unaffiliated labs for testing
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queensandria
Posts: 39
Hi all! I have recently experienced the "joy" of being ignored by a dr when i need a diagnosis and help. I was thinking about possible ways to present symptoms and information to a new physician and came across a company called "my personal labs". You order the lab work for whatever panel or blood test you want, go to the lab for the draw, and get your results personally rather than having the dr receive them first. Has anyone done this? I would think if i can bring my full thyroid panel and antibodies test results into the initial visit, the diagnosis and following treatment would be a much easier conversation to have! Do you think a dr would listen if the tests were done without requesting them personally? Thanks!
~Liz
~Liz
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I am in the UK and my experience is that there is so much controversy in the medical profession and people get fobbed off. The only person who has taken me seriously was a immunologist, true in my situation there was nothing he could do but direct me back to my primary care, GP in the hope of endocrinology and more blood tests. Can I suggest you read "Stop thyroid the Madness", there is a book and site, it has all manner of links to different facilities in the US. I'm hope you are US based. I hope this helps to point you in the best direction for you.
All the very best0 -
Ill check it out and see if i can find a better direction. Thank you so much for the advice!0
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I doubt any doctor would accept rando test results.I have recently experienced the "joy" of being ignored by a dr when i need a diagnosis and help. I was thinking about possible ways to present symptoms and information to a new physician and came across a company called "my personal labs". You order the lab work for whatever panel or blood test you want, go to the lab for the draw, and get your results personally rather than having the dr receive them first. Has anyone done this? I would think if i can bring my full thyroid panel and antibodies test results into the initial visit, the diagnosis and following treatment would be a much easier conversation to have! Do you think a dr would listen if the tests were done without requesting them personally?
What are your symptoms? What tests did your doctor(s) run? What diagnosis were you given, and what diagnosis do you want from this website you found?
Personal labs aren't meant to convince your doctors you're really sick. They offer confidential testing for DNA, STDs, and pregnancy.0 -
My symptoms are constant tiredness, sore and cramping muscles (specifically my legs hips and shoulders), weight gain for seemingly no reason (ive increased my calories since joining mfp but prior to it i was lucky to have 500-700 a day, constant thirst, dizziness and nausea but inability to throw up (the food feels like a solid mass that gets stuck in my chest when i heave), a tightness/dryness in my throat with a hoarse voice that makes it uncomfortable to speak, constipated diarrhea (i will go 3-5 days without the urge to pass anything, have a day of intense painful bloating, finally get sick of feeling sick so drink some milk and have explosive loose stools for a few hours), a feeling of food not digesting (i feel full after a few bites of food, often having to just push through it for fear of malnutrition), depression, external temperature sensitivity, low body temps (from 96 upon waking to 97.5 for the majority of the day), and general bleck in all things in life. I find little to no enjoyment in anything, but play optimist really well!
The dr i saw immediately jumped to "eat lower calories, you are too fat" without hearing anything i was saying, did not even look at my health history or paperwork, proceeded to berate me about how i need to eat less and that theres no way i could be this obese without overeating. My husband was livid as he was trying to explain that i eat almost nothing! The dr basically called him a liar. He determined it was acid reflux due to my diet and i should go get a swallow test, prescribed me antacids and walked out. At the end of the visit, he did order a cbc and pancreatic enzyme tests, and out of the blue a CT for my constipation, said i need to see a gyno because im a girl. I was in tears at this point as the nurse walked in. I explained what happened and her response was 'thats what he tells everyone, i suggest going to the er and exaggerating the symptoms so someone will see you". I was a cash patient and the dr knew it. The nurse questioned his request for a ct, informing him i was a cash patient. The man laughed and said "i know". I was humiliated and felt worse than ever and was still charged the highest amount they charge cash patients (was just shy of 200 without any testing done).
I didnt follow up on any of these requested tests because i would never set foot in that place again.
I wanted to get the full thyroid panel done (free t3, t4, tsh, plus tpo and ab antibodies tests) to at least give me some kind of clue as to what is wrong and maybe validate that im not going completely insane! I was hoping to bypass the run around that so many get by bringing the results to a dr and going over them with him/her.
