Extreme anxiety after blood test call

barbiedoll

Absolutely agree with sulphate's post, and the word "abnormal" simply means "not normal". Blood test results show the levels against a range of "normal" readings, anything outside of this range is considered abnormal.

I take bloods for pregnant women and the iron level results (for instance) often come back lower the so-called "normal" range. Iron deficiency is so common in pregnant women, it is practically considered normal, indeed, the level below which women are considered for treatment, is lower than the "normal" range.

In defense of receptionists, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. There is no need for rudeness but if they question patients about their symptoms, they are considered to be acting above their station. But when they don't comment on blood results, they are considered unhelpful. I don't condone any rude receptionists but I do work in a large health centre and if you saw what receptionists have to put up with, you probably wouldn't spend most of the day in a good mood either!

OP, don't worry and speak to the doctor in the morning. I'm sure it will be fine!

crazyhairedgirl

Don't worry, these things are normally nothing. I'm sure they would have wanted to see you much sooner if it was anything serious.

pickledonionspaceraider

Op I had the exact same situation, turned out to be a very minor problem that was easy sorted, is more likely to be nothing much.

jenhug

I had an "abnormal" blood result because my cholesterol level was lower than expected due to my age weight etc. Abnormal doesn't always mean bad.

As an aside. Ask to speak to the practice manager and complain about the receptionists lack of professionalism.

looby1975

I have type 2 diabetes and for the last 4 years I've had to had my MOT birthday bloods, every single year I've had a call back to have further blood tests.

It's got to the point now where I expect the phone call a few days after my bloods. It's almost always just a double check to be on the safe side and I'm sure it will be the same for you, like others have said if it was something really worrying then you would either be fast tracked for an appointment or sent to the haematology clinic at your local hospital.

SRT81

I recently had an abnormal result from a blood test, initially done to check whether I had a thyroid problem. Slight abnormality was with my liver. Had two more blood tests checking for routine abnormalities all the way up to hepatitis and HIV.

All came back clear, and now I'm due an ultrasound of my liver to see if they can find out what's causing it.

But when they talk about "abnormalities" it can be a bit of a vague diagnosis. Mine for example... the normal range for a liver reading is 50 and under, mine was 55. Then after another blood test it was 75, but the doctor said that any real problems would be returning numbers in the hundreds.

I think if your GP isn't calling you immediately to get you into hospital then chances are there's not much wrong.

belfastgirl23

I think you're overreacting a little here. It is entirely normal to be concerned about your health but it does seem to me that the receptionist's words were fine (although I appreciate that there is sometimes a tone thing that's an issue, then again if you were anxious perhaps your tone wasn't how you would normally be as well). I'm just saying this because it might be worth noting to yourself that you tend to catastrophise a bit about this sort of thing - which at least means if a call comes again you can remind yourself that you need to take a deep breath. I recognise it because I tend to catastrophise myself - my thing is about driving in unfamiliar conditions or circumstances and I have to step back and remind myself that when I'm feeling stressed, it is about what's going on in my mind, not necessarily about the weather report lol!


Routine is routine, your cholesterol could be a smidge high or your vitamin levels could be a smidge low. But it's obviously not something they're overly worried about.


Hope you get on ok!

clairehi

Hi OP

Its worth talking to your GP about how anxious this has made you. Do you often worry about your health? If this is not just a one-off, it may help you to seek treatment to help you manage your feelings better. Severe anxiety is debilitating and there are treatments for this.

emmaj30

Hope everything is ok..
Im sure its nothing to worry about or they would have wanted an urgent appointment. I think what some doctors receptionists don't understand is that what seems fairly routine for them is a BIG deal to you as its your body and YES you need to find out what the problem is. I have had that before and you need to explain that you want to speak to a gp asap!!!

sweaty_betty

OP - you have my sympathy.

I remember getting a 'phone call from the GP surgery a year or so ago - I was told my test results were back and the doctor wanted to see me. They wouldn't/couldn't tell me any more.

I'd recently undergone a traumatic experience, was feeling very fragile and had concerns for my health. The 'phone call was on a Friday at 5pm, I was away from home. I was nearly in tears.

I was quite assertive and said something along the lines of "I've had a very difficult time recently and I'm a bit upset that you've called to tell me this with no other information, I'm going to end up worrying about this all weekend". The receptionist said she's see what she could do and then the nurse practitioner phoned back 10 minutes later to explain what the results were and said she understood why I was upset and they were going to change their policy about 'phoning people and leaving them hanging over the weekend.

Might be worth explaining how you're feeling when you speak to your GP?