blood tests

[Lottyplum]

I had my first private Thyroid blood test with Monitor My Health but one thing I didn’t work out was to which level should I get my blood to? As I wasn’t sure, I got sufficient blood to the top level but it took an age. I need to get another blood test next month, so says my GP but I don’t want to use my medical centre for this as GP doesn’t think T3 is important! So, for the Thyroid test with Monitor My Health, what level should I use? Thanks in advance!

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Theres a bit of prep that really helps when doing finger prick blood tests.

- drink plenty of water for a few hours before the test. Be well hydrated.

- Take a bath or shower.

- do some light exercise. Could be walking up and down the stairs or do windmills with your arms.

All of those things will help your blood flow better.

I've not done a MMH test but another one I did recently I got the blood level to the top of the vial.

[Lottyplum in reply to Jaydee1507]

I made sure I was well hydrated but didn’t know about exercise beforehand to help. Will def try that next time. Thankyou.

[TSH110 in reply to Lottyplum]

it’s the very devil to get a phial of blood out of me with a finger prick even with all the advice on exercise etc. it clots almost immediately. helvella suggested I tried what I called the downward plank I laid flat on the bed with my torso/head over the edge and arms a bit lower and did the sample in this position it worked really well I soon had it brim full. I don’t know that test but I’d say too much is better than too little with these things so overfilling it ought not to matter if it doesn’t need to be to the top marker.

[Lottyplum in reply to TSH110]

will try that!! Thanks.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Their instructions tell you:

If you have a yellow tube fill to the line marked 600.

If you have a purple tube (usually as a second tube included with some tests) fill to the 250 line.

I recently did one of their bundles that did thyroid and vitamins that required two tubes. I filled as above. They told me not enough blood and sent another kit out to do the missing tests so if I were you I'd fill to the top line whatever tube(s) they send.

[Lottyplum in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks v much. Usually when blood taken at clinic by nurse I have such good veins it’s so speedy but using my finger(s) took me nearly 30 mins even though I followed their instructions. Maybe I will improve with practice!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Lottyplum]

These are the tips I post for members doing fingerprick tests:

* 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 or use an ironing board to get the perfect height.

* Prick finger on the side, not the tip. I find the best place to prick is on the side of the finger and where the nail changes colour from pink to the white tip. Middle finger seems to be best for me, if flow stops I then go on to ring finger.

* 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.

Sometimes the sample has haemolysed, ie the red cells rupture. This may be due to:

* bacteria (so clean area thoroughly and allow to dry)

* intense exercise (so don't go mad trying to get the blood to flow prior to the test)

* squeezing the finger to get the blood out (you can gently "milk" the finger but don't squeeze)

* shaking the tube vigourously instead of gently inverting it.

* sample collection was prolonged

* if there was a long delay between sample collection and analysis

* there is too little blood in the tube and too much coagulant for the amount of blood

[Lottyplum in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks. Just copied this over to my notes so I can ensure I can get a good flow going. I was needing a lie down (figuratively speaking) after I got the vial filled!!

[Margo in reply to SeasideSusie]

Just reading this blog, I am wanting to do private tests for thyroid and vitamins. wondering which companies are the best please?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Margo]

Most popular are

Medichecks ADVANCED THYROID FUNCTION medichecks.com/products/adv...

Check this page for details of any discounts: thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

or

Blue Horizon Thyroid PREMIUM GOLD bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Check this page for discount code thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test with just a few small differences:

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.)

Blue Horizon include magnesium but this is an unreliable test so don't let this sway your decision, it also tests cortisol but that's a random cortisol test and to make any sense of it you'd need to do it fasting before 9am I believe.

Monitor My Health does a Full Health Screen which includes

Diabetes – HbA1c

Vitamin D

Total Cholesterol – Total Cholesterol, HDL, Non-HDL and triglycerides

Thyroid - TSH, FT3, FT4

Anaemia – Haemoglobin, Ferritin, Transferrin Saturation, Active B12, Folate

It doesn't include antibodies and must be done by fingerprick, they don't offer a venous option like Medichecks and Blue Horizon.

monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...

TUK page linked to above shows a discount code for MMH.

[Margo in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much Susie.

[Thyroidconfusion]

I use Monitor my Health when I can because it is NHS Exeter which means it is harder for the GP to question them

[Lottyplum in reply to Thyroidconfusion]

That is the reason I used them, too. Didn’t want GP to dismiss my blood tests. However she did say that T3 not that important!!! Had to let it go or we would have locked horns!

[Thyroidconfusion]

How can the active hormone not be important. Unbelievable