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Should I Trust My Pan-India Lab's High TSH Result for My Wife?

Dr Karthiyayini

Dr Karthiyayini Mahadevan  |1094 Answers  |Ask -

General Physician - Answered on Jun 12, 2024

Dr Karthiyayini Mahadevan has been practising for 30 years.
She specialises in general medicine, child development and senior citizen care.
A graduate from Madurai Medical College, she has DNB training in paediatrics and a postgraduate degree in developmental neurology.
She has trained in Tai chi, eurythmy, Bothmer gymnastics, spacial dynamics and yoga.
She works with children with development difficulties at Sparrc Institute and is the head of wellness for senior citizens at Columbia Pacific Communities.... more
Asked by Anonymous - Dec 30, 2023Hindi
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The routine blood-test report of my wife done from a pan-India reputed lab on 13/12/23 under a test package showed a TSH value of 10.6 μIU/ml, which her Doctors thought as pretty high and was about to prescribe some medicine for that when based on my previous experience I decided to carry out a confirmatory test. A few years back my report from the same lab showed a low level of Hemoglobin which when tested in another reputed lab in my city was found to be quite normal. So based on that experience she got her blood tested once again for TSH with one of the most reputed lab in our city on 16/12/23 which came as 4.33 μIU/ml. We are now totally at a loss as to which part of the reports from that lab can be relied upon and took up our grievance with the first mentioned lab and demanded complete refund of fees as we need to do all the tests once again with a different lab to check the veracity of the report. But the said lab states that the tests were done correctly following correct protocols and refuses to refund and states further that, at best, they can do the test once again. That, we find rather ridiculous. So our question is how can we resolve and recover our money.

Ans: NABL certified lab should be able to explain why is there a difference. If there is a wide difference, then we, need to check about their daily calibration run through. In any case it is always better to doubly sure about the readings, if they are high
DISCLAIMER: The answer provided by rediffGURUS is for informational and general awareness purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment.
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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |6528 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Apr 05, 2024

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My father is 89 years old and has recurring abdominal pain from last few months. In Apr'23 he was admitted in one private hospital at our locality and admitted for 7 days due to the pain issue. Various tests were conducted including blood tests, CT scan, fibroscopy and endoscopy, no major issues observed except some liver irregularities and discharged after providing certain oral medication. The cashless benefits are obtained through corporate TPA (EWA). However after certain weeks intermittently severe pain recur for almost a week and this time, on first week of July, my father was taken to Kolkata at a hospital specific to liver and digestive treatment. As advised by doctor he was admitted and again various tests are conducted including blood and stool culture, LFT, CT scan and colonoscopy..But this time also no major issues observed and he was discharged after certain medications, which differs from earlier hospital medicines. But this time claim is denied by TPA (EWA) stating that the admission is done only for investigation and observations and no line of treatment was done.. although new medicines are prescribed in the discharge summary and along with that IV fluid and some other medicines were regularly given during his stay in hospital. As TPA has denied the claim, I have to pay the entire amount in spite of paying a hefty amount of premium for my father. Can you pls suggest, why the claim is denied and whether there is any possibility of reimbursement of the claim by any means?
Ans: I'm sorry to hear about your father's health issues and the challenges you're facing with the insurance claim. The denial of the claim by the TPA (Third Party Administrator) could be due to several reasons, including discrepancies in documentation, interpretation of policy terms, or classification of the treatment as investigational rather than therapeutic.

To address this issue and explore the possibility of reimbursement, here are some steps you can take:

Review Policy Documents: Carefully review the terms and conditions of your father's health insurance policy to understand the coverage and exclusions. Pay attention to the criteria for claim eligibility and the definition of covered treatments.

Seek Clarification: Contact the TPA or the insurance provider to seek clarification on why the claim was denied. Request detailed information on the specific reasons for denial and ask for clarification on any policy terms that are unclear.

Gather Documentation: Gather all relevant medical records, including discharge summaries, prescription details, invoices, and receipts for medications and treatments provided during the hospital stay. Ensure that the documentation clearly demonstrates the medical necessity and therapeutic nature of the treatment received.

