DD’s blood test results “abnormal”. AIBU to be worried??

[MyRareCritic]

DD has had a range of medical issues, mainly gastroparesis that affected her long term, resulting in weight loss. Alongside this, she has had many other issues and we have been looking into some lingering joint pain that has been affecting her for quite a long time. The GP organised some blood tests and I called up to see if the results were ready.

I was told by the receptionist that there are a few abnormal results so I need to talk to the GP. I will be speaking to the GP tomorrow. I asked if it is anything serious and they said they can’t say.

I am obviously now very worried about what this could be. The fact they said “a few” are abnormal has concerned me.

I am really struggling with “what if” scenario is running wild and hoping for a handhold.

I tried to reassure myself by the fact I didn’t automatically receive a phone call, but I’ve no idea if that means anything. The tests were done on Monday morning.

Im very grateful for any support.

Could be virtually anything and mostly innocuous things like low B12 etc. Depending on which blood tests were ordered.

I know that they wanted to look at inflammation in case of arthritis, as well as something to do with calcium?

The receptionist told me that they could either book me an appt for 12th March, or I could submit an econsult which would result in a GP call tomorrow. I’m hoping the lack of urgency is a good sign, but would they have rushed the appointment if it had shown inflammation consistent with arthritis?

I believe they were also going to check iron levels and ferritin.

Can you not check on the app?
Our blood results are on there

We don’t have access to this at our medical centre (for quite outing reasons).

My platelet count was once quite high as well as my ESR which were indicative of inflammation. The doctor ordered more tests and she didn't say it until asked but she was looking into all scenarios including autoimmune issues like lupus and RA, as well as blood cancer. I was terrified and Google made it worse. Stay off Google to begin with.

They looked into TNF, calcium levels, redid ESR and CRP. Everything came back fine but my platelet count was still slightly elevated without any real cause so sometimes random anomalies can occur that have to be looked at but don't necessarily mean anything.

My bloods regularly come back as abnormal, to the extent I’ve been sent directly to hospital on more than one occasion. I remember being absolutely terrified the first time but I sort of expect it now and get a pleasant surprise when they actually comeback in normal range.

if your DD has the NHS app, the results may already show on there and it will tell you how out of range they are.

The receptionist can’t comment on anything medical so don’t worry about them saying they can’t tell you.

I’d do an eConsult for tomorrow. It might be nothing - could be low vit D or B12 or anything.

Good luck - I hope it goes well.

I had this with my DS. If you turn up at the surgery they should be able to print off the results for you. They'd have likely done a full blood count, which has several lines, some of which affect others. This can cause several results to look out when it's actually only one thing.
Hope everything is okay.

Thank you all. We have had years of health issues. And I’m just tired! I know it’s not about me… Im just finding it hard. I want everything to be better for DD.

It’s not your GP centre’s app, it’s the NHS app. Can you access that?

Can you download the NHS app? You should be able to view all test results on there. I had a couple of abnormal results and I found out just by randomly logging into NHS app a few months after going to the GP! It's also strange that receptionist couldn't tell you over the phone, even if they can't interpret they should be able to say which tests were abnormal i.e. blood cell volume or an autoimmune factor

I would actually see this as a positive sign. It means they are getting closer to narrowing down what is making her feel so ill.

I didn’t really want to post that, so will delete that in a minute. Hopefully people understand that I genuinely can’t access the results.

Cross posted! But NHS app has been amazing for keeping an eye on test results and requesting repeat prescriptions - they've done really well with it.

I know that, but I had hoped it was something a physio could fix. We have come so far, pretty much everything is apparently resolved except for the joint pain, so if it’s something that will affect her long term, this will be really hard, after everything she has been through already.

Ah ok sorry OP, I guess things are done differently there and that might also be why you don't get results over the phone. In which case I'd take that e consult option with the call back tomorrow. Even though they don't seem to be treating it as urgent, it will give you peace of mind not to wait.n

Ah, I see why you can’t access them, definitely one of the biggest frustrations of being under that sort of team.

Would the results be treated differently if urgent food you think? Would the receptionist have offered me a sooner appointment? I have completed the econsult, so I just need to wait now 😢

I have gastroparesis and it is not unusual for certain levels to be out of range depending upon how dehydrated I am, and what my current nutritional intake is. E.g. I'm currently on medical nutritional shakes and can mostly only eat semi solids. I also cannot drink much and plain water is pretty much a no-no.

If it is an emergency they would redirect to hospital.

Has your daughter her evaluated for connective tissue disorders? There are quite a number of people who have gastroparesis and EDS or another CTD.

Caveat - i am not a doctor! Just someone who had lots of blood tests recently. If they have done a full blood work and also, by the sounds of it, tested for inflammation (CRP) and potentially immunoglobins, these aren't things that would signal an emergency, even if they indicate a severe chronic problem. For instance, if she has markers for arthritus this will need treatment, but waiting a couple of weeks to start treatment won't have an extreme adverse effect. I was tested for celiac, and had to eat lots of gluten for several months before the test to ensure an accurate result, even though this could cause damage during that time if I was positive.

Hope it's all OK. Hate my kids being ill even now that they are adults!

That's to say, yes I would think that if they had uncovered anything that required emergency treatment, they would have advised yoy to go to A&E. But thats not to say that they haven't uncovered something important, but just that waiting to treat that thing won't cause additional problems. Sorry, I don't know if that was helpful! Hopefully a doctor can come in thread to give better advice!