Has anyone done one of these recently and recommend a provider? Coming up to a big birthday, two small children and constantly feeling shit and things aren’t right means is worrying me
I would like to get checked over even if it costs ££. I find the care from all the gps (with the exception of one in the past) seems to be trying to fob me off and get me out of the room as fast as they can to keep the quotas going rather than genuinely find out if there is some underlying issue that needs resolving before it gets serious.

Your GP should do it. I was feeling crap about 3 years ago and asked for full bloods. I also asked for Testosterone tests as I’d had a really bad snip with further surgery needed. Low and behold everything fine except testosterone. GP wouldn’t do anything so I got referred to a consultant and moved practices. New GP saw results after more blood tests and put me on replacement therapy. My results varies between a max of 9, but more often about 5. Normal is around 20 nmols.

Been on injections or gels for last 3 years. Found gels better than the ups and downs you get from injection intervals. Plus the injection hurts like buggery after it’s done, for 5 days.

I feel fine now, but of course I’m not allowed to compete or give blood. Despite replacement my levels are about 15 nmols a few hours after putting the gel on, which is low normal. You don’t want too much as it thickens blood.

New GP saw results after more blood tests and put me on replacement therapy.

Interesting, do you feel different as a result?

Always fancied getting tested for it (out of curiosity). What I really want is HGH therapy on the NHS, just so I can train like a 20 yr old…

Started to feel crap after the corrective surgery. Was struggling riding to work. It took a few months to feel normal again.

Ended up having a year off therapy after I broke my spine and was ‘re tested and my bloods were bad again, so the surgery did cause the issues.

Went back on replacement a year ago and it took a good 6 months for my levels to get back to normal. I’ve not become Lance Armstrong as you aren’t allowed to take too much as its very dangerous. I’m on maximum dose. I am supposed to have regular heamocrit tests as anything over 54 is dangerous (pro cyclists must be under 50). Average is about 45.

You don’t want to mess with testosterone or HGH especially if you haven’t had kids yet.

Other causes of feeling crap can be vitamin D deficiency

My brother was sent by his company in NZ for an MOT/health check up – apparently his company does it every 5 years for everyone.
Was diagnosed with Hemochromatosis.
Cue an email out to family, 33 cousins tested and I know 10 of us are now diagnosed (me included). Furthermore the issues and early deaths in our family on one side now make a lot of sense (all heart and blood pressure related).
I think I might go myself now and again, just to stay on top of things.

You don’t want to mess with testosterone or HGH especially if you haven’t had kids yet.

I don’t know, you train with people on gear and you see just what a difference it makes. Slight downside is they tend to have heart attacks in their 50s, but other than that it looks great!

Your GP is the person to do this. there is a protocol for testng for “tired all the time” I have been thru it. lLow vit D was the only thing that came up and vit d suplements seen to have helped. I’m 33% sure its the answer and I am sorted, 33% that any improvement is placebo and 33% that they have missed something.

Diagnosis of vague symptoms is tricky and there is a lot of unexplained stuff out there

I would never have one done privately as you get a lot of false positives and their answer is often to write to your GP telling him to prescribe all sorts of nonsense

The “worried well” are a source of irritation and wasting time for GPs aswell. usually its lifestyle according to my GP pal

How much alcohol do you drink? whats your diet like? How many hours do you work? Hows your stress level

If when you go to the GP before you go sit andthink and write down a list of symptoms

https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-and-fatigue/Pages/why-am-I-tired.aspx

https://cks.nice.org.uk/tirednessfatigue-in-adults#!scenario

I would never have one done privately as you get a lot of false positives and their answer is often to write to your GP telling him to prescribe all sorts of nonsense

tj – there’s plenty who offer private tests and don’t write to your GP. In my experience NHS doctors are too fond of saying “results are fine”, well that’s just an opinion and I’ve regularly found that results will be at the bottom of the range or even so low that they don’t fall within the range.

Patients really need to get in the habit of either requesting a copy of test results or access them online.

This is a good resource:

https://labtestsonline.org.uk/

It’s not just tiredness, regular headaches that last days/weakness shortness of breathe, joint pain which I can manage but can’t seem to get rid of, (had long term ITB issues, I think). Paranoid I’m going to die young, 4 blokes at my work of similar age have died last year. Etc… ..have to crack my knees / back / ankles all the time meaning trouble sleeping on top of the kids. And more recently bloody freezing toes, like hurty cold.

Most likely I’m stressing about nothing, but I would really like to wake up one morning having slept 7 hours in a row (it’s been at least 4 years since I did) without feeling any pain whatsoever.

I’d like to get all the things ruled out I can

The sooner the NHS adopts the functional medicine method the better.