Appeal the Decision: If you believe that the denial was incorrect or unjustified, consider filing an appeal with the insurance company. Provide supporting documentation and any additional information that may strengthen your case for claim reimbursement. Follow the appeal process outlined by the insurance provider and submit the appeal within the specified timeframe.

Consult an Expert: If necessary, consider seeking assistance from a healthcare advocate or insurance specialist who can help navigate the appeals process and advocate on your behalf. They may offer valuable insights and assistance in presenting your case effectively.

Explore Legal Options: If all attempts to resolve the issue through the appeals process are unsuccessful, you may consider seeking legal advice to explore further options, such as mediation or legal action, to resolve the dispute.

It's important to remain persistent and proactive in pursuing reimbursement for legitimate medical expenses. Keep thorough records of all communications and documentation related to the claim, and continue to advocate for your father's rights as a policyholder.

..Read more

Dr Karthiyayini

Dr Karthiyayini Mahadevan  |1094 Answers  |Ask -

General Physician - Answered on Jun 26, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - May 09, 2024Hindi
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I am 54 years M ,having Diabetes and High BP (HTN) since the past 13 years. At times it has been in poor control also like in May 2021 the HbA1c was 10.10 which gradually went down to 7.70 and then remained constant between 7.90 and 8.10 with the medications and 'not so strict' diet regime. Plus the body weight was also increasing and i gained around 10 kgs (101.2 Kgs) in a span of around 06 months. Recently in March 2024, the test reports indicated it as 8.70 causing me some concern and in April 2024 the reports showed a value of 9.20, which made me think about the reliablity of Lab report as well as made me change the doctor. My medicines were changed from Glimepiride (2 mg),Metformin (500 mg) Pioglitazone (15 mg) and METFORMIN-500MG + VILDAGLIPTIN-50MG twice daily ( taking for about 20 months) to GLIMEPIRIDE-2MG + METFORMIN-500MG + VOGLIBOSE-0.2MG and Dapagliflozin 5 mg+Metformin 500 mg twice daily recently in Mid April 2024. I was asked by the doctor to report after a month with Fasting and PP readings. However after few days,I started realising that my blood sugar was approaching higher and then I experienced needle like sensations in feet and hands plus sticky urine with a heavy head and hot face. I again went for a checkup three days back and the randomn sugar was 291 mg/dl. The medications have again been changed to Dapagliflozin (10mg) + Metformin (500mg) + Sitagliptin (100mg) + Saroglitazar (4mg) in the morning and METFORMIN-500MG + VILDAGLIPTIN-50MG since yesterday (08.05.2024) and I have been asked to take daily readings and report after 10 days. All this has lead to a panicky feeling in me, resulting in increased HTN. I am worried that how this hit and trial or permutations and combinations will help me in achieving a perfect set of medicines to lower my blood sugar to normal levels. Kindly advice. I shall be highly obliged.
Ans: Medicines alone cannot work in these Lifestyle diseases.
Lifestyle modification plays a vital role
So start with your dietary discipline. Strict no to Sugars and refined carbohydrates.
Have less portion of Carbohydrate in a complex form
Timely meals with early dinner before 7 pm

..Read more

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Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |351 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Oct 07, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Oct 07, 2024Hindi
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Hi Sir, Im 29 male,earning 75k post deductions, Im having 1.6Y baby,Ive term insurance and corporate health insurance. Ive set my goals as below Daughter education anount-(50-60 Lakhs) Considering the current fee structure assuming it would be this much Note:Amount mentioned for her whole education carrer. House purchase: It a long term goal I wanted to purchase own house. Not sure how much cost it would be in Bangalore after 10y.Kindly suggest how much one should save for the same. Retirement goal: For Retirement I would like to have a corpus of 2CR. Considering the above goals How can I achieve,Im doing investments as below 14K SIP Started from this year At present invested around 73K Direct stock value:65K SSY: 2K per month Emergency fund: Holding 6 month expenditure Liquid Amount 1L And I have a personal loan which will be completed by APR 2025. This is my current financial condition. Please suggest how can I achieve my Goals as per the current financial plan.
Ans: Hello;

I hope your term life cover is adequate (1.35-1.8Cr).
Apart from corporate health insurance it is always better to have personal health care cover as a precaution.

