Still haven’t managed to make that doctor’s appointment? Well, you’re in luck! You can actually take many of the tests you may be looking to get, right at home. LetsGetChecked is an at-home testing service with over 40 kits to choose from. We will break down how it works, our experience, and the COVID-19 Test, which is now available to the public!
How It Works
The Test
The kits, which are manufactured in their accredited facility, tests for women’s and men’s health to wellness, sexual health, and most recently COVID-19. The biggest difference between them is what kind of sample is needed and how it’s obtained. The first step in this process is to know what you want to test for. Not sure if you’re on the right track? Each test kit description gives a rundown of the symptoms you may be experiencing if you are deficient in a vitamin or mineral, or if an organ isn’t working as it should.
Aside from the symptoms, you can also see why you should take a specific test (this can be because of genetics or lifestyle), and which biomarkers are being tested in your sample.
Once you order your kit, and it’s delivered to your residence, which takes about 1-2 days, you simply activate your kit through their website. You are asked a short series of identifying and health-related questions and collect your sample. You then return this sample, using the next day UPS pre-paid shipping label that’s provided. Your sample is delivered to the laboratory and you receive your confidential results in 2-5 days.
The Results & Follow-Up
After their health team of physicians and nurses review your results, they are available 24/7 to help with treatment options or answer any questions that you may have.
Once your results are entered, you can track your lab and health information anywhere at any time, through your computer or phone. Their new iOS app is perfect for that. For results that you need to keep track of over time, you can also link your wearable data, for many of us, this may be a fitness watch. This way you can acquire deeper insights into your health.
My Experience
I decided to go with the Vitamin D test. A level I thought might be out of wack for most with the times we are in. Vitamin D plays a vital role in forming and maintaining strong bones and teeth through calcium absorption, regulating normal immune system function, maintaining heart and lung health, and combating depression.
So how do we get it into our bodies? Vitamin D food sources include items like fatty fish, fortified dairy, or breakfast cereals, and juices. Another source, which you’ve probably hear about all the time, is sunlight! Our body synthesizes Vitamin D once our skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays, something we have been getting less of, especially with that strict quarantine of 3-4 months.
Once I placed my order, my test arrived in two days. Timing on Delivery? Check! The box comes with all the instructions and materials you need, which you can see below. Lancets, alcohol and non-alcohol wipes, bandaids, your sample collection tube, transport bag, and prepaid shipping bag and label.
I activated my kit in the afternoon, then I was told the best time to take my sample was in the morning, so that’s what I did the next day. With a quick finger prick, I securely packaged my sample and had it ready for pickup through UPS, which I scheduled the day before. The next day I received a text message once they received my sample. The day after that, I received another once they analyzed it, saying I can find my results in my online profile.
Not too surprising my Vitamin D levels tested below the normal range. I decided to give the health team a call to see what I can do to change that. It was pretty easy to schedule a chat, right through my profile. On the same day, a few hours later, I was speaking with a nurse from their team. It was about a 5-8 minute call, I believe it would be longer if there was a more serious issue, and I think they would call you at that point as well.
I asked what I should do to increase my Vitamin D levels, she advised that I should contact my doctor to get Vitamin D supplements, something that’s very common when levels are low. She also advised the foods I can eat and that if my levels should increase, it will take about 3 months. Overall, I think my experience was just as explained when reading about the process. One thing I would suggest is in addition to a phone call, would be some type of document with the suggestions to better my health based on my results, which could get uploaded into my profile as well.
COVID-19 Tests
LetsGetChecked recently made their COVID-19 tests, which are also FDA authorized, available to the public. Are there long lines at your testing centers, none located in your area? If you would rather take the test from the safety of your home, an at-home test is a suitable choice.
The process is similar to other kits, other than the testing requires a gentle lower nasal swab. First, you must take a short survey to see if you qualify, then once your sample gets to the lab within those 24-48 hours, it goes through an RT-PCR based test (the most accurate way of detecting COVID-19). Your results are then delivered within 24-72 hours of your sample being received.
Now you’ve probably heard of these at-home testing kits before, but as the world advances in the name of technology, medicine, like it or not, is going along with it. Be it that you’re not near a hospital or clinic, or a test kit would be faster than waiting for that doctor’s appointment one month away, or you simply don’t have the time to wait in the doctor’s office that week. Emergency Room bill? No thank you! At-home testing will be the next best thing when the situation isn’t dire of course.
What’s even better is that with LetsGetChecked, FSA & HSA cards are also accepted as forms of payment, and if you have something you would like to keep an eye on over a certain period of time, you can subscribe for a test every 3 months & save money. Kits are $89 and up, and as an NYC Plugged Reader, you can get 20% of any of the 40+ tests available (not the COVID-19 test, unfortunately). So, if you’re looking to test yourself as home, be it for one of the wellness or health biomarkers, or for COVID-19, LetGetChecked it definitely a great option!
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