Got a call in to my GP....but she is a busy lady and is involved with student teaching today. Hopefully she will call back today as first appointment I could get with her was a week Friday.
Some recent blood tests with slightly abnormal results which led to some other blood tests. Results of these second lot were thankfully negative.
GP at my local surgery who was handling has noted on my file No Further Action required. She was once Registrar Haematologist at local hospital so hopefully knows her stuff about blood tests.
This year has been a bit strange with various medical investigations and tests which have left me considering my own mortality and also turning into a bit of a hypchondriac in that I'm now thinking each ache and pain is due to something sinister. I think I'll try to get some counselling for this as I really need to focus on the fact that a whole batch of medical tests have identified nothing and therefore I should be focusing on the positive aspects of this - not thinking that the medics have missed something and every little ache or pain could be sinister.
So....I really should be trusting the GP to make the correct decisions and acting accordingly, but for some reason I still worry.....
Got a call in to my GP
Non-serious answer: presumably you are also seen leaping towards telephones as you "jump on a call"?
Serious answer: A frame of mind I've also found myself in recently. Like you, the result was negative. It hasn't stopped me wondering about whether I should seek a second opinion or if an error in interpreting the results has been made.
For now, I have decided to go along with the diagnosis as it stands on the basis that I revisit it in 12-18 months' time and see if there is any change.
Perhaps do the same?
(I'm taking your suggesting of speaking to someone as "moving on" therapy as something to consider.)
2 months ago I couldn't do anything, no energy etc and was convinced I had Lynes after being bitten. Went to the doctors for several blood tests, 1st to make sure my thyroxine issues were under control and 2nd was for a general check testing for a lot including Lymes and Rheumatic fever. All tests came back with no issues which was a shock but most of all a disappointment. Not that I want anything wrong with me but I want to get to the bottom of things. A month off the bike and I'm relatively back to normal so fingers crossed on that one
Ask your GP for a referral to a psychiatrist?
I'm quite likely to get flamed for this but I'll say it anyway. Blood tests don't tell you everything. Symptoms have to be taken into account.
For example, do you know what exactly you were tested for? Have you done any research? Don't just accept NHS test reference ranges as gospel nor GP diagnosis.
I've found out that I can't rely on the NHS to deal with my health. Don't forget that GPs won't refer to a specialist cos they earn extra money for not doing that.
Big pharma rules.
From one hypochondriac to another. MAN THE **** UP. I once had an AIDs test completed in double-quick time by them (my GP practice is fantastic- they must think I'm nuts).
This gets messier...
The GP I saw for the results (who was unprepared for my visit to get the results as the other GP was handling and simply pulled my results up on screen) - which were thankfully negative. He then left a note for the other GP who was the one who noted No Further Action on my file - has just called - although I had requested the GP who noted No Further Action to call me but she is busy today with students.
Clear as mud.....
His view is that as the request to get the second set of tests completed was from private liver consultant (who the GP practice referred me to initially as the first set of investigations required a specialist and I have private medical insurance) to their GP practice (where samples were actually taken) his view was that the private consultant should be the one telling me that nor futher action was necessary.
WTF?
So I have just contacted the private consultant and expect an appointment with him. In his defence he did call me one Saturday evening as he had seen the second set of results and advised nothing to worry about.
Symptoms? No outward symptoms. This all started earlier this year when I went to the GP to get a lump in my 'man-bag' checked out and also mentioned I seemed to be having more colds than I was used to - which led to some routine blood tests which indicated slightly elevated levels which then led to lots more tests and some invasive investigation.
Thankfully to this point all investigations and blood test results have been in my favour - including the most recent ones which I am extremely grateful were!
However I am now really confused as to who has taken responsibility for my health - apart from myself.
If a consultant is involved, I would expect a follow up appointment where the results of any investigations are discussed, positive or negative. Or at least a telephone conversation with the consultant. So you're doing the right thing.
Do hope you get it sorted and, yes, agree with martinhutch.
