Something is still niggling at me after all this time
Back in December 2022 I consulted with a private Endo again, mainly for another professional perspective on my low FT3. He asked me to get a full blood panel on the NHS from my GP which I provided . I have, for years, used Blue Horizon finger prick test. For comparison I detail below.
Blue Horizon 14th September 2022
Free T4 18.3 (12.0 - 22.0 pmol/L)
Free T3 3.89 (3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)
TSH L 0.04 ( 0.27 - 4.20)
NHS end December 2022
FT3 5.6 pmol ( 3.5-6.5)
FT4 18.9 ( 11.50-22.70)
TSH 0.04mu/L (0.55-4.78)
Blue Horizon 17th April 2023
Free T4 21.8 (12.0 - 22.0 pmol/L)
Free T3 4.46 (3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)
TSH L 0.03 (0.27 - 4.20)
Now then..... with Blue Horizon my FT3 levels have NEVER come anywhere near being reasonable let alone optimal and I have always been on 10mcg T3. Pretty much on ALL results they have been right the bottom of the range. But if you look at the NHS result they are pretty good and once my new Endo saw that result he said "no action" so I never wasted any more money and consulted with him again. I was pretty taken aback when I saw my levels at that reading, I have never seen my FT3 that high before and my suspicious mind is still running amuck
Been having a mooch around this site and the different recommended Labs and I spotted Monitor my Health which is NHS run and they do home kits like Blue Horizon. Has anyone used this NHS run lab for their home kit tests?
Looking at the prices there is quite a big difference in cost for the basic one (TSH, FT4, FT3) test. With BH, including the discount, I pay £51.30 but with Monitor my Health the same test (with discount) is £28.80 which is a huge difference for the same test. PLUS their ranges are exactly the same as Blue Horizon so reading their results should be as easy.
Does anyone else use MMH for their tests?
To put to bed my overthinking suspicions and hopefully alleviate a little irrational anxiety over this, which has been driving me mad for a while now on and off, I am going to do a comparable test between the two labs and see what comes back; it's just been niggling at me for too long about Blue Horizon after seeing the NHS result.
Already have my Blue Horizon kit for my next test so another £28 isn't going to break the bank. I shall do them both at the same time and see what comes back. Note...I have just in the last 2-3 days had a tiny T3 increase of 2.5mcg so I am not obviously expecting accurate results but curious as to whether the results come out about the same and if pretty near to each other I shall move to MMH due to cost
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Jefner
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yes, there was no change on anything. I rarely ask for an NHS test as I now know I need to do my tests more frequently than once a year and I know my Dr won't entertain that and she knows I go private anyway, although it's been a while since I have had a full panel done on everything so I might ask.
1st 2 results show my TSH and FT4 at pretty much the same but the NHS result showed a huge increase in my FT3 levels which just made me suspicious
Do you follow forum protocol o testing? No dose that day and if using T3 spread it our the day before etc.? High dose Biotin vit b7, I think, can change reading.
I use MMH but they have been questioned on here too
Good idea Jefner. What you propose is a simple ‘proper’ scientific approach ie tests to be in any way useful should be taken under the same circumstances each time. Otherwise comparisons (especially for thyroid because of the recognised circadian rhythm issues) are useless and doctors can say just about anything that suits them.
I had a similar high T3 result on my first full panel. I was just on T4 back then say 20 months ago.
It could have been a hashi swing or effect of biotin or something else. It is in the past though now. Future tests were all low on T3 and I am combination treatment now like you.
It is a difficult lab test to measure free T3 and T4 . I watched a presentation ...extremely low concentrations being measured. It was a late December test too so perhaps something wrong with lab?
In research you always ideally have 3 tests rather than 1.
Many years ago I had thyroid blood test taken at my surgery for my endo appointment. Also, my gp had requested same bloods so nurse took 2 lots of bloods and sent them off to the hospital lab.You would expect both samples to come back exactly the same as both from same lab.
No, my ft3 results were quite substantially different. I think we came up with the conclusion that must have been performed on different machines and one perhaps was not calibrated properly.
I remember I posted on here at the time about it at the time. Also had strange ft3 result before being diagnosed and told must be test error. I wonder if the ft3 test is more sensitive to errors compared to tsh and ft4?
Jefner, really important to know. The ranges at my local NHS lab had changed and I hadn't realised. Once I checked with the new ranges I saw that my T4 was low and that explained why I felt awful. I needed to up my T4 dose and soon began to feel better.
I often do a Medichecks after my annual GP blood test and as near the same conditions usually find only small percentage difference.
i cna read my results anyway, just hadn't a clue how to work out the percentage and also we have to take into account we each feel better on different levels
I had a double blood draw in July at my Drs. surgery - at exactly the same time/same needle -everything. Identical samples were sent off to the NHS lab and one lot I posted to a one of the well know private labs (I wanted the vitamin results from the private lab, but it included thyroid).
I was expecting the results to be broadly similar - I was wrong. I have the full results, but only included the % through range as worked out on the 'dopiaza' site mentioned above for brevity.
The TSH % through level range was the same NHS = 67.2% -Private lab = 67.2%
FT4 % through range was pretty close NHS = 89% - Private lab = 96%
FT3 % through range was way way different NHS = 40% - Private lab = 5.40% !!!!
I contacted the private lab thinking there was an error, but I just got fobbed off. I don't believe this was an isolated case as previous reading from the same private lab have been consistently low. The NHS results have all been pretty consistent so far as I can tell.
Now unless I'm missing something surely having blood drawn at exactly the same time there should be no significant difference. I potentially could have been basing my treatment on what appear to be flawed results.
If anyone has an explanation I'd be interested to hear about it.
Other than that, I'd encourage you to consider taking both sets of results, and sending them to both labs - with suitable explanation, circumstances, etc. - and ask them for their explanation(s).
And if maybe include the Care Quality Commission. Even if they don't do anything it emphasises that you are seriously trying to get to the bottom of an untenable situation. One (or both!) labs are returning data which is either wrong or misleading.
Yes, it does make me wonder. I track my TSH etc on a bit of a random basis with Blue Horizon. I'm in the subclinical hypothyroid category, so haven't been offered thyroxine. All the tests I've done with Blue Horizon give me a result out of range of 0.27 - 4.20. Eg on 7 August 2023 I was at 5.03. My GP surgery are supposed to track me as well but don't. However they did test TSH when I had a general blood test on 27 June 2023 which came out at 2.98 with the same range. This test was carried out by Lab Tests Online UK. I suppose I might have been swinging around a bit between June and August but it does make me feel that if I get to the point where I want to press the GP for medication the testing they would do might make it all a bit of a lottery.
I’ve definitely had the occasional issue. I’ve tended to stick with the same blood test provider where I can so that I can compare like with like—there’s a decent chance they run the process the same way each time.
I don’t use Medichecks anymore, sad to say. For some reason, I’ve had some really odd results from them on more than one occasion. So I tend to stick with Blue Horizon.
Regarding your odd Medichecks results, may I ask whether you were posting pinprick samples or using phlebotomy services? Was it one particular result that was repeatedly odd or the whole lot?
Finger prick. But that’s what I always do and when I’ve compared with NHS “whole armful” results, Blue Horizon results have matched (more or less) when Medichecks haven’t.
And it’s been a bit random as to which results. Some results have been in range when I know they couldn’t have been and vice versa.
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Advice re inconsistent and above range FT4 please.
Conflicting blood results from 2 different Labs?? Which could be most accurate. Blue Horizon or local Phlebotamist where I always go?
Lab results - comments please
