Hi All - just thought I’d pass this along for those of you who don’t know.
You can order your own blood work online at Walkinlab.com without doctor approval. You simply pay yourself and bring it to Labcorp or Quest. You choose when you order. Only downside is that insurance may not cover…but it’s not too expensive. I do my own CBC/CMP every three months for 44 USD. Results emailed to you typically in 24 hours. I also do ESR / CRP once in a while for about 20 USD. I also track all my results in Lab Analyzer (online app). Keeps my on top of how my body is reacting to treatment, and if I have a question, I just fax the results to my doc.
Note that I am not affiliated with either of the organizations…just passing along some useful info.
What’s the benefit of this? Or you’re suggesting it for people who can’t find a participating provider and hence may not be able to afford doctor visits as frequently as they should have?
I know for me this would not be helpful at all. I see a participating provider and have good insurance coverage with a visit copay of just $30
Whoa…not sure why you’re offended by this. Most of us have good docs and such, but I personally like to check in on my bloodwork more frequently than every 6-8 months when I see my doc for scheduled visits.
If it doesn’t make sense for you, so be it. Don’t use it. But some of the folks on this board might find it helpful as I did.
Not offended at all. I was just wondering about the benefit.
I also see why you might want more often. I see my rheumatologist every 3 months, and get tons of bloodwork done each time, no need for extra labs done in between.
I only see my Rheumy every 6 months, but have scripts for bloodwork in between (up to monthly if I want). I must admit that now I’ve been doing this for some time, I’m probably a bit lazy with it, but I do try to get there every 3 months, and do a repeat if anything significant pops up. I haven’t really heard of Rheumys doing bloodwork much longer than 3 monthly on biologics, but maybe there are new guidelines out. And certainly if you are only getting 6 months from your Rheumy and want a little more often, it’s an option. I’d probably just ask my Rheumy first, but the system here is that it’s free if he orders it, and I’ve never had anyone say no.
I’m in the UK so things are different. However I’ve always had frequent blood tests done on the NHS … used to be every 6 weeks, even before starting biologics, now it’s every 3 months, probably because results have been mostly fine for so long.
I see from your profile that you take Sulfasalazine Rob. Is that still the case? Maybe frequent blood tests aren’t thought to be as vital when on Sulfa as with Mtx and other traditional DMARDS(?). Anyway, I don’t have any particular thoughts about getting our own tests, it’s personal choice. But I’d have thought that rheumys should order them rather more frequently than every 6 - 8 months.
Sulfasalazine in the UK is tested every 3 months once you’re on it for 6 months. Before that it’s every month. Benepali (Enbrel) is tested every month for the first 6 months and then every 3 months. If I mess up as in miss some etc, I simply phone my GP ask for the form to be left out for me, pick it up and go to my local hospital’s walk in blood taking centre. I’m usally seen within 5 minutes and am out of the hospital carpark within the 20 minute free parking time limit. In the last three years I’ve never had to pay a parking fee for getting my bloods done. And of course all of it costs me nothing at all due to the NHS.
If it gives you peace of mind go for it, However both these labs use immunoassay methods as they are essentially workplace drug screeners. Their results are exclusive to to their testing and may vary widley in their results from the methods used in Hospital labs. Certainly “trends” that show up in the graphing done with the Lab Analyzer App can point to the need for local testing. But even then, 90% of the time, an unusual result will be confirmed by repeat testing usually in 30 - 90 days. So likley the value is only peace of mind. But with chronic diseases that peace of mind does have some value. With SSZ, which I believe from your profile is your only major drug at this point, a urine test is the most effective measure as liver function changes very slowly…Changes in proteins however will show up much quicker.