To wish my GP practice had told me about this upward trend earlier?

[polarband]

I have used a blood pressure medication to treat migraines for several years now. As a result I need to go for blood tests and a BP check every 6 months as my BP tends to be low on this medication. The blood tests are mainly to check my kidneys but they do other checks as well, after each test I just call and they tell me everything's fine and I go again in another 6 months.

This time after my check I got called back in to speak to the doctor and was told I have high cholesterol and prediabetes. I asked him what could have caused the problem so suddenly and he said it hadn't been sudden and that if he looked at my blood test results over the past 6 years he could see that my cholesterol and blood glucose levels had been creeping up but its only now just crossed over into clinical diagnosis. I am fit, a healthy weight, a non smoking, non drinking, active woman with ideal blood pressure who eats a healthy whole food diet so when I was told my results were normal I thought that meant I was healthy not that things were getting worse.

I'm not mad that it's happened because these things do happen of course, I'm 50 now and there is type 2 diabetes in my family but I just wish they had told me earlier when this upward trend was noticed and I could have made some changes to prevent getting to this level. My GP just said they don't treat at anything below clinical diagnosis level and anything below that is in the healthy range and therefore normal.

Is it so unreasonable to think that they should flag up something like this to patients?

"it's all on your NHS app" is up there with "just get an Uber" and "just get your shopping delivered like I do" 🤣🤣

I understand what you're saying.

IMO many drs do inform patients if their results are borderline.
It's careless and dangerous not to do otherwise.

eg if your cholesterol is close to being too high, they should tell you.
Likewise, there is a reading for pre-diabetes.

Those results for pre-diabetes are passed on to patients and they are told to make lifestyle changes for a year before a retest. That's NHS practice and online for you to see.

However, it's negligent of any GP not to tell you the results if it's pre-diabetes.

Having said that, the onus is on you to get a print out of your results. They are YOUR data and you have a right to them. Even if you don't have the app, most practices now have a Patient site where you can log in and read your actual results.

Are you 100% sure you can't see your results online (not an app)?

I understand why you feel that way OP, but the thing is,these "diagnoses" are actually not disease in themselves - they are the warning you are asking for.

If they were to decide to tell people at some earlier level, you would just have the same situation but pushed back earlier.

The have to make a decision at what point things have crossed over to where risk may be increased and you need to keep an eye on things. That's all they have told you, not that you are ill or have a disease.

You can ask for full clinical access and see everything in the app (in England) including details of everything the GPs and other staff write about you in consultations.

It takes several weeks for them to approve though. I have anxiety and they sent me a message saying they were not responsible for any anxiety it caused me though!

It's actually really helpful, as is the e-consult system. You can see your letters from consultants, print them off if you need to as well.

How many times does the OP have to say she's in Scotland?

@HerNotIndoors 100% not available online, it were I'd have been on that as soon as if became available and very hard to get a print out at my GP's and apparently elsewhere in Scotland as attested to by multiple posters from Scotland on this thread.

ARBs are linked to small increased risk of new diabetes cases esp Olmesartan.

Although beta blockers have a more marked link esp Propranolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol..

Sadly, in the 'old days' the family GP would be taking an interest in their patient and warning them that for 6 years their results were heading in the wrong direction.

It's just another example of the NHS failing and going downhill.

But also, people need to be proactive and more invested in getting their data, not just accepting 'normal'.

Looks like Scotland is in the dark ages.

My elderly Dad doesn't have an app- he's too old to manage IT but I can see his results online by logging into patient data. This has been available for years. (England)

@Mirabai Thank you I will look into that. I was keen to avoid CGRP meds due to the possible increased risk of metabolic issues. I am not on that specific ARB and was led to believe it should have a beneficial effect.

So at what point should they set the threshold for "not normal?" Because it is already pretty low.

