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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 0:19:43
I'd need to get some diagostic testing done, such as thyroid function, candida/allergies, cortisol/adrenalin/dhea, kryptopyrroles, possibly others. My doctor does not want to order anything but the standard blood-work that is done with an annual physical exam. My funds are very limited and my sorry-ass insurance company will not cover most of what I need. Has anyone tried any of the home test kits that are available? Are they any good? Here is one site-- www.testmyhormones.com/test_information.htm
Thanks!!
Posted by tealady on November 25, 2004, at 0:59:44
In reply to Anyone tried home test kits?, posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 0:19:43
> I'd need to get some diagostic testing done, such as thyroid function, candida/allergies, cortisol/adrenalin/dhea, kryptopyrroles, possibly others. My doctor does not want to order anything but the standard blood-work that is done with an annual physical exam. My funds are very limited and my sorry-ass insurance company will not cover most of what I need. Has anyone tried any of the home test kits that are available? Are they any good? Here is one site-- www.testmyhormones.com/test_information.htm
> Thanks!!In the US if you are prepared to pay you can legally order some of your own blood test from healthcheckUSA.
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=thyroid&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thyroid-info.com%2Farticles%2Fselftesting.htmhttp://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57990.125
If you think on it, its your blood and exactly the same as a diabetic doing a test on thier blood.
Not sure at one stage California restricted it, but I think it may have been changed back after much protest.
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=55254.1
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=62783.2
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=61026.2
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=59475.13Hope this helps some. Saliva is considered only accurate for cortisol by some docs.
Jan
Posted by Dr. Bob on November 25, 2004, at 18:12:48
In reply to Anyone tried home test kits?, posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 0:19:43
> My funds are very limited and my sorry-[*]ss insurance company will not cover most of what I need.
Sorry about that, but please don't use language that could offend others.
If you or others have questions about this or about posting policies in general, or are interested in alternative ways of expressing yourself, please see the FAQ:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#civil
Follow-ups regarding these issues should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration. They, as well as replies to the above post(s), should of course themselves be civil.
Thanks,
Bob
Posted by TeeJay on November 25, 2004, at 19:50:03
In reply to Re: please be civil » jakeman, posted by Dr. Bob on November 25, 2004, at 18:12:48
What, we must be civil to insurance comapnies too? What *IS* the world coming to??? ;-)
Posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 21:44:45
In reply to Re: please be civil » jakeman, posted by Dr. Bob on November 25, 2004, at 18:12:48
> > My funds are very limited and my sorry-[*]ss insurance company will not cover most of what I need.
>
> Sorry about that, but please don't use language that could offend others.
>
> If you or others have questions about this or about posting policies in general, or are interested in alternative ways of expressing yourself, please see the FAQ:
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faq.html#civil
>
> Follow-ups regarding these issues should be redirected to Psycho-Babble Administration. They, as well as replies to the above post(s), should of course themselves be civil.
>
> Thanks,
>
> BobSorry Bob I didn't realize that *ss is a bad word. I won't use it again. I was careful in my post to NOT mention the insurance company by name, so I would not run the risk of offending them.
Posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 21:58:06
In reply to Re: Anyone tried home test kits? » jakeman, posted by tealady on November 25, 2004, at 0:59:44
> > Hope this helps some. Saliva is considered only accurate for cortisol by some docs.
> JanHi Jan, thanks for the great information that you provided, I am researching my options and trying in the meantime to get an appointment with a wholistically oriented doctor who takes insurance....they are hard to find in Central Texas Area.
Jake
Posted by Larry Hoover on November 25, 2004, at 22:15:08
In reply to Anyone tried home test kits?, posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 0:19:43
> I'd need to get some diagostic testing done, such as thyroid function, candida/allergies, cortisol/adrenalin/dhea, kryptopyrroles, possibly others. My doctor does not want to order anything but the standard blood-work that is done with an annual physical exam. My funds are very limited and my sorry-ass insurance company will not cover most of what I need. Has anyone tried any of the home test kits that are available? Are they any good? Here is one site-- www.testmyhormones.com/test_information.htm
> Thanks!!I have never heard of a home test for Hepatitis C before this. A couple of the others surprised me, too. As Jan said, the saliva cortisol is pretty reliable. And, if it's done right (I mean samples taken through the day to get the 24 hour variation), you'll get more information that the standard doctor's test will provide.
