Worried

[sharon7]

I went to the Gastroenterolist just over two weeks ago because they discovered I had a scarred liver while removing my Gallbladder, he took loads of blood tests for anything he could think off, and said they results will take 2 weeks because they have to send some of them to a different hospital. Well on Wenesday I chased them up, and was told they have them back but need to analysis them I did ask them to fax a copy to my GP but this morning I got a letter from my GP asking me to phone the surgery to make an appointment to discuss referral to Gastrenterolist? Do you think it's about the blood tests? Is it normal for a GP to give you the results or the Gastroenterolist, which I have an appointment with in August? I feeling worried about what the tests results are?

[AyrshireK]

Sadly it would appear that something has probably shown up in your bloods and as you've already been told there is perhaps some scarring on your liver your GP will probably discuss the blood test results with you but will refer you to a gastroenterologist for further investigations and more appropriate further treatment - they may need to run further tests, ultrasound or CT scans and perhaps a biopsy before they can nail down the situation for you.

Obviously none of us can tell you at this time what their findings may be but the gastro doc will be better placed than your GP to advance your care and if it does turn out to be liver issues then I would urge you to ask for referral to a hepatologist i.e. a specialist liver doctor. Gastro's can be ok but they are not usually specialists in liver care covering everything from the mouth to rear end in the digestive system but not the liver in particular. In mine and my hubby's situation we only started to get appropriate care and treatment once we were referred to a specialist liver unit.

I wish you all the best, don't necessarily panic at this time as many liver illnesses can be treated so get your blood results and the referral onward - at least they have discovered something. So many of us are carrying things we never even knew we had.

Katie

[Bolly]

When you see the GP to discuss the referral I expect they will have your blood test results on their computer and can access them and show you the results - my GP is good and usually swivels the screen round so I can read the results, even prints them off if I request a copy. August is a while away and hopefully the GP can give you reassurance that you are ok to wait till then without worrying. However as Ayrshire says, the best person to analyse the figures, tell you what they mean and discuss with you what to do is a hepatologist, so I would take the opportunity at the GP's to ask to be referred to a hepatologist not a gastro. As you have already seen a gastro its the GP who has to re-refer you.

[sharon7 in reply to Bolly]

My GP has already referred me, and I had my first appointment was a couple of weeks ago, where they did so many blood tests. That is what I don't understand? The letter was a quick hand written note on a compliment slip, and when I spoke to the hospital regarding blood test results they said they would send a copy to my GP, then a couple of days later I get the note from my GP asking me to make an appointment regarding my referral? I think they want to discuss my blood results is that normal for the GP to do that?

[mrsmerlin]

It's very common for a gp to do that. Remember that many GPs don't fully understand the results, if you see the results you will see an exclamation next to any tests where the result is even slightly outside normal range. To a specialist this may be far less worrying than a GP - hope that makes sense. When you call the surgery if they don't have an appointment straight away ask for a telephone appointment to put your mind at rest as soon as possible. They may want to tell you they think they have found the cause - many of which can be easily managed.

Whatever the results you will always find support and comfort here - they're a good bunch.

Xx

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