Yeah you have to ask explicitly for the figures or get a copy of results in my experience. You shouldn't have to but you do, for example I had subclinical hypothyroidism without knowing because my tsh was 4.8 on a routine blood test, over 10 is overt hypothyroidism. but over 2 for tsh was still enough to potentially hinder conception and the gp knew I was actively trying to conceive. But over the phone my results were "normal" and only me asking for them and noticing the tsh line in red led to me querying it.

I needed ivf in the end due to male factor infertility but I had to have my tsh down under 2 to start the cycle which luckily it was as I'd by then pushed for thyroxine. It's nuts though that they saw my tsh was elevated and didn't tell me til I specifically asked.

@HerNotIndoors They are apparently testing a patient portal in a single region up here this summer and it will be rolled out in future. However it still seems unclear if medical records and test results will be available via this system, it looks like initially they won't be.

It's all very well saying read the App, but understanding test results ie lipid results, it's just loads of figures that mean very little to some people.

I'm the same as OP. Angry! I've had high BP going back a while, before App introduced and no one at the Dr's said anything. Am now medicated since 2019. All good👌🏻It was never really high like 136 over xx back then, except when having migraine pain. I've was fobbed off with 'you're too young to be perimenopausal' so started HRT much later than I wanted. Started peri late 30s. Now 49. HRT finally in 2021.

Now lipid results are showing high triglycerides, looking back, they've been high for while, showed an Abnormal result and yet no one said anything!

OP your results won’t have necessarily gone to the same GP each time, and even if they did, the GP will see the result is in the normal range, and will tick “normal”. They don’t have time to look back at all previous results to spot trends.

Anyway, it sounds as if you live pretty healthily anyway, so until you reached the threshold for drug treatment, there wouldn’t have been much you could do, given that there wasn’t anything wrong with your lifestyle.

You should be allowed print outs of your results though.

I would write to the Practice Manager about this. It really is not acceptable for staff to be hostile to printing off test results, given that there is no App to check.

If you are 50, @polarband , now is a good time to review and take charge of your health. I'm 71 and really glad I did but wish I’d done so sooner. There are always improvements to be made and their value increases exponentially as you get older.

Healthy diet, especially in terms of reduced consumption of refined carbs, sugar, alcohol.

Exercise, especially weight-bearing/resistance based. Simple things like daily planks and/or walking with a weighted vest.

Keeping an active mind - never stop taking an interest in many things and trying something new.

Nurturing a mutually supportive network of friends/other women.

Planning for a financially secure retirement.

it all hangs together in terms of making aging less stressful and more enjoyable!

I was invited but then the funding had run out so they only did height, weight, smoking, alcohol etc no actual tess

Cause ours will be superspecial, of course. 🙄

@Enrichetta I feel like I do all that have always eaten healthy whole foods, never drank alcohol or fizzy drinks. I do like a sweet treat but I do limit them to high days and holidays. I exercise and all that jazz but still sometimes these things happen due to your genetics but yes I will try and see this as a positive in that I will further fine tune my approach and I know I could do more strength training.

Unbelievable how you English don't realize you're the only ones with access to the NHS app, even when repeatedly told

@BerryTwister There are changes I could have made like using a CGM which seemed like over kill if things are normal or adding a fibre supplement like psyllium husk or upping strength training. I appreciate I still have time but ideally these things would be flagged up earlier if the trend is progressively bad over the years.

Sorry op, it's really rubbish. With some good diet changes you'll be able to get it under control. British heart foundation has some great resources on cholesterol lowering diet, and ask to be referred to your local t2 diabetes program like xpert.

@TheEllisGreyMethod Is that possible to be referred to a programme with prediabetes?

You need to ask for your results to be printed out if you can’t access them via the app. You can monitor trends yourself-a busy GP will only be alerted if it’s outside the norm. And fobbed off? You could’ve always just responded with ‘great but I’d like them printed out please’.

We really need to take more interest in maintaining our own health. Not just for when we get sick.

To be fair to op, I’m in Wales - we cannot access our results on line and my GP will not give you results, literally normal or abnormal.