I love confounding doctors.

[China_cat]

It's been years since I've had bloodwork done...no insurance, no doctor. Lately, though I have no insurance, I had to go find a doctor. My breathing was getting too bad to live with any more.

So, the tests ($800 worth). Doctor checking to make sure it was MY file he had because I'm over 60 and overweight so I HAVE to have high cholesterol and triglicerides and of course my liver and kidneys must be out of whack but the lab report says not only is everything fine but I have the cholesterol and triglicerides of a vegetarian. Which I'm not.

Only thing that's a bit high is fasting blood sugar. And even that's not in the realm of needing anything more right now than watching the carbs and trying to find an exercise program for people who can't walk.

[Clear Blue Sky]

1. There is more to good health than lab tests in the normal range.

[China_cat]

6. Yes, but when everything else is falling apart

you don't expect the lab results to even come close to normal. (If it had been new PFT's, it would have been a whole 'nother story)

[mac2]

7. I have always had a low Cholesterol (lower than normal) and Triglycerides

When I went to a new doctor for blood test my Triglycerides came back high. I told him it had to be wrong and I wanted it re-done (because I used to manage/work in a lab and know they make mistakes). He said, no this is a trusted lab. I just about had a fit then and there. I told him I wanted it tested somewhere else since this same lab gave a wrong result on another test.

He balled me out for not taking care of my self with this high Triglycerides level. What I had to go through to get it re-checked. My insurance company said they would pay to re-check a abnormal result. It came back normal twice.

The previous GYN said, I would have to get my Thyroid tested again even though I wanted it re-tested right away. I insisted on another lab. She sent me twice and both times it was normal. If I hadn't questioned it I might have been on medication.

I suspect some labs even send back abnormal results so doctors do profit giving medication, etc. What! Could that be some doctors profit centers? No kidding.

So what I'm saying here is that you should keep track of your blood tests (keep a file) and if it is either normal or abnormal when you suspect it is not right have it re-checked. A normal result can be just as harmful as a abnormal if it is over looked. You can't let your doctor intimidate you. You have to take responsibility for your own care. Always get a second opinion or test re-done at another lab just to double check.

You've heard those stories of people thinking they were dying of Cancer when the diagnosis was a mistake. Get an second opinion always. Doctors are human and labs make mistakes.

[Warpy]

2. Did he do the alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency test?

It's very rare but can account for the symptoms of COPD in non smokers.

I hate confounding doctors. It's why I went undiagnosed and untreated from the ages of 14 to 27, through one hideous problem after another that would not have occurred had I gotten timely and appropriate treatment.

[China_cat]

5. Not likely to be my problem since I did smoke

(quitting didn't help) and I worked in ceramics for a lot of years without a dust mask.

My husband's mother and grandmother and one of her sisters all had the alph 1 deficiency. His mother and grandmother ended up dying from it. (Her sister died of breast cancer)

[MindPilot]

3. It's not too hard.

If you have something broken or leaking, they are great!

But if you have pain with no visible cause or just don't feel right, basically you get a bunch of tests with indeterminate results and placebo #5 on Wednesday which is usually accompanied by the obligatory lecture about avoiding salt, booze, tobacco, good food and any other substance that one might find enjoyable.

[kickysnana]

4. It is amusing to a point.

My Aunt had a stroke almost 2 years ago at age 70 due to undiagnosed diabetes. She had hoped that whatever befell her first would do her in but the stroke, though bad, did not. She was aware that her sweet tooth might do her in.

So we sent to the ER because of the stroke and they did $11,000 worth of tests and 4 hours later told her she had had a stoke and gave her 2 baby aspirin and some insulin to bring her blood sugar down. Because of the stroke she had high BP but it went back down over the following week.

But she had not been to the doctor since she was 6 and a public health dentist saw her when she was in kindergarten, at school and cut her gums so her molars would "come through", without permission, without pain medicine. It was the middle of the depression. She would absolutely refuse to let anyone know she was sick and it worked until she had the stoke and she couldn't get out of the chair.

It was a teaching hospital and everyone from the chief os surgery to a class of interns trooped in to see her. She saw a psychiatrist who wrote that she was sure that my Aunt suffered from child abuse (not), personality disorder (not) and depression (not). She has been well adjusted, social and productive her whole life. She chose not to use medical services until she had no choice. She uses the insulin and has altered her diet and added vitamins and some supplements and at her last check up had no other problems except a bum knee that would require surgery to fix. She gest buy with 4 aspirin a day for that.

BTW. This year, I got my flu shot and she did not. I got the flu and she did not. Go figure.

[mac2]

8. Like President McKinley worried about his sick wife...

She out lived him. Some chronic diseases won't kill you but make your life a challenge.

[lizerdbits]

9. I don't

I'd like to get some good sleep more than a couple weeks a year and not have pressure behind my nose/in my ears. Blood tests, physical exams, MRIs normal so there's obviously nothing wrong.

[mac2]

10. Lack of sleep can cause Diabeties II and high blood pressure

over time. Stress gives you that feeling of buzz. Blood pressure goes up and down during the day. That is normal. Get a home blood pressure tester and see how and when it varies.

[lizerdbits]

11. ?

I'm not sure what you're getting at with blood pressure. Obviously poor/inadequate sleep has health consequences which is reason #2 I want to stop the 'idiopathic hyper arousal' found in my sleep study. Reason #1 is not feeling like crap.

[mac2]

12. Yes...it has health consequences over time.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

13. It's pretty much common knowledge that heredity is a lot more to blame for these things,

than was previously thought. I've never had a doctor question results because I don't fit the mold of someone with my results. I do have really good doctors though.

David