DT – you may want to get your B12 tested.

dt78 thats rather more than the usual “tired all the time” and well worth getting checked. AS I said – go to your GP well prepared with a written list of symptoms – its easy to forget something when you are in front of the doc

Trouble is – all those vague symptoms are actually rather hard to make a diagnosis from.

I had a full range of bloods done according to the protocol plus a few others I requested. Everything bang on in the normal range. I still sit here with inflamed lymph nodes and still go into a fatigue crash on occasion but its less than it was and still have the night sweats but not as frequent or as bad. constant joint pain as well

There is a huge lot unexplained in our understanding of the human body – and some of this sort of stuff fits into that category

Beware quackery – there is a huge industry in giving people with vague symptoms quack diagnoses and selling them quack remedies. Thats not to say that those outside the medical world don’t have something useful to ad but take a very healthy pinch of sceptism with you if you look into this world – or else yo end up with coffee enemas and treatment for food “intolrances” that simply do not exist.

Sleeping on top of the kids

?

Perhaps thats the issue?

The sooner the NHS adopts the functional medicine method the better.

What method do they currently use?

luckily for me my job pays for a yearly MOT at a local private clinic – and before anyone asks it’s totally confidential – blood and piss works, all the usual checks and questions and cause Im over 50 I also get to be fisted and have my prostrate tickled – which is a nice bonus

What method do they currently use?

Prescription writing and I do appreciate time constraints etc are not helping. The system needs fixing and more patients need to take responsibility for their health as well as educate themselves. We need to change the mindset that a prescription is essential for every ailment.

^^^^ Bravo, well said.

Cinnamon Girl nails it.

And DT78 needs to stop grains, and probably dairy for a decent period (say 3 weeks) to see if it makes a difference. I wager it absolutely will. Follow the Whole30 and see what things are causing you problems as you reintroduce. Classic, well thought through elimination diet protocol.

And DT78 needs to stop grains, and probably dairy for a decent period (say 3 weeks) to see if it makes a difference.

Beware quackery

What’s wrong IHN? No quackery there – suggesting a well researched, scientifically grounded and evidence based approach to dealing to a major source of non-specific-illness complaints for people. Look for the simplest path before going for bloods. Particularly if you follow a proper protocol, like the Whole30.

Too hard to give up lattes and muffins for a couple of weeks to see if you feel better? Yup, quackery right there. Burn the witch etc etc 😕

Thanks for the ideas, it could be a diet issue mixed in with probably some postural issues that have got out of hand.

If I think back to the best I’ve felt in recent years, it was when we were trying for a baby, I was taking a boat load of folic acid, vit d and fish oil (IVF medical trial on med diet) and dropped alcohol and stuff like milk, breads and cereals. I lost a load of weight and it sorted my IBS type issues and also sorted some longstanding (horrible) verruca infections. Other than the weight, these issues didn’t come back as I gradually added things back into my diet.

Right, last day of bad food, so I’m off to tuck into a muffin.

The whole30 thing doesn’t get a great write up on Wikipedia…

Ha ha – that’s a great write-up on Wikipedia 😆 The joys of an open internet where people get to disagree and present alternative points of view as fact 😉

Personally, I’d do pretty much the opposite of what a dietician told me to do, but that is personal schtick, and you may be more sensible or reasonable than me.

But good plan – go back to the diet that made you feel good and add in some active stress management and see if you can put yourself back on the straight and narrow. Good luck.

meaning trouble sleeping on top of the kids.

mattress?

Well-respected researcher with a Ph.D. in public health nutrition and more.

Zoë Harcombe

menothim – Member

What’s wrong IHN? No quackery there

Its 100% quackery. Lets see the peer reviewed papers in reputable journals

menothim – Member

What’s wrong IHN? No quackery there

Its 100% quackery. Lets see the peer reviewed papers in reputable journals

Zoe harcombe – quack Outed repeatedly for lying about her qualifications.

For a simnple examnple of why Harcombe is a quack

http://carbsanity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/zoe-harcombe-credentials-ii.html

A quick glance at her website and anyone with any knowledge in the area can see she is talking utter nonsense

the problem is there is a whole industry of these quacks and they all reference each other

Proper peer reviewed data please in reputable journals

Hmm, TJagain, it’s all well and good to call for peer reviewed journals, but that actually doesn’t help people in the street does it? Harcombe advocates eating real food, emphasising vegetables and stresses the importance of portion control – that’s good advice, regardless of what other “quackery” or fraud she may be guilty of.

We all know that science needs to be taken a pinch of “Himalayan” salt:

1) A long history of results being misinterpreted – see Ancell Keys
2) Science being used to drive dogma – see Ancell Keys
3) Science being influenced by external forces and financial interests (see Coca Cola et al backing dieticians)
4) Science journals not peer reviewing as they are scam journals
5) Plagiarism
6) One scientific study contradicting another

Point 6 is actually critical – it has devalued trust in science and it doesn’t serve the end consumer well. When one study says fat is the devil, and another says fat is good, what is the average punter to do? Science has created a vacuum that others are now trying to fill because what works for one person may not work for another (this is a real problem that I address in a mo).

