Extreme anxiety after blood test call

McKneff

Excuse me but why did you go to the GPs in the first place.

swampduck

comeandgo wrote: »

Can I also try and reassure you. My husband had tests that the results were bad and the doctor phoned him that day to get him into hospital, I get blood tests and am told the results at a normal surgery so the urgent ones are dealt with differently.

This is very true - my son in law had blood tests in the morning at his Doctors cos his GP thought he looked a little pale! He had an urgent phone call and an appointment for 4 o'clock that afternoon. He had leukaemia!!
So the procedure for the serious stuff is fast tracked, still doesn't excuse the receptionists' attitude though!!

Swampy

Mojisola

KatieDee wrote: »

She literally said "Something on your recent blood test is showing as abnormal, so you need to book a routine appointment with your GP to discuss them"

That sounds very factual to me and not rude at all.

happy35

Hi, my OH got the phone call on Christmas Eve to say that his blood test results had come back borderline and needed to see the GP asap. However she wouldnt expand further so meant an anxious wait for him. He returend for the second test and they eventually showed that he has a cholesterol reading that is on the cusp of normal and high and also his liver function was 80 against a target of 50. Ultrasound done and his liver is fine but they thought he may have a small cyst or fat around his liver, they now think it was just a blip as latest test came back normal

Hopefully yours will be similar and wont amount to much actually wrong, although i do think everyone would be less worried if they said what might be wrong as at least you wouldnt be left with all sorts going through your mind

KatieDee

McKneff wrote: »

Excuse me but why did you go to the GPs in the first place.

There were a couple of things I was concerned about - I felt a random popping sensation in my back which had resulted in pain throughout my entire mid-section so needed to know this wasn't anything to worry about. While I was there, I mentioned some other discomfort I was having and he referred me for a number of blood tests to rule out some issues. My GP is very good and seems to do a thorough job whenever I see him (which isn't very often at all!).

Mojisola wrote: »

That sounds very factual to me and not rude at all.

Correct, this part was factual. The issue I had was when I questioned the results and asked if I could have clarification or further information. My argument is that she could have handled it slightly more sensitively but who knows, perhaps she was having a bad day and couldn't be bothered with inane questions from faceless patients.

JournalGirl

I echo what the others have said - RELAX!

This is perfectly normal. The receptionist can't advise you further, but a routine appointment says that the Doc isn't panicking, so neither should you x

KatieDee

Thank you so much for your words of support everybody - it really means a lot. I've gone from my mind racing to only slightly nervous! Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly and I'm worrying over nothing

sulphate

I used to work in a biochemistry lab, we used to phone out very urgent results (for example if a test was indicative that the patient had had a recent heart attack).

The vast majority of the time the phone calls went to the wards in the hospital where the person was an inpatient. It was a bit more unusual to phone GPs with such results. If your test was so urgent they wouldn't have you waiting a week for a routine appointment.

If it had been such bad news the GP would probably have called you themselves. Also, laboratories should turn round the tests you describe in a matter of hours, so if it had been that bad you would have been contacted the day the tests were done or the day after, not 4 days later.

Abnormal doesn't mean urgent. It might mean that you are anaemic, for example, or as you said, if they couldnt get enough blood to do all the tests.

It's a common misconception that you would be tested for "everything" - this is impossible, but that might put your mind at rest that it was probably a general health screen done and therefore there is a limit as to what the tests could have picked up.

A receptionist should not make any kind of judgement about your blood tests. They should only read out what is on the screen. In the lab I worked in, even the senior biomedical scientists were not qualified or expected to answer clinical questions. That responsibility lies with the doctors alone. If I had told a nurse on a ward that "it's a bit out of the range but nothing to worry about" I would probably have been fired on the spot.

KatieDee

sulphate wrote: »

I used to work in a biochemistry lab, we used to phone out very urgent results (for example if a test was indicative that the patient had had a recent heart attack).

The vast majority of the time the phone calls went to the wards in the hospital where the person was an inpatient. It was a bit more unusual to phone GPs with such results. If your test was so urgent they wouldn't have you waiting a week for a routine appointment.

If it had been such bad news the GP would probably have called you themselves. Also, laboratories should turn round the tests you describe in a matter of hours, so if it had been that bad you would have been contacted the day the tests were done or the day after, not 4 days later.

Abnormal doesn't mean urgent. It might mean that you are anaemic, for example, or as you said, if they couldnt get enough blood to do all the tests.

It's a common misconception that you would be tested for "everything" - this is impossible, but that might put your mind at rest that it was probably a general health screen done and therefore there is a limit as to what the tests could have picked up.

A receptionist should not make any kind of judgement about your blood tests. They should only read out what is on the screen. In the lab I worked in, even the senior biomedical scientists were not qualified or expected to answer clinical questions. That responsibility lies with the doctors alone. If I had told a nurse on a ward that "it's a bit out of the range but nothing to worry about" I would probably have been fired on the spot.

Thank you so much for this, sulphate. I feel much more positive now

Judging by the last part of that post, I suppose I should be grateful that the receptionist elaborated at all.

Buttonmoons

I've had one of those scary calls before - My blood results were abnormal too - Because my white cell count was slightly high - which could of been for anything, a cut, sore throat etc etc.

Whatever was causing it went away and I had zero ill effects from it Don't worry!