Please help - blood test result is bad

[pav1984]

Im glad the appointment went well. To be fair you appear to have handled it much better than i would have done.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thank you! You are right and I took my mum in with me because I knew I would doubt what he said (yeah I'm 42 with three kids of my own and I still take my mum to a medical appointment!) and she said 'if he said you were very healthy once he said it ten times,' so now I will try to rest and recover mentally and physically.

And I bet you face all the trials life brings bringing up kids so don't be so hard on yourself when you need a bit of support. I was in my late thirties in my relapse and my dad went with me to seek help. Is it so different than taking someone for support for a physical issue?

As for the illness side, and I noticed Carys mentioned you feeling rough and there is talk about checks for glandular fever, I once had a low count of platelets after something and when it hit me I was off college for weeks. I had to drag myself back to bed on my backside up the stairs as I was so fatigued. They just monitored it for weeks and the body did the rest. This sounds like what is needed here.

It's something to remember for the future if you ever get referred for something urgently. There are so many reasons why they do this. Last year I went in for an over 40's NHS free health check they offered (and to be honest I wasn't bothered anyway but thought what the hell) where they found my BP too high and I likely had Hypertension. They sent me straight down to the surgery (the nurses had an overspill room at a local cottage hospital) calling ahead. What happened? It just needed a more senior nurse to make the tests and a GP had to pop in to check my heart/lungs and confirm the diagnosis and provide the prescription. All it literally meant according to them was that in such cases they prefer to kickstart treatment quicker even though risks can be very low. As others were saying that might have been the case for you, that they just didn't want you waiting weeks for an appointment feeling awful just for some pills. I guess they also want to catch us now because some people may not come back if they are the type who avoids doctors.

[cattia]

Thanks. I thought I would be doing better after the appointment but I still feel bad, I keep going over and over the fact that they called me in that same day so it must have been a really bad result and they would not just have done that if it was a normal virus. I keep trying to cling on to what the Dr said that it's a viral picture but I can't get all these thoughts out of my head. I woke up in the night covered in sweat again which has been happening quite a bit and was one of the things that made me think I had leukemia or lymphoma in the first place and then I was awake worrying again for well over an hour. I just want to know that my results are back to normal and I am worrying about what will happen in two weeks time if they don't go down. I still have no appetite at all which is really unusual for me, although I can eat fine when food is in front of me, I just don't feel hungry or fancy eating anything. If they had just said to repeat the tests in a couple of weeks I would be less worried but it's that urgent phone call that has still got me freaked out. Then I think what if the Dr didn't ring haemotology to reassure me, what if he called them because he was really worried?

[cattia]

I still can't calm down. I'm convinced that when I go back on two weeks my bloods will be even worse and then they will decide I do have leukemia or lymphoma after all. Or maybe it's in the early stage and will show up worse next time. I don't know how I will get through the next two weeks waiting. Also I can't get a Dr appointment for two weeks time so I will have to call in for the results and I'm worried about getting more bad news over the phone then having to wait for an appointment to find out how bad it is. I can't sort my head out at all.

[pulisa]

Hi everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. The Dr was running really late and then I had to rush back and put the kids to bed.
So I was very lucky to see a Dr who knows me and knows Joe worried I would be about this so he had called the haemotology department in his lunch break and got them to do a full look at all my bloods. They said it is a viral picture and my body is fighting something off, he said it he is sure it's not cancer. They did suggest some other tests for stuff like hepatitis, glandular fever and various other things, he said he did not think these were really necessary but that he would run a few of them and will do the blood count again in two weeks as by that time the white cell count should have come down. He checked all my lymph nodes, liver, spleen and everything and he said he is sure it is not cancer.
Firstly I am so glad that I got this Dr who really made that extra effort for me. Secondly I am still kind of worried that I have to have more tests but all of these are viral ones and not for cancer. Thirdly I am really really grateful for all your support. I have not felt that bad in a long time or maybe ever. I am still having niggling doubts and worries about all this but I guess a haemotologist would recognise blood cancer even in the early stages? Thank you for talking me through this and checking up on me.

A haematologist would recognise blood cancers even in the early stages. FACT.

The haematology SPECIALIST opinion was "it is a viral picture". FACT.

You are having VIRAL follow up blood tests. FACT.

[cattia]

Thank you Pulisa, this is what I need to hear. I have to pull myself together. My mood has plummeted and having a migraine (and I guess the after effects of whatever virus this is) isn't helping. I've properly gone off the deep end and I know I need to pull it back. I really appreciate the fact check and will return to this and read it again.

[Carys]

can I add another fact -

You HAD A VIRUS and therefore the results match your experience. If you'd have gone in there and had that result and not been unwell, which you clearly said you were with a temp. and feeling really rough, then yeah I can see some doubt.

[cattia]

The trouble is I felt better by the time I had the test, I deliberately left it 24 hours so that I would be well. But now obviously I feel loads worse again and all I want to do is sleep. But I think that's partly the state I've got myself into.

[Melon1]

Hi... I hope I can help here. I had a blood test earlier in the year as was feeling unwell. I got a call from the docs saying that I needed to get bloods done again as white cell count very low. This of course sent me into panic.

I had a repeat test and count was even lower. Doc did the same and called haematology,,, they said very likely to be viral. I had repeat blood tests fortnightly for 6 weeks and eventually back to normal.

All due to a virus. Please try not to worry. Hard I know. The doctor sounds very convinced all ok. Believe him.

X

[Carys]

Good thoughts Melon1 and spot on experience advice !!!

Cattia, 24 hours lol things take weeks to return to normal, its not like turning a tap on making new white blood cells. lol