SCL and Aotea Pathology Blood Testing Service
Naturopaths order the same standard blood tests that you get at your medical doctor. These tests are often a great first step in assessing your general level of health and where any problems might be. They’re usually less expensive than some of the more focused tests, and can guide the direction we take your treatment in. Some tests are used to diagnose disease or illness, and other are used to monitor how well your body is responding to treatment.
We work alongside SCL blood testing services located in most main centres around New Zealand. In some case we use Aotea Pathology. Either way this will be made clear to you at the time of your appointment. We supply the lab form. You will pay for your blood tests at the laboratory. The results will be sent to us to analyse and the results discussed with you either by email or at you next appointment. ‘Manage my health’ is great service for people to collect relevant data in one place. Any testing you have done in the recent past is really valuable to us so we can look at your case in a holistic manner.
Some of the more common tests we order include:
- TSH to test for thyroid hormone levels – too high or too low
- Full Iron Studies – tells us how well you iron is processed and stored
- CRP, ESR – Inflammatory markers
- CBC – complete blood count. Lets us know how many red and white blood cells you have, and can point to things like anaemia or infection.
- FBG & HgA1c – fasting blood glucose A1c. These are markers of diabetes
- LFT – helps us understand what your liver is doing
Which tests we order, if any, will depend on your specific symptoms and our best clinical judgement. We only order tests that we deem necessary to help you reach your health goals as quickly and safely as possible.
We use these lab tests to help get a picture of what’s going on inside your body at a molecular level we also offer tests that most other health care providers don’t- which is great for you! These are helpful in figuring out what’s at the root cause of your illness and coming up with a diagnosis and treatment plan!