Glad to note that you reckoned these as important aspects of financial planning and mentioned about it upfront.

Now I recommend you the following:
Kid's higher education: 1 Cr (50-60L is less)
Retirement Corpus: 2 Cr
House: 1.75 Cr (Approx cost of 2 bhk flat in decent locality of Bengaluru 10 years hence)

Investments to fund these goals:
1. Kid's education:
Two investments will work in parallel to reach the goal.
12.5 K per month in SSY
10 K SIP in a aggressive hybrid mutual fund. Both these investments will yield corpus of around 46 L and 54 L in 15 years from now.(8% and 13% returns assumed respectively). So 1 Cr target achievable.

House: 14 K monthly sip will grow into a corpus of 35 L(=20% down payment for house worth 1.75 Cr; Balance through home loan)

Retirement corpus:
Start a monthly sip of 5 K flexicap mutual fund which will give corpus of 2.21 Cr, after 30 years.

Retirement corpus estimated on relatively lower side so request you to top it up as and when possible. Ofcourse you may have EPF which may complement it.

Do not dabble into direct stocks unless you have the knowledge and temperament to trade.

If you still want to do it earmark a fixed amount as your risk capital which you wouldn't mind even if it becomes zero and use it to deal in stocks, but strictly based on self knowledge and/or guidance from an investment advisor. Not based on TV and social media tips!!

6 month emergency fund provision in liquid funds is a good strategy.

Happy Investing!!

You may follow us on X at @mars_invest for updates.

*Investments in mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.

...Read more

Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |351 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Oct 07, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Oct 05, 2024Hindi
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I am 41 years old........ I am earning approximately 1.7 lakh per month...... My family liability is approximately 50000 per month.......i have a liability of 10 lakh home loan for which i am paying 12500 monthly EMI.......my investment include 40000 per month in PPF, 4200 in NPS and 3 lakh invested in mutual funds......I own a house worth 70 lakh and a plot of land worth 30 lakh.......please guide me for my forther planning as i will retire at age of 54 on 2037.
Ans: Hello;

If you are sure about not using the land plot in future then I suggest you sell it and invest the proceeds into mutual funds.

So land sell proceeds(30 L) + existing corpus of 3 L if stays invested in pure equity mutual funds for next 13 years, it will yield you a corpus of 1.62 Cr.

Also I recommend you to start a monthly sip of 50 K into pure equity fund for 13 years. At the end of 13 years it may yield you a corpus of around 2.04 Cr. (A modest return of 13% is assumed for all mutual fund investments)

NPS investment will not mature till you reach 60 so I am keeping it out of our working.

Your contribution of 40 K per month to EPF+PPF(PPF contribution cannot be more then 1.5 L per person per year) will grow into a corpus of 1.1 Cr after 13 years.(A modest return of 8% is assumed)

So your comprehensive corpus in 2037 will be 1.62+2.04+1.1= 4.76 Cr.

If you buy an immediate annuity from an insurance company for your corpus of 4.76 Cr, you may expect a monthly payout of 1.66 L(post tax) considering annuity rate of 6%.

If you don't want to sell the land parcel then I recommend you to start an sip of 60 K per month for 13 years. This may yield you a corpus of 2.45 Cr after 13 years.

3 L current MF corpus will grow to 0.1469 Cr after 13 years

So your comprehensive corpus now is 2.45+1.1+0.1469=~3.70 Cr

If you buy an immediate annuity from an insurance company for your corpus of 3.7 Cr then you may expect to receive a monthly payout of 1.3 L(post tax).

Further NPS will yield you a corpus of 25.5 L at the attainment of 60 years of age.(9% return considered; hoping you will continue to contribute after your retirement at 54 age)

I am sure you have adequate term life insurance and healthcare insurance for yourself and family.

You are ready to retire at 54 as planned.

Happy Investing!!

You may follow us on X at @mars_invest for updates.

*Investments in mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.

