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Original poster

To assume it’s going to be bad news

61 replies

Lwg87 · 24/05/2019 21:46

I have been suffering with dizziness, nausea and fatigue recently. It got a lot worse in the last 2 weeks. Had blood taken at the surgery on Wednesday and rang for results today. The receptionist said one lot had come back fine and the others had a note on them to make an appointment to see the doctor. Does that mean there is something really wrong? I’ve never had this before after a blood test and won’t find out until a doctor can ring me on Tuesday. It’s going to be a long weekend and not just because it’s a bank holiday!

OP posts:
AhhhHereItGoes · 24/05/2019 22:14

Unlikely to be very serious as they would want an urgent face to face appointment.

The times I've had this has been one of 3 things.

  1. sample got contaminated, need to redo.

  2. results are borderline so need to redo test in 2 weeks/month to test again to see if goes back to normal.

  3. something was slightly elevated but unlikely to be serious. With mine an inclination was expected.

I hope it's something banal. Good luck for Tuesday.

AJPTaylor · 24/05/2019 22:21

In my direct experience if it's anything truly worrying they ask you to come in. When you ask when the next appt is they say" When can you get here"
Its easy to say don't worry but it's most likely vitamin d deficiency or similar.

FermatsTheorem · 24/05/2019 22:26

Hand hold, OP, it's awful waiting for tests, specially when you feel like shit, but as others have said, if it was anything really serious, they'd have phoned you to come straight into the surgery.

(I had dizziness, palpitations and visual disturbances plus an abrupt loss of about a stone in weight a few years back. I was bricking it, convinced I'd got cancer of some kind - turned out to be thyroid - so I know how panicked you can get, but take a deep breath, it will almost certainly turn out to be just fine.)

clairemcnam · 24/05/2019 22:26

When my DP had seriously bad blood results, he was told to come straight to GP, and was then sent to the hospital.
Probably anaemia from the symptoms. Very common and easily sorted.

FrancesFryer · 24/05/2019 22:27

Yes I don't phone any more for blood test results because if there's something wrong they'll phone me.
I once had my blood taken at 11.45 and was in the hospital at 3pm. So yes if it's something to worry about, you'll know

Hecateh · 24/05/2019 22:31

Iron deficiency anaemia
Pernicious anaemia or low Vit B12 and others in diet
Vitamin D
Thyroid

99% it will be one of or a combination of these

justrestinginmybankaccount · 24/05/2019 22:31

My money is on you’re anaemic. Second bet is your thyroid is bit off.

Seriously try not to worry. It’s a pain waiting I know :(

tinkerbellla · 24/05/2019 22:33

Agree with everyone else. We had this with my mum and I was so worried. Turned out to be something routine. Please don't worry over the weekend, they'd be calling you straight in if it was bad. Xx

iVampire · 24/05/2019 22:36

If something is really wrong, your GP will call you (and may pack you straight off to hospital). I know, it’s happened to me,

There are lots of less worrying reasons why the GP might want a non-urgent word (and suggesting an appointment that’ll be the next week at the earliest translated as non-urgent).

But waiting for test results, when you know something is up but you don’t quite know what, is a very demanding time (no matter how great the likelihood that it’s something easy to fix). So be kind to yourself over the coming days, and I hope you have family/friends you can lean on a bit

Kahlua4me · 24/05/2019 22:37

This happened to my dh recently, he was told the same on a Friday evening. Turned out he was anaemic.

QueenofPain · 24/05/2019 22:37

If it was really, really bad they’d have made the space for an urgent call or the lab would have rung the results through to the out of hours GP overnight to make contact with you.

piffpaffpoff · 24/05/2019 22:39

If there was something really wrong, I think you would have been called in today or told to go to hospital. I had bloods done at 2 on a Friday afternoon and got a call at 7pm from an out of hours doc telling me to report to my nearest A&E immediately and be prepared to be kept in because of what the tests said. I had chronic anaemia, they considered doing a blood transfusion but as I was functioning (albeit pale as a sheet and tired all the time) they let me go home with strong iron tablets and an instruction to see my GP on Monday. I’m all sorted now and feel brilliant.

Try not to worry - easier said than done, I know.

AhhhHereItGoes · 24/05/2019 22:43

Infection, not inclination!

dreichuplands · 24/05/2019 22:44

I immediately thought vitamin deficiency like a pp because that was what happened to me. Easily treatable.
Anytime my family had a significant issue there was immediate contact from GP.
Don't stress.

MyOtherProfile · 24/05/2019 22:46

How old are you OP? Could it be something menopause related?

LonelyPiggy · 24/05/2019 22:46

I was called in as they were doing "extra appointments" on bank holiday saturday when it was worrying results - they wouldn't have left it until Monday. Hope all is ok.

BuildBuildings · 24/05/2019 22:47

What did they test you for? It won't be urgent because they would ask you to go in ASAP or arrange for the GP to call you. I have bloods done almost constantly and if there's an anomaly they will ask me to see the GP when I can. Its never serious when they say this.

BuildBuildings · 24/05/2019 22:49

Oh yes I forgot it was a bank holiday. Bif it was serious they wouldn't leave it for 3 days.

kateandme · 24/05/2019 22:52

not at all.it could be some things were slightly off so they want to keep an eye out so will do another test in a few weeks but no meds.
could be potassium so will give you a booster in fizzys form
could be slight anemia so will give you iron
some miineral deficiency o want you to take some of them.
folic acid.
all those could mean you feel the way you do and many many more!
it could even be nothing was wrong but they want to see why you could be feeling this way so discuss further.

Dreamscomingtrue · 24/05/2019 23:10

Don’t panic, my Dad had a lung X ray at the hospital and he was called in to see the doctor very quickly because it was bad news. There’s no way they’d make you wait until Tuesday if you needed any urgent treatment straight away. As other posters have said it’s usually an iron or vitamin deficiency.

LillithsFamiliar · 24/05/2019 23:36

You're probably anaemic. When I was first anaemic, they called me at home to come into the surgery.

Jaxhog · 24/05/2019 23:39

Don't panic. If it was bad news you'd get a phone call to come for an appointment NOW. That's what I got when diagnosed with T2 Diabetes.

LeukaeLucky · 25/05/2019 00:57

My experience
12.30pm blood test taken
4.am NHS doctor knocking at my door and asking me to go to A&E to repeat the blood. It was acute myeloid leukaemia.
I don't think urgent. They would have contacted you

YesQueen · 25/05/2019 01:04

My blood results

Asked to make an appointment- low iron
Call a few hours after bloods taken from GP asking where I was and telling me to go to hospital now and they were expecting me - neutropenia
So yes if it's urgent, they definitely let you know. Try not to worry

AlunWynsKnee · 25/05/2019 01:16

When my MRI showed lesions that indicated MS I had the GP's receptionist calling me to ask if I'd like to talk to him the same day. Anaemia is a 'make an appointment' or 'There's a prescription for you' call.