PDA

View Full Version : Scared to get blood test



LF87
05-02-14, 12:48
Hi,

I'm supposed to be getting a routine blood test done tomorrow, my doctor says all the tests I had done were when I was young so she wants some up to date. I'm really frightened incase they show something sinister. I don't know if I'll be able to deal with the anxiety of waiting to hear back. Does anyone else have this? She also gave me an appointment card to get an ecg but I'm too scared to get that as well. This was after I went and told her about my chest pains.
Anyone have any advice? Bite the bullet or don't bother?

HoneyLove
05-02-14, 12:57
It's always best to follow your doctor's advice, it sounds like they are taking good care of you.

Have you ever done anything to treat the anxiety, like CBT or counselling?

unsure_about_this
05-02-14, 13:22
I agree with HoneyLove with following your doctors advice, my Dad has regular blood tests done because he in his 60s, with his blood pressure was quite high a few years ago, now back to a reasonable level for his age.

I was worried about having a blood test done last year, because of my abdominal pain, but came back fine.

LF87
05-02-14, 13:52
Thanks for the replies. I know I should go, but it's only cos of the frequent visits she probably thinks this is what I want for reassurance, but I'm not sure I really want to know! I keep thinking something bad will show up, and my life will be over because I won't be able to deal with the knowledge that there's something wrong with me
Really don't know whether to go or not. I just spoke to my brother and he says why are you pushing to find out there's something wrong with you. He says you're healthy just accept it. But I just can't believe that. I keep thinking it'll just be my luck they'll find something and I'll have pushed and pushed to uncover it, and then life will never be the same. Quite intense thinking I know, but that's how my mind works.
I've not had any CBT sessions for ages because the lady I see is off ill and has been since before Christmas. I am spiralling at the moment. Sleeping in late, feeling withdrawn and not wanting to do anything, I'm drinking a few glasses of wine each night to try and knock the anxious feelings off. I'm not doing very well.

Tanner40
05-02-14, 13:55
LF, there is a free online CBT course that I use. It's really quite good. Maybe you could give it a try while your face to face CBT is postponed.

Fishmanpa
05-02-14, 14:05
I've not had any CBT sessions for ages... I am spiralling at the moment. Sleeping in late, feeling withdrawn and not wanting to do anything, I'm drinking a few glasses of wine each night to try and knock the anxious feelings off. I'm not doing very well.

This is obvious :( Adding to this is drinking. No No No!! It's a proven fact that drinking only increases your anxiety.

You need to bite the bullet, go get the test (there will be nothing wrong!) and please stop drinking. Especially if you're getting a blood test. Drinking can and will throw some readings off. One need only look at your posts in the last few weeks to see it's not helping.

Positive thoughts

LF87
05-02-14, 15:20
Thanks for replying.
I know I shouldn't be having a drink, I just don't know what else to do sometimes. I get so anxious and just think right, glass of wine needed and that's that. It's only a few glasses though.
I will go tomorrow, otherwise I'll probably always wonder. Hopefully it'll just be normal then that's one less thing. As for the ecg I should probably just do the same.
I am going to give the online CBT a go too.
Do the test results take a while to come back?

mbarger33
05-02-14, 16:16
The sooner you get tests done the sooner you can have awnsers. ECG will tell them if there are any blockages in the heart and if it's working fine. Having had 4 of these I can tell you it's painless and relaxing to me. Just knowing someone qualified is watching my heart on a machine thatccan't lie or not catch something is comforting. Blood work is always good to have because it can tell doctors your overall health. Like elevated white cells for colds or infections. Liver function. Vitamin levels for deficiencies. Red blood cell count. Etc. This takes about 2-3 days for results in my experience.


My opinion being a chest pain suffer Luke yourself is you should really get these tests done. They help knowing nothings wrong. So when you get a zap or a thud or pains you can assure yyourself that yyou've been checked by an unbiased machine that says you are fine..

or alcohol caffeine and sugar should be avaoided. These are triggers for me and my heart issues that I thought I had.

best of luck and please do yourself a favor and just get em done. At this point you are so scared something is wrong you have absolutely nothing to loose and most everything to gain from these tests.