...Read more

Radheshyam

Radheshyam Zanwar  |968 Answers  |Ask -

MHT-CET, IIT-JEE, NEET-UG Expert - Answered on Oct 07, 2024

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My son is doing his XII Standard in CBSE Curriculum with Maths,Physics, Chemistry and Biology as his group. He is yet to decide on what next after XII with his mind wavering between Astro Physics or Micro Biology with NEET in mind. Any guidance is welcome.
Ans: Hello Srinivasan.
I am glad to hear that your son is exploring diversified fields at this early stage. Astrophysics and Microbiology both are fascinating and rewarding paths, but they differ significantly in terms of the career options and the type of studies involved.
My suggestion for your son would be to focus only on the NEET examination at this stage. There is no need to divert the mind without any reason at this stage. After the NEET examination is over, you have ample time to discover more career options along with Astrophysics and Microbiology. The inclination toward career options of a student changes multiple times during the 11th and 12th. If he is brilliant, a hard worker, and dedicated to his studies, then set a goal of Min 650 marks in the NEET examination.
For Astrophysics: Focus on excelling in Physics and Maths in XII. He can apply to top institutions like IISc, IITs, or IISERs for B.Sc. programs.
For Microbiology: Prepare for NEET if he wants to take the medical path. Otherwise, he can explore a B.Sc. in Microbiology at a reputable university.

Best of luck for his future career and upcoming NEET examination.

If you are dissatisfied with the reply, please ask again without hesitation.
If satisfied, please like and follow me.
Thanks.

Radheshyam

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Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |351 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Oct 07, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Oct 07, 2024Hindi
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Now I'm 43 years old, but next 5 year's I need 3cr with best mutual funds to invest and son education, marriage and my retirement, currently I have housing loan commitment. 70lakhs, how should I close my loan ASAP and I should have 3cr in my hand. Kindly help me, I'm in scary situation, I'm working in private sector 95k my take home and current home loan emi is 63k, 4500 recently started investment through groww app in parakh Parikh small fund, 12500 in PPF etc, kindly help. I'm completely in debt trap.
Ans: Hello;

General Comments:
People always delay retirement planning for later stage but this is not ok.

Because when you are young the investible surplus amount maybe less but you have the biggest resource, time on your side.

A mere 25K monthly sip can achieve 3 Cr in 20+ years

Query Specific Comments:
If you need this corpus in 5 years then you need to make a monthly sip of 3.55 Lacs Minimum to reach 3 Cr corpus in 5 yrs.(modest return of 13% considered).

Focus on improving your earning because then you can earmark larger amounts for investing towards your goals.

Also try to prepay the home loan as early as possible through EPF corpus or some asset sale.

Do not panic if you diligently pre-close the home loan you have ample time to invest and create a comfortable corpus for your goals.

Continue investing in MFs with increasing allocation, PPF to reach your goals.

Happy Investing!!

*Investments in mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.

...Read more

Milind

Milind Vadjikar  |351 Answers  |Ask -

Insurance, Stocks, MF, PF Expert - Answered on Oct 07, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Oct 07, 2024Hindi
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I am 24 years old and earn a monthly salary of Rs.65,000. I am interested in investing some of my funds for future financial security and am also planning to marry in two years. As I have no prior knowledge of investment, I would greatly appreciate guidance on this matter.
Ans: Hello;

First and foremost buy a good term life cover including riders for critical care and accident benefit.

Ensure that you can top-up the sum assured later when you grow your responsibilities after marriage.

For retirement planning you should consider investing in NPS. If your office provides it well and good but otherwise also you can open NPS account and contribute regularly for financing your retirement. It's an E-E-E type of scheme. Charges are quite low and you can decide to select allocation to the asset classes like equity, corporate debt or sovereign bonds as per your risk tolerance. It allows limited withdrawal before 60.

If you decide to contribute to NPS per month an amount of 20 K, it will grow into a corpus of 6.51 Cr by the time you are 60 years of age.(A modest return of 9% is considered)

For all other goals such as marriage, house, kid's education, car, vacation you can use mutual funds as your mode of investments.

If you do a monthly sip of say 15 K into a pure equity mutual fund then at the end of 5 years you may expect to receive a corpus of 12.72 L considering moderate return of 13%.

Happy Investing!!

You may follow us on X at @mars_invest for updates.

*Investments in mutual funds are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing.

...Read more

DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related document carefully before investing. The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information and as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision. RediffGURUS is an intermediary as per India's Information Technology Act.

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