyday, burning up, palpitations in night etc etc with those results looks under but my previous results before all this in August were very similar with a T3 of 6.4 (top of range) and had just started to feel like I’d turned a tiny corner( baby steps) so wondering if to testT3 privately now or wait it out for next appointment in Nov! Realise that T4 can be low and T3 high on Armour!

Sorry for long saga hope you lovely people get what I’m trying to say!

Thanks Guys