View Full Version : Back from doctors (again)
Hi,
So I've been blowing up the forum with my lupus fears and today I went back about it to see a different doctor. She's a lovely woman and always has a good chat with me.
Anyway I told her my HA was back in force and she asked what had triggered it. I explained I had a dodgy smear test and it spiralled me for the past few months. I explained my current fear was lupus and she said in 20 years as a GP she's had two lupus patients. She said my flushing isn't bad and doesn't worry her but she says 'we'll get your bloods done', to which I was like oh my God, do you think I need my bloods taken? I don't think my anxiety can handle waiting for the results! She laughed and said to be honest I was just suggesting it cos I thought you might get some reassurance from it, I don't think you need them. So she said when you're less anxious we'll get them done and I'll go through it all with you, then you'll know there's nothing wrong. So now I'm torn between rational and crazy anxiety lady. She said I was only suggesting it as reassurance for you, so that doesn't mean she wants to rule out lupus does it?
She also did an abdominal exam as I said I'd worried about enlarged liver, she said everything felt totally normal. She prescribed me propanalol for my anxiety and told me to get stuck in with uni/netball and focus my attention on other things.
What do you guys think? Does this all sound OK? Thanks for reading xx
I think your doctor sounds very understanding of your anxiety. I'd be satisfied that she is not worried by any of your symptoms. Remember us HA sufferers are more in tune with body aches and pains, which other people would dismiss. Get the bloods done and I'm sure you will be reassured.
What do you guys think? Does this all sound OK?
I think you really should work on being "rational" lady. "Crazy anxiety" lady has been running the show a bit too long ;)
Positive thoughts
PASchoolSyndrome
14-02-17, 12:42
She does sound like a great doctor and treating you like a real person with real concerns. I love doctors like that.
I think that sounds like a wonderful plan and getting your anxiety under control will change your life.
This is like reading about myself!
I don't understand really. You have been torturing yourself for weeks convinced you have Lupus. A simple blood test would have put it to bed but you don't get the test done. The problem with that is you will continue to wonder what the blood test would have shown. I know that waiting for results is torture but at least there will be an end to it. Right now you are in limbo.
---------- Post added at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was at 22:57 ----------
Go and get the blood test done.
Thanks for the replies. Yeah she is great, just very down to earth and to the point. She also made some valid points about health anxiety I forgot to share. She said some day you may be faced with an illness. What are you going to do? Lie down in a ball for the rest of your days and never resurface? No, you'll get up and fight it because that's what you must do, and would do. She said you have faced terrible uncertainty when your mum was unwell, and battled through that, and you would do the same for yourself. She said I underestimate my mental strength on a huge scale. And I think we all do. We would fight, we would get up and deal with whatever was thrown. We're probably even stronger than half the people we know because of our struggles with anxiety!
With regards to the blood test, it wasn't for lupus it was just general bloods to show I was healthy. That's what she kept saying, you're a healthy woman. But I'm not ready to have them done today. She prescribed me propanalol, so hopefully that coupled with the reassurance of this appointment I can go in the next few weeks and take that step
What a great doctor you have!
xx
You were worried about the blood test?
Yeah SLA, any kind of test really has me climbing the walls. She said I didn't need them, just was gonna do them as a reassurance thing for me. But I said I'd sort them when I'm feeling less anxious and she said that was fine
Whats the problem with them?
Just waiting for the result and if there's anything 'bad' in the result. I had them a few years ago and was all normal. Thyroid was a little high, but was retested and came back normal.
Do you like being told there is nothing wrong?
Then get the blood test done.
---------- Post added at 18:58 ---------- Previous post was at 18:54 ----------
LF it doesn't make any sense. You don't want the blood test in case there is something wrong. It's like me saying I didn't want my breast lump biopsied in case it was cancer. I actually didn't but if it had been cancer then my thought would have been "thank god they discovered it early".
Here's the thing.... there's nothing wrong! The doctor doesn't even feel the blood work is necessary and only offered for reassurance which unfortunately fed the dragon again. It's not lupus or anything else to be concerned with according to the doctor.
It's just the way HA affects the mind... If it were me, I would be jumping for joy and moving on. No further testing needed.
Positive thoughts
It would be a waste to have bloodwork. 1. you have no symptoms of lupus. You have an anxious mind saying you do. these two things are very different. Often HA peeps get hung up on this and end up getting useless and UNECESSARY tests 2. Your doctor says you are HEALTHY. That the test would be for reassurance. And, well, we ALL know what that sort of thing does for people with HA. It is like spitting in the ocean trying to change the salt content. 3. Even IF this blood test convinced you that you didn't have lupus, your anxious mind would simply move onto a new disease fear. That is what anxious minds do. HA peeps can certainly get ill and do. This not the case here. What you have going on is an anxious mind lying to you
Swajj - if the doctor had said yes I'd like the bloods done, I would have absolutely had them done. I specifically asked her if it was necessary as my HA was quite bad at this time, and waiting for results would be very distressing if she didn't think I needed them. She laughed and said to be honest I was offering to do them as a means of reassurance, not as a concern. So she said we'll do them when you feel less anxious so you can see you're healthy.