I've recently been dealing with my elderly mother's GP surgery. No communication between the various locums that came out to see her, letter from hospital was filed instead of being actioned, prescription given for tablets rather than in liquid form despite being reminded of this.
And it's going to get worse ...
Whoever requested the tests is responsible for acting upon (or not in this case) the results. If the private liver specialist requested the tests he should be the one to tell you they are all OK (him seeing you privately and then getting the tests done by your GP so they are sent into the NHS labs and paid for by the rest of us is an entirely different matter and one that the private health companies pull all the ****ing time the tight arsed bastards).
Last time I had a load of tests done by the hospital, I just got a letter from the Consultant's office saying 'All ok, no further tests'.
The reponsibilities around this is beyond me TBH.
The private consultant at the end of his specialist liver investigation and final blood test sent a letter to my GP practice identifying slightly abnormal results from this test and suggested to them that they get 2 specific further tests done.
The GP surgery then sent a letter to me basically stating that as a result of letter received from my private consultant they wanted me to come in to provide further test samples which were taken there. I automatically assumed that as my GP sugery were involved then they - specifically the GP who had apparently been handling this - had some form of responsibility particularly as I actually made an appointment there to get the results and she noted No Further Action on my file.
That said I now have an appointment with the private consultant early next week to discuss. Hopefully he will simply say "No further action required at this time", close out the paperwork and get his payment from the insurance provider.
In the meantime I will simply try to focus on the fact that all tests and results to date have been fine and hence positive for my health. I'd like to close the box lid on this one and move on.
Surely your private consultant is being cheeky here? Why didn't he organise further tests?
[i]Why didn't he organise further tests?[/i]
He did.
[i]In the meantime I will simply try to focus on the fact that all tests and results to date have been fine and hence positive for my health.[/i]
I can't help but feel you are wallowing in this a little; you've had tests, they're ok, what else do you want?
But he didn't, he requested the GP to do that. No continuity. ❓
The responsibilities around this is beyond me TBH.
No-one else is responsible for your health. You are.
You are also panicking about this. You don;t need to. What you do need to do is make an appointment with the right GP, and talk to them about (1) the tests and (2) your anxiety about this.
Going to see a private specialist is like going to see a head chef, or an architect; you don't expect them to have a saucepan or some bricks and mortar on their desk.
The specialist will recommend further tests [i][b]which will be done by the GP[/b][/i] which is the best way to ensure continuity; one doctor taking overall responsibility, but using other specialists as required.
The results come back to the GP, but because they were requested by the specialist, he will recieve the info and will ask to see you/him to explain them.
The GP is a bit like the ringmaster in a circus only without the top hat.
(The GP is also the best place to get bloods done because they will have a contract and a direct link with the local pathology lab. The specialist would have to arrange someone to take the bloods, someone to transport them, someone to phone or mail him with said results and someone to oversee the whole process from the point of view of Information Governance, essentially confidentiality...)
I can't help but feel you are wallowing in this a little; you've had tests, they're ok, what else do you want?
Yes these specific test results were fine, but the prior elevated blood test level which led to them can be indicative of other issues.
So, I simply wanted to ensure that some intelligent medical professional has looked at my overall results to date and made an informed decision based on these to decide:
No Further Action (as apparently noted on my medical file by one of the GP's at my practice - but unable to talk directly with this GP)
or
Further investigation/tests required
The reason I called my GP surgery today was to double check that as they had not contacted me again following the last set of negative results I could assume all was ok, relax and get back to focusing upon my life and the things I love and enjoy about it - being family, getting out on my bike and having crack with my mates, work (yes!) without medical concern distractions or the stress around this leading to many sleepless nights and consideration of one's mortality.
It has been 5 months since this little journey started and there has been an awful lot of stress, anxiety, sleepless nights involved.