I am impatiently waiting on insurance and am trying to be proactive with my health but feel like i am sabotaging my body by eating, breathing, speaking, generally living.
Sorry for the long post. Im trying to be as detailed as i can.
Thanks0 -
While you wait for insurance, work on the things you can control. Buy a digital food scale (they're cheap), and weigh everything you eat—even packaged foods. Measure all liquids with calories. Learn to find accurate database entries—there's a lot of junk data in there.
Log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. No offense, but if anyone told me they ate 500 calories a day, I would not believe them. Once you get a doctor's appointment, you can show them your diary.
According to your ticker, you want to lose 60 lbs. Set your goal to 1–1.5 lbs. per week, and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants0 -
Ill be picking up a food scale on friday. So far ive just been relying on the entries listed but will definitely start verifying for my diary. I measure my creamer for my one cup of am coffee with a measuring spoon and most days (unless we run out of water which happened yesterday) i drink only water (usually about 135+ oz). I use dry and liquid measuring cups for the food, but i understand that can be inaccurate so will see the difference once i can weigh as well.
I had a hard time not taking offense to your doubt but then im kind of used to it. No one but those around me see what kind of struggles i have to eat the foods i can. Even my 11 year old son worries about my inability to eat. Today i spent over an hour putting pressure on my stomach after half a lean homemade burger (i assume the gluten in the bun, the cheese, and the hard to digest protein had a lot to do with it) but its hard to cook for a family of 4 without at least trying to be a part of it, repercussions or not.
I guess i just was looking for a little validation and support. I'll keep my problems to myself until i can find a dr that can help.
Thanks for the link (read it on day one).
Take care and good luck with your goals and health.0 -
Your symptoms are not thyroid-related. An accurate food diary will help your doctor(s) to diagnose you.0
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I second the accurate diary. Whenever possible, look for entries that have all of the specific nutrient info (potassium, iron, etc), and that you can cross-validate with the usda database. It's helpful so you'll know a lot more specific information about your diet: your calories, whether or not you're getting enough iron, enough protein, etc.
The more data you have, the better. Longer-term, you might need to do elimination diets since it sounds like you have some serious gastro symptoms. A very accurate diary will help with finding patterns with your specific symptoms and certain foods.
For the doctor, I am so sorry to hear he was horribly dismissive. He sounds awful and unhelpful. If insurance is close on the horizon, wait it out and find a better doctor (look for reviews, read their bios online, ask for recommendations from friends). Some of your symptoms are potentially thyroid-related. Some could also be nutritional deficiencies. A good primary care doctor doing an annual physical should be able to start ruling things in or out with bloodwork (thyroid panel, nutritional panel, metabolic panels). At a bare minimum, your doctor should certainly listen to your symptoms and take them seriously.
It is incredibly helpful if you have a clear idea what different kinds of lab tests measure, what the ranges mean (does being borderline within normal mean you should keep an eye, or not?), so you can better advocate for your health. The tests will get expensive quickly out of pocket, and you'll need a doctor to act on them in the event medication is indicated. I'd wait on insurance for both of those reasons.
I wish you the best of luck, and hope you can find a good doctor and start feeling better soon.0 -
Hi, sounds like you're having a rough time, I hope you get the insurance sorted soon. I'm likely to think you have other issues than Hypo, there are definitely digestion, food issues here too. Your digestion isn't right and this could be the food - without seeing your detailed diary I can only go from what you have included above.
Cream with coffee (have I understood this right?) buns, cheese, burger = carbs, stodgy food and fats. This doesn't help digestion where you will feel constipated (this will all make you tired and lethargic) then something (like milk - and you say you're lactose intolerant???) will obviously make an unwelcome release.
500 - 700 calories a day isn't enough and you will put weight on with this. I suspect that a burgen in a bun with cheese alone is more than that. ?? Some contradictions here.
Hope you have got closer to sorting something out since posting this. Good luck and keep us posted.
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