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[laszla]

Hi all, I recently posted about the urgent need to raise my estradiol levels on learning of osteopenia and feeling very bad in any case beyond the actual numbers.
I am on my own as GP is super unhelpful/borderline damaging and the Meno clinic have a phone only follow-up 5 months after first "consultation".
2.5 months ago, of my own initiative when I got the clinic blood results with low E2, I raised my estrogel dose to 3-3.5 pumps after 4 years on 2 pumps and before I do anything else I had decided to re-measure bloods to see if increase has had any effect.

Having heard good things about medichecks, I am thinking of having their female hormone test and just to double check I wrote to customer services who told me that you need to stop HRT for three months before having this test.

This makes no sense at all, on their own page with details of the test it says one of the reasons to have this test is:

"To monitor your hormone levels whilst taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT)"

How can you monitor your hormone levels if you stop taking the HRT for three months?
I wrote back as I am pretty sure this is nonsense but CS repeated that I should stop taking it.

I feel like banging my head against a brick wall, could someone please let me know if I am correct in thinking that of course you have to be taking the HRT in order to monitor hormone levels "whilst taking HRT"
Or am I missing something?

[CLKD]

Can't help.

Hormone tests can be reliably un-reliable 

[Amazing grace]

That is strange for customer service to say, I too have recently looked at medichecks and specifically the hormone test they have while you are using hrt, and in the description it does say to check levels while you are actually using it, so you can know your levels, it wouldn't make sense too stop for 3 months as this wouldn't be a true picture of the hormone level due to hrt, I won't be using it if that's the case, certainly won't be stopping for 3 months that would leave me in a mess, I was going to try it as I'm not sure if I'm too high or too low, stopping hrt for a blood test is surely to measure your own natural hormones, I agree with you the test states for women taking hrt, it doesn't make sense, brick wall indeed.

[CrispyChick]

I'm currently under a private clinic and they certainly do blood tests to see how you respond to treatment.

If you want to measure your estrogen whilst tasking HRT... You could take the blood test, irrespective of what their CS say. If you hadn't asked, you wouldn't have known... 🤔

[laszla]

Thanks ladies, it's good to hear voices of reason.
I was very unlucky to happen on this particular Customer Service agent because clearly what they said is piffle. Amazing Grace, don't be put off by this, of course there is no need for us to stop the HRT, on the contrary it would defeat the purpose of measuing hormone levels while on HRT. CrispyChick, I will go ahead and do the test and I'm also going to contact Medichecks by some other means to ask them to ensure all their CS agents know what they're talking about and don't give misleading information.

[sheila99]

No experience myself but a couple of people have reported abnormally high levels which they concluded was from contamination by gel on the skin despite having been very careful. They thought it was better to have blood drawn from the arm.

[laszla]

Thanks for drawing attention to this Sheila - yes, absolutely it's best to have a venous sample taken and I will be doing this - it's an extra £30 but it would be madness to risk a false reading with so much resting on the result

[CrispyChick]

Agree, my clinic have alerted me to the contamination issue.

I had my bloods drawn at my local superdrug - was quite easy. I think medichecks use this service too. 👍

Absolutely let them know their CS are misleading! Reminds me of when I went for a private pelvic scan last year (including internal). They also deal in pregnancy scans so the young receptionist showed me through and told me to 'enjoy your scan'  . I mentioned to the radiographer.   

[CLKD]

piffle


that's a real Norfolk expression  I can hear my Dad saying it 

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

Laszla - I am with Newson Health Meno Clinic and they arrange blood tests through a private company called Nationwide Pathology who have offices all over the country.

I have had my hormones levels tested twice in this way and my doctor told me to stop HRT for 24 hours before the test.

 Newson Health commission the tests and the results were sent to them and copied to me however I imagine it is possible to book directly with Nationwide Pathology. Perhaps look  up the nearest office to you and give them a call.

Take care and lets us know how you get on.

K.

[AKatieD]

Yes, I used Medichecks to check horm9ne levels and consultant was happy to use results.

As finger prick much more convenient than venous, I put on gel with rubber gloves.

[Gilla999]

Another regular customer of Medichecks venous samples here - ignore what that part says, it reminds me of how on the patient leaflets of HRT it says they are only for "post meno" use....

One thing to add - you might have wanted to get their full female hormone test done, but just in case you weren't aware (I had to search quite a bit) that specific test doesn't include Progesterone, which is a bit bonkers to me. If you want to test both E and P you need either the "HRT blood test", or "Oestrogen, Prolactin and Progesterone test" (a couple of pounds cheaper).

They don't offer a single test which includes both E, P and Testosterone... while I think Medchecks are fab, I think the way they've grouped the hormones in different tests they offer is a little odd!

I also never finger prick test as I've tried 3 times after using gloves for a month and the result was STILL contaminated each time. A total waste of money as they won't retest for free, so in the end I thought best to stick with venous.

Final tip: I always tick the box when ordering that says "no doctors comments needed".... you get the results quicker and what they say is never helpful.

Hope this helps xx

[CrispyChick]

Just out of interest - how does a venous blood test not contaminate??? Just avoid applying any hormones to that area of arm for a long time???

Just curious as I was told to apply my prog cream on my arms and have blood tests soon... 

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies.

Gilla999 - Can I ask you how you arranged s venous blood sample for Medichecks? I tried to do a pin prick test for low Thyroid and I struggled to get a good sample.
Any information you have would be most helpful.

Take care.

K.

[Gilla999]

Hello ladies!
@Crispy, the venous blood test doesn't touch the skin where you apply the HRT (or if it does it's a tiny needle width pin prick, vs. when you take a finger prick test your blood is all over your finger tip that you then wipe into and put in the tube).

@Kathleen - on Medichecks you select the option that says "Visit a clinic to have your venous blood sample taken". It costs £30 extra. They send you the sample box, you take it to the clinic (you choose which clinic from a list on their website, there are loads available) and they do the blood test, and then you post it off to Medichecks and get the results back in the same way as a finger prick test. You don't pay the clinic for the blood test, you just pay Medichecks.

It's annoying having to pay £30 extra, but after 3 contaminated finger prick tests and a total waste of money (even after a month of wearing gloves to use Lenzetto, which is a spray you don't even rub into the skin) I gave up and accepted it as necessary!