The candida/allergies test is not based on good science, and the kryptopyrroles test is not specific (more than one way to get a positive). Hair analysis is bogus. The hormone tests are probably good, though.
What I've read is that the lab doing the analysis is everything. I saw a report that found that Lab A was almost never accurate in its analyses, Lab B was right half the time, and Lab C was right every time. I don't know how you could know whether it was Lab A, B, or C doing your analyses.
Great Smokies Labs has a pretty strong following. But that doesn't mean they're accurate, either. Some people love getting positive tests for the "Aha!" factor. I wish there was an independent way to know if they're doing quality work.
Lar
Posted by tealady on November 26, 2004, at 0:26:43
In reply to Re: Anyone tried home test kits? » tealady, posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 21:58:06
have a read of these too
Great smokies has a good name
Healthcheck is good too, also recommended by a doc on her site, used by lots on the thyroid forum toohttp://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57731.8
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57731.8.
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=62471.1
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57866.3 and rest of thread
Posted by jakeman on November 27, 2004, at 17:27:11
In reply to Re: Anyone tried home test kits? » jakeman, posted by tealady on November 26, 2004, at 0:26:43
> have a read of these too
> Great smokies has a good name
> Healthcheck is good too, also recommended by a doc on her site, used by lots on the thyroid forum too
>
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57731.8
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57731.8.
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=62471.1
http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=57866.3 and rest of threadThanks Jan, Lar, for your input. I've contacted Great Smokies lab to see if there are any Drs. in my area that use their services. I'm especially interested in the Intestinal Permeability Assessment, among others. The about.com links are very helpful too.
My internist and psychiatrist do not seem to recognize much connection between mental functioning and physical health. If one anti-depressant doesn't work, ok then try this one-- while having done no evalution of the root causes of the symptoms. Many US insurance companies encourage this non-wholistic approach because they don't like doctors spending too much time with patients or ordering too many tests. This "efficiency" model used by my insurance co. appears to have paid off well for them-- in the past year they have had record profits and the stock price increased by over 50% (my premiums and co-pays also increased).
Posted by tealady on November 28, 2004, at 16:30:23
In reply to Re: Anyone tried home test kits?, posted by jakeman on November 27, 2004, at 17:27:11
> I've contacted Great Smokies lab to see if there are any Drs. in my area that use their services.
That's a good idea. I found some docs by contacting the compounding pharmacies and asking them who prescribed the meds I thought I may need...kinda backwards but still.
One other thought, http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=63603.7 (and rest of thread)
she might be able to help point you in the right direction for a doc..especially with regard to thyroid/adrenal testing..although Texas does look difficult.
> My internist and psychiatrist do not seem to recognize much connection between mental functioning and physical health. If one anti-depressant doesn't work, ok then try this one-- while having done no evalution of the root causes of the symptoms. Many US insurance companies encourage this non-wholistic approach because they don't like doctors spending too much time with patients or ordering too many tests. This "efficiency" model used by my insurance co. appears to have paid off well for them-- in the past year they have had record profits and the stock price increased by over 50% (my premiums and co-pays also increased).Good to see you've worked it out:-) It's much the same all over the world..only worse, and we don't even have the option of paying for our own tests.
Jan
Posted by jakeman on November 29, 2004, at 21:42:06
In reply to Re: Anyone tried home test kits?, posted by tealady on November 28, 2004, at 16:30:23
>
> That's a good idea. I found some docs by contacting the compounding pharmacies and asking them who prescribed the meds I thought I may need...kinda backwards but still.
> One other thought, http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroid/messages?msg=63603.7 (and rest of thread)
> she might be able to help point you in the right direction for a doc..especially with regard to thyroid/adrenal testing..although Texas does look difficult.
>
>
Thanks..there's lots of information on that thread, and particular to my area. Great Smokies Lab sent me a list of physicians and ND's, and I talked with the local compounding pharmacy (www.peoplesrx.com) and they were very helpful. So I'm going to keep doing my research and take control of my health.
Posted by Dr. Bob on November 29, 2004, at 22:24:07
In reply to Re: please be civil » Dr. Bob, posted by jakeman on November 25, 2004, at 21:44:45
This is the end of the thread.
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