Wellness

[feline groovy]

I've had the lab cc my test results to me for decades now, and arrange it at my appointment.  8)

Great health tip, JSS.  

[ID2]

Whenever I get blood tests I get the results back within hours! So fast! My doctor tells me that I see the results before he does! I get an email and am able to log on to their website and view all of my results. They are pretty thourogh giving me graphs and ranges so I can see how I've been doing. He then sends me a hard copy. I go through a major hospital so maybe thats why they are so prompt. I'll have to be changing doctors since I have to travel very far now to see my old doctors (where I use to live). I'm still checking out doctors around here.

[Vivian]

I have access to most of my blood work via patient portals online. They're a pain in the neck to sign up for but I can get info when I need it. Just last week, a young doctor gave me results that she said were not in the average range, but when I looked the numbers up on line, she was absolutely wrong. I had had that test many times before so when she said the number was not within range, I wondered if she had been correct. I also wondered whether she had given me the right numbers to begin with. Turns out she gave me the right numbers but it was her interpretation that was wrong. It's becoming more and more important to manage our own health care. Trust no one until you check and recheck.

[LilacTree]

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@hckynutjohn wrote:

Hi LilacTree,

Great advice. Some doctors like to use medical jargon: "within the normal range/normal etc.".  I've shouted from my soap box for decades now, "get numbers and find out (your normal) along with what each one of them mean.

Every patient should always ask, even demand if necessary, a copy of every Outpatient blood draw results. What is considered "normal" via a study for many says very little.

Hope all is going as well as possible for you and yours. Great thread.

hckynut(john)

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Thanks, John.  Hope you and all of yours are doing well also.  Ford

[LilacTree]

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@feline groovy wrote:

I've had the lab cc my test results to me for decades now, and arrange it at my appointment.  8)

Great health tip, JSS.  

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So have I JSS.  I've always had a great interest in all things medical, even before I got sick.  I used to do medical tape transcription on the side and learned a lot. Before computers I used to buy the latest versions of Merck and Mayo Clinic medical books every year.

Oh . . . my youngest daughter is taking in another kitty, this time, one who had to have his eye removed due to an infection.  Since she volunteers at PetSmart, she always sees the ones people won't adopt.  She has three again now (one passed two months ago).  These are her "kids." 

Hope you did okay during the blizzard.  We did not, as melting snow invaded our living room wall.  They are still working on it.

[tedEbear]

  Get copies of Xrays, MRIs, etc.  I have mine dating back to the 70s.   I have always insisted of seeing all pictures,xrays, etc from age 19.   6yrs ago when I had Mammo, the tech wouldn't say what she saw.  I looked at them and asked if what I was seeing was BC.  Nevermind, I could see it on her face.  It never hurts to get results of any test you have into your possession.------------tedEbear

[151949]

Just knowing the norms and your results means nothing unless you have knowledge about medicine. They are subjective and must be discussed with your doctor.