Yes no news should be good news....but having seen things missed with negative consequences for the individuals concerned (MRI scan request going awol leading to significant delay in diagnosis and treatment; key blood test results going missing leading to delay in diagnosis and treatment. 2 examples of folks I know) then I decided upon a more proactive approach to my own healthcare.
Yes I am belt and braces but there are reasons for this.
And wanted to get a sense of the range of experiences from the STW massive to try to figure out how it all worked.
[i]It has been 5 months since this little journey started and there has been an awful lot of stress, anxiety, sleepless nights involved.[/i]
Apologies for a direct, leading, and deliberate question:
Has any of the stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights made any difference at all? Or was it all a waste of valuable time, energy and emotion?
Why not wait until you've got something to worry about?
I have a pragmatic and pretty hard view of illness, and the worried well are one of the things which I view with a jaundiced eye. I see people at work who will never have the luxury of worrying about how ill they are.
Crikey,
It has to date been a complete and utter waste of time, energy and emotion.
If I could find a way of simply saying to myself "Don't worry about anything until you are diagnosed with something" and do that I would be delighted. But we are all made differently I guess. I also don't know what could help make that mind shift - perhaps here has a bit.
Yes rather than worrying about what the next set of tests and results might be I should focus on the present, what I have and live it gratefully.
[i]It has to date been a complete and utter waste of time, energy and emotion.[/i]
That's the thing to cling to, to return to, to hammer into yourself.
There will come a time when the things that the doctors say to you about you or about someone you love will be bad and you need to begin to build up a defence, a coping strategy a way of dealing with the crap that life will inevitably throw at you.
Worrying about the other stuff will kill you as surely as 60 cigarettes a day, and will ruin your life and that of everyone you live with just the same.
One day the headache I wake up with will be a subarachnoid haemorrhage, or the indigestion will be oesophageal cancer, or that difficult poo will be bowel cancer.... But until then I will strive not to sweat about it.
It gets us all one day, but you can't live like that!
Hardest part of my job sometimes, stopping people worrying unnecessarily.
Blanket coverage of medical stuff on TV in the papers has turned us into a society of halfwit hypochondriacs.
Modern life is being medicalised bit by bit.
Everything that isn't quite "normal" is now a disease or syndrome, that, as CG states above, Big Pharma can help with.
[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/drugs-industry-scandal-ben-goldacre ]scary reading[/url]
To answer the OP, clearly it's the consultant's responsibility to advise you about the results. The GP is being used as his blood test bitch and nothing more.
GP doesn't know what the clever consultant thinks- although may turn out to be right all along...
Sorry
but what are you worrying about.
you have no symptoms, you had a lump but no problems.
man the f'*k up, when you come out of a consultants meeting and your world falls away from you as you have been diagnosed with aggressive level 3 cancer and will start chemo in a week and need surgery to remove parts of you and you have to now start planning your life around extending your projected life expectancy then start moaning about stuff.
otherwise just go ride your bike as nothing is wrong with you.
I refer you to my previous post.
FFS, just go private. It's not that expensive and IME much much better.
Lol at blood test bitch!
Am possibly being a bimbo here but it sounds as though the OP is concerned re the continuity. If you bring an extra person into the equation, ie consultant, then that is another person to be communicated with/not communicated with.
docrobster - I've read that article and will admit to reading too much on the internet but am extremely concerned re Big Pharma. There's too much self-interest involved and stuff like this we should be very afraid of:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/uk-glaxo-settlement-idUKBRE86110G20120702
CG, yes continuity and a system to support which I understand how it works.
Druidh - think I'll try for that.
Sancho, if last tests were positive then it would have bone marrow biopsy with further associated staging. So, yes to say I was bricking before I got the results was an understatement! Yes I have no symptoms that I know of and no diagnosis of anything so that is totally positive.
Potentially fundamental issue is going from NHS to private initially to get quick consultation although the invasive stuff was done in NHS hospital then private consultant got last set of (negative) tests done via NHS GP surgery. Hence my sense that GP surgery would have some responsibility. You learn every day 'though.