HOME TESTING KITS

   All patients have the right to be intimately involved in their health care.  An increasing number of people are saying yes and are using one of the many do-it-yourself screening kits to test their blood or urine for many ailments daily, some on their doctor’s advice – monitoring blood glucose or blood pressure.

    TESTS THAT MONITOR DISEASE

Blood Glucose – Worth doing?  Yes, for people with type 1 diabetes, but for type 2 diabetes, the benefit is less clear so check with your doctor.  Monitoring glucose is essential for managing type 1diabetes and is nearly always encouraged by doctors who treat that condition.  They can adjust their diet and exercise routine and tailor insulin doses to keep their levels in the proper range.  That in turn reduces the risk of problems that stem from poorly controlled blood sugar, including seizures, blindness, kidney disease, and nerve damage.

    PROTHROMBIN

This is worth doing for certain people who take blood thinning drugs such as warfarin (Coumadin and generic).  Warfarin and other blood thinners can be lifesaving for people with atrial fibrillation or disorders that can cause blood clots in the brain, heart, legs or lungs.  But the medication can also cause dangerous or uncontrolled bleeding that can even be fatal in some cases.  Self monitoring can greatly reduce that risk.  A review of 14 trials published in the journal Lancet, for example, found that people who monitored and adjusted their warfarin dosages accordingly improved control of their blood clotting and had fewer blood clotting and fewer bleeding episodes compared to people who didn’t adjust their own doses.

   BLOOD PRESSURE

This is worth doing for people with elevated or borderline elevated blood pressure, especially for treating hypertension.  Research shows that an average of several readings over the course of a week provides a more reliable measurement than a sporadic reading. 

    Other cardiovascular tests for Cholesterol, C-reactive is not worth doing.  Experts say you should skip them since levels don’t change much from day to day.  It can be more accurate doing this testing at a doctor’s office where blood pressure can be elevated by patient anxiety known as “white coat hypertension.”  You could also go to a walk-in clinic.