Has anyone ever had an urgent call following a blood test?

[HariboFrenzy]

Idly musing as went for a blood test this afternoon. I know I'm anaemic (keeps coming back when I stop iron supplements). Just wondering how serious it would have to be to get an urgent call from your GP if something serious showed up? Has this happened to anyone?

Those of you that were called very quickly needing an iron transfusion, how low were your levels?? Did you feel loads better after having the transfusion?

I had a doctor turned up at my house at midnight following blood tests as my plasma D-dimmer levels were too high. Given blood thinner injection then and there.

Dd had her bloods done in hospital in the morning. We were contacted mid afternoon asking us to bring her in straight away. Her ferritin level was zero!. We took her in and she had more tests. A blood transfusion and a bone marrow biopsy. Very scary time

Zero!!! 😳
I hope she's better now

My ferritin was 3 and my haemoglobin was 76. The frustrating thing is that I had been telling them for years I was anaemic and they refused to do anything apart from tell me to take iron supplements. I laughed when the GP told me I was seriously anaemic and said 'yes I know' (my pica was really bad again which was a sign)

I had paid for a private iron infusion (2 max doses a week apart) 8 months before as my ferritin was 0 at that point, but due to massively heavy periods the tank was empty again. God knows what state I'd have been in if I hadn't done that

My DP got a call within hours of a blood test and told to get to hospital asap. Turned out he had blood cancer. Thankfully he's in remission now. Hopefully your call back is for something less serious, OP.

My mother had bloods taken by the GP and that same evening had a phone call from her GP to tell her to go straight to a particular ward in hospital for 8am the following morning as her blood count was at 4. Further tests that day revealed Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and she was put in isolation and started aggressive treatment two days later.

Yes, had bloods done at about 11am, went to be and had an out of hours dr knocking on my door at 2am as my potassium was low, I had missed calls on my phone as well but I obviously have it on silent overnight.

Urgent call and iron infusion. Cant remember what levels were. Had to have 2 iron infusions as 1st one didn't bring level up to lower acceptable level. Lots of pain in long bones where blood cells were being made like crazy! Slept for 3 weeks on and off. 2nd one didn't feel as bad. Had been very very ill before the 1st iron infusion apparently at high risk of heart attack and relay looking back no idea how I was functioning at all, they said I wasn't the worst they had seen but was up there at top!

@HariboFrenzy she's fine now this was 12 years ago. They found she has an allergic colitis. Diets managed the condition just fine 🤞

Yup, DS's, when he was 6- my phone was on silent and the doctor rang and rang until my phone vibrated off the table. I had to take him straight to hospital where he had an emergency blood transfusion before being transferred to GOSH where he started chemo two days later. It was leukaemia. He's 13 now and the picture of rude health. I loved that doctors surgery, and I miss it (we moved out of the city once DS had finished treatment.)

Sorry to hear this and hope you’re okay. My mum was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2021. It was misdiagnosed as long covid for a long time.

I had three missed calls after DD blood test and asked to call urgently. The level for anaemia is 15 or something and she was...14. I thought it was something really serious.

Yes last year I realised how speedy these things can be when it's needed.
My liver function tests were WAY too high, I had the blood test at 8.30am and the doctor rang me at 12.30pm saying nervously "are you feeling well at the moment?"

Oh I did, a long time ago. GP phoned to tell me and I couldn't cope with the news. I said good bye and hung up mid sentence.
They then called my husband.

Not bloods, but a chest xray. Went to work after the X-ray, and this was in the days before mobile phones. Got home that evening to a note through the door from the GP who had been to my house, asking me to call straightaway. Rang and told to go straight to the doctors. Went through a waiting room full of people and GP asked where I had been all day. Work, of course! My left lung was 90% collapsed and I had to go to hospital right away. I asked if I could go the next day, after my works Xmas do - I was only 21 at the time. Obviously the answer was no to that!

The potassium thing is common . My blood was taken by a trainee and when it came back high potassium the gp said not to worry as sometimes the way the blood is taken effects the levels and to repeat . Next time it was normal but it did make me stop eating banana for a few days.
https://news.mayocliniclabs.com/2018/09/10/top-gun-phlebotomy-pseudohyperkalemia/#:~:text=Falsely%20Elevated%20K%20(Pseudohyperkalemia)&text=Pseudohyperkalemia%20from%20in%20vitro%20hemolysis,or%20from%20an%20indwelling%20catheter.

Yep, after a low ferritin test. Told to go pick up supplements.

Had a call about my dm and her K levels being very low and they wanted her to be brought in. I asked how low they were and it was just off the lower limit. So I said I’ll give her a couple of bananas, total result! No further issues.
For those that don’t know, bananas are very K rich

It happened to my dad. He had a blood test and the GP called him later that day saying he had to go to a&e straight away. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few weeks later.

Hopefully yours isn't anything so serious OP.

@Mum2jenny whats k?

K is potassium

DD had a blood test at 8.30am, got a call at 11.00am the same day telling us to take her straight to A&E. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Yes but not me- my mum! She went to the drs suspecting that she was anaemic. She turned out to be severely anaemic (causes by polyps in her uterus if I remember correctly, I was only 12 at the time). She had a call evening following the appointment telling her to attend a&e immediately as her iron levels were critically low and needed an urgent blood transfusion.

I have regular blood tests for a range of reasons and the last one threw up something really serious, autoimmune could lead to Liver transplant etc etc. GP phone me dropped it on me and told me I would be referred to specialist. Go and see specialist - it was 1 point off the range for average and in the last 6 years it has popped up and down and skimmed the bottom of the average, I had had a scan of the liver a month before and nothing showed up - no damage nothing. Consultant basically said yes am at risk but there is no evidence of any disease whatsoever so would not diagnose the condition for me at this point, GP scared the bejesus out of me. I suppose in some ways its better to be aware but talk about crass delivery