Getting a second opinion on blood test results

flea72

AJS321 wrote: »

I'd like a second opinion because the results were not what they should be for a healthy person and had showed a deteristiin in my condition. That's why I'm unhappy with my GP wanting me to ignore for the best part of a year.

I'm not particularly bothered which trust I go to as both hospitals are fairly local to me.

So you dont believe your condition has deteriorated? Sometimes test results, prempt physical symptoms. If its a conditon that can quickly change, then yes repeat tests might be worthwhile, but if youre on 2yr consultant appointments, then it appears the condition is being managed, so a slightly off blood test now, wont alter your treatement until next review, if at all

Fender4

Just make an apointment at the doctors and ask to see a different doctor.

If they refuse to do the bloods then tell them how much this is affecting your mental health.

DomRavioli

sillyvixen wrote: »

Make an appointment with a gp in the practice to discuss your blood test results. It is not the receptionists job to tell you there is nothing to worry about, she/he is not qualified to make that judgement your Dr is.

The GP inteprets the results, and asks the clerical staff to call to advise.

Don't ever treat NHS staff the way you have in this post. Ever.

teddysmum

Some ailments, such as type 2 diabetes, have suggested targets for results. If you are very slightly under the target, this will probably be mentioned (as a warning), but no urgent action is required (as something as simple as a mild infection can cause variation).



I once had a (6monthly) liver test result flagged for extra screening (after 3months), but was told that I'd had worse results in the past, so not to worry. I was not informed of the earlier high result, as a one-off wasn't significant, but they were now being thorough as there had been an abnormal result before. (No problems since.)

I see a consultant and have, in the past, emailed his secretary with any problems related to the condition and he has been kind enough to respond via her or private letter (in one case). The last contact (following A&E advice) was to inform him that I'd been involved in a car accident, which affected my condition and resulted in an earlier, than due, consultation.

peachyprice

AJS321 wrote: »

I've already tried doing that and the receptionist told me there's nothing to worry about. I'm not a professional but I could see the numbers on the results sheet were not quite right.

I've mentioned it to a friend who's a healthcare professional and they recommended I get a second opinion.

Is the receptionist a doctor? I doubt it very much, her opinion is irrelevant, So stop discussing it with her and make an appointment with the real doctor.

Pop_Up_Pirate

sillyvixen wrote: »

Make an appointment with a gp in the practice to discuss your blood test results. It is not the receptionists job to tell you there is nothing to worry about, she/he is not qualified to make that judgement your Dr is.

The receptionist will only pass on the notes that have been written by a doctor.
A doctor always checks over the blood test results.

MonkeyDr

I very much doubt that the receptionist is the one interpreting the results; as other posters (including the OP) have said, he / she will just be passing on information from the GP.

This is not an appropriate forum for your actual medical details. However, I would say that

1. many blood test results vary as lab processing is not exact. I.e. +/- 10% or whatever doesn't mean much on its own.

2. the 'normal' range you see printed out from the lab is only a guide, and in many conditions (or people on certain medications) the 'normal' range will be something different, and so interpretation knowing the background is key. For example in my specialty there is one test where the standard 'normal' range is 3.5-5, but a lot of our patients are between 5-6, and that is absolutely fine, nothing at all to worry about. (Depending on the rarity of your condition, generalist drs may or may not know about these variations - I have had one patient come fuming into clinic because an A&E dr told him that a particular abnormal result needed lots of investigation and I had 'ignored' it, whereas actually the result he had was from a perfectly normal physiological reaction to his underlying condition, and did not need any more investigation or treatment).

3. some tests are more meaningful than others, and an abnormal result in one particular parameter often needs no further investigation, given the context. Some results are very dependent on when you last ate, or how hydrated you are at the time of the test, or what time of day it is. Typically tests are requested as a panel, so you get more results than you actually want.

4. even if a test is a bit worse than previous etc there may not be anything to be done that isn't already being done. You might have chronic disease x, be on treatment y, already told about lifestyle change z, and another dr visit isn't going to change any of the above.

Having said all of that, and despite my overall feeling that we should not be burdening the NHS unnecessarily, if you think that an abnormal result has been overlooked then perhaps it would be best for you to clarify. I would recommend either making a non-urgent GP appointment to discuss, or maybe writing to your GP (they may prefer you to make an appointment, I don't know). No point starting from scratch with another specialist unless you really feel that you need a second opinion; 'new' patient clinic appointments are much more labour intensive than 'follow-ups', especially if all historical results and documentation are in another trust and so not available, and it doesn't seem like there is any clinical need at all here.

MD