So, the advice of the Whole30 is actually very moderate and practical and sensible, and isn’t driven by dogma – it simply says try something and see if it works for you. And that’s the rub, science in this realm (which is these days is largely about trying to find new blockbuster drugs) treats people as a population rather than as individuals. What works for you might not work for me, and that is where self-experimentation becomes useful and sensible.

I think science is vitally important (my wife is a scientist), but when it becomes a rationalist dogma it serves no-one effectively.

There is a wonderful book called Mindset by Carol Dweck that outlines the difference between the growth mindset and the fixed mindset, and my own interpretation is that many in the realm of nutrional science would benefit from learning about their own cognitive biases and developing a growth mindset.

Wow, where to start.

6) One scientific study contradicting another

Point 6 is actually critical – it has devalued trust in science

Point 6 is how science works. A scientific theory is published, and other scientists try to prove it wrong. As more and more good quality studies are undertaken, a theory becomes more robust or is dismissed.

If two studies directly contradict each other, one of them is clearly wrong. There’s scores of reasons why this might happen. Poorly conducted trials, insufficient test subjects, etc etc.

I agree with you Cougar – it is how science works, but does the layman understand that? I don’t think so, and it leaves people frustrated and unsure of how to act or react.

What’s wrong IHN? No quackery there – suggesting a well researched, scientifically grounded and evidence based approach to dealing to a major source of non-specific-illness complaints for people.

What’s wrong is that you’ve provided a medical diagnosis and treatment plan on the basis of two posts on an MTB forum.

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over one third of the food you eat.

For a healthier choice, use just a small amount of vegetable oil or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. When you’re having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/eight-tips-healthy-eating.aspx

😆 with Cinnamon Girl.

Surely no-one would argue that’s good advice from the scientists in the NHS these days would they?

Well said menothim and cinnamongirl. Although I fear you’ll receive short shrift on here, too many sheeple 😉

I too subscribe to your approaches as the contemporary main stream approach is too much of a catch all with a range of professional, personal and fiscal interests and yet we are all unique.

Together with looking at my diet, I seek to understand the possible metaphysical causes of my manifestation. I’ll stop there, that too doesn’t go down well here. But, what works for one… 😀

I too subscribe to your approaches as the contemporary main stream approach is too much of a catch all with a range of professional, personal and fiscal interests and yet we are all unique.

You’ve been listening to those rumours that the Government are shilling for Pharma and the food industry haven’t you? 😆

Nothing wrong with getting the GP to do a general ‘bloods’ (and number 2!) check. If you’re old enough they should suggest it. I had a vague issue that was hard to pin down and they said I was overdue for such a check so they did that.

Annoyance with GPs though is they won’t tell you the results if they’re okay. I wanted cholesterol levels and other useful things to know, but on phoning they said they don’t do that and only that nothing came back bad so no news is good news.

Those checks don’t tell you everything though. Just common tests. Depends what they ticked on the boxes. Mine ticked most of them, some might just tick the ones that are related to any symptoms you present with. Guess there’s a cost factor involved.

p.s. They were saying on the news recently I think that tiredness should trigger a blood test for blood cancer, as that’s one where people go back and forth with no diagnosis or misdiagnosis until much later when they finally get to the bottom of it by doing the blood test.

And the comprehensive checks companies offer with MRI scans and all sorts can be more harmful by making you more worried about non-issues that you may be checked further for.

too subscribe to your approaches as the contemporary main stream approach is too much of a catch all with a range of professional, personal and fiscal interests and yet we are all unique.

This is correct

However making up qualifications and promoting obvious nonsense to sell books is quackery

there is a bit in the middle whereby people use innovative approaches based on good science to achieve good results. I know an anaesthetist who has done this over sugar / fructose metabolism.

This is why I did not say to the OP ignore everything outside the NHS /medical consensus but warned him instead of the sheer amount of quackery there is out there where people prey on folk with vague undiagnosed symptoms to make money. Look at the “alternative medicine” world by allmeans – just be very sceptical and cautios.

The “tired all the time” protocol will pick up any serious disease such as “blood cancer” this is your first step. It will test you for all the various anaemias. look for inflammatory markers which would show possibility of cancers of various sorts and auto immune diseases, full range of liver and kidney function tests. Thyroid hormones, sex hormones can be added in as they were in my case and so on. If any of these show abnormalities they they are investigated further. this is why we have protocols and evidence based medicine

BTW – one of the OPs post had the key. He felt well when eating well, not drinking alcohol and having lost weight.