Fishman - yes I agree, and that's how I'm feeling, pretty happy with what she said and have felt like my normal self for the first time in a while! I'm happy to go get the bloods done in a few weeks when I've got a bit more of a handle on my HA. Then again I may not, she didn't say I needed them.
Sixpack - Yeah you're totally right, the tests just keep fuelling the idea that there's a genuine illness. Then once it's confirmed it isn't, we move on. Infact since that appointment I've become increasingly fixated on my mouth and a little bump I can feel. But I'm being pretty rational compared to the last few months. So I'm quite impressed with myself!
Thank you guys for replying. I'll probably get the bloods done at some point, just to keep up to date with my body if nothing else. She didn't even mention a lupus test by the way, that's a specific test called an ANA test I think. Something like that. Routine bloods is just general I think?
LF87-- ANA is one test done--among a battery-- that can indicate several illness possibilities. Lupus is one. There other tests--ie checking the ESR also indicates if there is inflammation in the body....PLUS all kinds of clinical SIGNS noted by a doctor . Even then one positive ANA test doesn't necessarily indicate lupus or other auto immune. I have a friend who had a positive ANA once, then normal then positive who eventually was dx'd with lupus. I have a second friend who has a mixed dx of lupus, scleroderma Dx'ing lupus is not a one test and you are done sort of thing... In both cases the doctors knew something was wrong based on clinical signs etc. That is when tests were ordered to confirm that things were awry.
Of course this not you as your doctor sees no indication of anything hinky going on.
You're lucky, I wish my doctor could hand me giveme that kind of reassurance. :(
LF you are a bit different to the majority of HA sufferers here. Most of us cannot get enough testing done. You on the other hand seem to back away from tests. I reckon when you finally get your blood test done and get the results it is going to be a huge weight off your mind. ��
Sixpack - Yeah, I read it's very difficult to diagnose and often doesn't for a long time. Just what I needed to read to help my HA... Haha. But yes my doctor said I don't present with anything concerning so I guess I'm ok to leave it at that. Thank you for your help :)
Which leads onto swajj - I am different to a lot of HA sufferers in that I don't want tests. I just want to know I'm ok, and I can leave it at that really. Tests freaks me right out! I can't deal with waiting. Is that weird? X
ServerError
16-02-17, 20:17
The thing is, though, although lupus itself can sometimes be hard to diagnose, it isn't a case of a doctor not being to tell what's wrong so just telling you you're fine.
What I mean is that, even if doctors struggle to diagnose someone who has lupus, they'll still be able to tell that something serious is going on, even if they can't figure it out just yet. So if you get told that you're fine, this means you're fine. It doesn't mean you have lupus but the doctors can't tell.
The thing is, though, although lupus itself can sometimes be hard to diagnose, it isn't a case of a doctor not being to tell what's wrong so just telling you you're fine.
What I mean is that, even if doctors struggle to diagnose someone who has lupus, they'll still be able to tell that something serious is going on, even if they can't figure it out just yet. So if you get told that you're fine, this means you're fine. It doesn't mean you have lupus but the doctors can't tell.
Exactly. Lupus, generally, takes time to dx. However it isn't like the dr's are saying "oh you are fine". They are aware, based on clinical signs, that something is wrong. Again this is not your situation at all.
And LF. Your doctor does not believe you have any issue going on other than anxiety. In fact she told you that you are healthy and offered bloodwork just to reassure you. As we all know that does not reassure HA anxious peeps. It either (or both) panics a person more OR just placates the person long enough for the HA peep to find a new disease fear to latch onto. Reassurance testing is NOT a valid coping mechanism to deal with HA. It just is not. The only reason I would to suggest you pursue testing would be if the doctor had a valid reason that such things should be done. Reassurance is not one.
LF no it isn't weird at all. I can't stand waiting for results either. If I have a test and have to wait a couple of days for the results I am terrified until I get them. When my breast lump was found I had to wait for a week to get the biopsy done. It was torture. My doctor told me to come to the surgery as soon as it was done because she was going to ask for the results to be fast tracked. So I went from getting the biopsy done to sitting in the waiting room. I was only there for an hour and they rang through with the results. I was very lucky.
I don't think you have Lupus. But when you feel up to it get the blood test done. When I got tested for Lupus the blood test showed that I was very low in vitamin D. I was put on a double dose of vitamin D to get it up. You might be lacking in something like that. :)
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