:bighug1:

LF87
05-02-14, 16:49
Thanks mbarger.
Yeah it would be wonderful to have the reassurance so I can mentally slap myself when I'm having pains. I'm just scared incase something shows up. I just did the food shop and I felt terrible. Chest pain when I breathe in deeply, felt sick and panicky. I've not had these panic attack feelings for so long. Yes I've felt overwhelming anxiety and dread, but the sickness and chest pains were a thing of the past for me up until recently. Really gutted. If I was having a heart attack would I have managed to finish shopping,? That sounds stupid but I read womens can be less painful

mbarger33
05-02-14, 21:45
I understand the fear you are feeling. Because I've been there and stillfight these stupid pains everday. II'm not a medical professional but I do know that anything caught sooner is always better then later. I'm not saying you have any issues. But for me it was just flat out being tired of feeling the way I did. I told myself I'm going to ask for tests and hope nothing comes up.. but if it did come up I would make changes to fight it. For instance chest pains we think heart attack.. what causes a heart attack. High cholesterol poor diet blockages in the veins that feed your heart. Blood test will check cholesterol. If it's high. They have medicine plus you change diet.. no big deal. If cholesterol checks out. ECG checks out. Stress ECG checks out. There's not much left that cause cause heart attack type chest pains.

so see its a process of elimation. And with anything the sooner you get awnsers the better.. When they say it's not heart related you can rest assure that it's in your mind. Then work on healing the mind.

putting things off can male a situation that was an easy fix become somwthing more compkicayed.

Again not saying you have anything wrong with you and I'm not a medical person.. but my addiction to information and speaking with my own cardiologist that's what he told me. It's good to have blood work amd ECG to even get a baseline of things depending on age.

I used to tell myself surely I can't be having a heart attack all day 7 days a week .. it has to be something else.. and in my case it is.. it's my head making up stuff at 200mph

saab
05-02-14, 23:50
Great post Mbarger. I am having a bad night with my palpitations and anxiety and that has helped. I'm trying to remember that how you feel emotionally is no indicator whatsoever of your physical health.

LF87
06-02-14, 11:09
Thanks mbarger. Your post helped push me, you're right, I'd like to know I'm relatively healthy, it'll make the HA battle a hell of a lot easier. That is if they are normal! I'm pretty scared of having some strange results. The nurse said it was all just routine stuff. Thyroid and iron levels and stuff. There were about five different vials which I wasn't expecting.
Oh deary me. Have I done the right thing?

sahara
06-02-14, 23:26
I am guessing they will a full blood count, thyroid, liver and kidney function maybe. I know when I was pregnant it was always 3 vials x

LF87
07-02-14, 00:24
Well I totally regret getting those tests. I'm so scared that I'll have high something or other that indicates something serious. I am really really regretting it. I'm actually debating calling the doctors tomorrow and saying I don't want them sent off, that's how much I'm dreading.
What can I do? I feel I've made the wrong decision.

Fishmanpa
07-02-14, 01:06
There's nothing you can do at this point as they've already been sent for testing. Your doctor said they were "routine" blood tests and that's all they are. It's your Dragon breathing fire and smoke up your butt and that's what's got you in a tizzy. "Routine" is just that. It's to be sure everything is exactly as your doctor already feels it is... "normal". If your doctor hadn't ordered the tests, you'd be worried that the tests weren't being done.

Ride it out and please, resist the urge to drink. It will only make things worse.

Positive thoughts.

nomorepanic
07-02-14, 01:45
If there is something wrong then you will deal with it and get it sorted.

You needed the tests and have had them done - now chill!

hangingbasket
07-02-14, 08:17
I'm going for bloods this morning as well as a chest xray. Like you, I'm very tempted not to go as I'm terrified of what will show up. I'll panic for 10 days till the results are in. However, if I don't go, I'll panic forever. At least this way I can either deal with the problem, or know there isn't a problem.

LF87
07-02-14, 10:52
Thanks for these replies.
Fishman, in hindsight that was a bit mad thinking I could stop them getting sent off. And yeah I guess I'd have to just deal with it. From what I've read on health anxiety a major factor of the illness is believing you would not be able to cope if you were ill. And that's a major problem for me. I think well, if you had something wrong with you you'd not be able to function with worry and dread etc. It would be catastrophic. That's the right word. But my mother, and you fishmanpa, are testament that things can go wrong and maybe you'll be ok in the end.
This blood test thing has made me realise How ridiculous my thought processes actually are. I am worried that this test will reveal blood cancer. Blood cancer? I've never thought of this in my entire life, and now I'm bordering on certain that my results will say I have it. I know nothing about it, never had anyone in my family with it, yet I'm terrified of the phone ringing any minute to say this is what I have. And since the test was done, as if like magic, my chest pains are gone. Because I'm focused on something different now it just disappears.
I put my doctor in position where she feels she needs to get my bloods done because of my constant visits about various problems. Now I'm freaking out over stuff I've never even thought about. Its obscenely far fetched.
So yeah. My fear now is they will uncover cancer in my blood tests.