Last year before Christmas I had a routine blood test that showed a reduced platelet count. Went from 160 18 months ago to 139. I had been going though a period of very heavy drinking (day and night) in the two months prior to the test. I went to see the Doctor as he called and asked me to come in that day due to the urgency. He gave me a physical inspection and we talked through things and I said I had previously had a fatty liver and was a habitual drinker. The conclusion was you probably have cancer but likely cirrhosis. Better get you in for an ultrasound.
Being days before Christmas there was no way of getting a test sorted. I did get my test date at the start of February and went and had the test. I've heard nothing from the GP, so come to the conclusion that the result of the lower platelet count was due to my very excessive consumption just prior to the test in early December. I ceased consumption prior to Christmas.
If I had cirrhosis then I would have what is categorised as a terminal diagnosis. Is it legally possible that a GP orders tests and doesn't follow up on them when there is a terminal diagnosis?
I fully understand that the best way is to prod the donkey, but I don't have any respect for my GP practice, and the GP seen is someone who was incredibly disrespectful towards my father in the year he died. My view is that if there were anything alarming such as a cirrhosis diagnosis then the surgery would be duty bound to contact me based on the review of the results. I am personally taking notice of all the things I should do, making all lifestyle changes I should (no longer out of puff running and eaten that much green stuff!). This I hope will stop any future problems. I know putting the breaks on a metaphoric big ship takes time to take effect, hope I'm in time for that.
Can a GP see test results and not tell you if there is a problem? Mistakes are made I acknowledge, but there are checks and balances.
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PeterSmith1998
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I'd be getting in touch with GP to enquire whether they have the scan report back and to get a discussion as to what has been found. If there is a diagnosis of cirrhosis you should be referred to a hospital specialist (gastroenterologist or hepatologist).
Cirrhosis is not necessarily a terminal diagnosis, it is entirely possible to live a long life even with it.
You need to find out either way and importantly maintain your new, healthier lifestyle regardless of the result.
If you [are in the UK and] would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)
Here is the link to our Patient Charter which states clearly the rights you have, in terms of your care, as a patient with a liver condition in the UK.
Your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) in England & Wales, Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS) in Scotland or Patient and Client Council (PCC) in Northern Ireland may be able to support you further and we have attached the links below.
Sorry about your poor experiences with your GP, sadly this is becoming all too common up and down the country. Your GP shouldn’t just blurt out ‘could be cancer but likely cirrhosis’ based on a physical examination and some blood results, that’s outrageous and he or she needs reported.
Regarding your health concerns it’s good that you are now taking steps to minimise or try and effect things in a positive way with whatever you are going through, especially in relation to heavy drinking.
I’m a year and a week sober myself after my own liver and other health issues through drinking. Regarding your platelets, they can go up or down based on any number of things, but a period of over drinking alone isn’t’ the likely culprit as to why they have went down in numbers, so it’s wise to get some more tests done to find out what’s going on.
When the liver is enflamed through heavy drinking, one of the biggest indicators is your GGT levels will be high, it’s very sensitive to alcohol. If you’ve informed the, of your habitual drinking, that’s one of the tests they should have carried out.
As for cirrhosis, bloods alone cant indicate whether someone has it or not, it goes off a totality of many many things, stuff like your full bloods, scans and such and of course any symptoms which can range from 1 to many. And even then if any damage down to the liver is caused by alcohol, by ceasing drinking the liver damage can be reversed if it’s not too far gone and stabilised, maintained and managed if it’s advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Cirrhosis itself can’t be reversed.
Someone with cirrhosis can have normal bloods and be asymptomatic too, liver disease effects everyone differently and there are several stages of liver disease from a fatty liver all the way to cirrhosis and there are many causes, not just alcohol.
It can take well over a decade of extremely heavy drinking to get cirrhosis for most people, but there is sadly an increase in people being diagnosed with advanced liver disease after only a few years of heavy drinking.
You are doing the right thing by taking steps to a healthy lifestyle and that can only benefit you in the now and long-term, try not to worry too much, I know that’s easier said than done, and good luck and hopefully your scan results and any future tests you undertake will be all good.
In the mean-time get reporting that GP or seek some answers. I’ve found with my own GP and indeed the NHS you have to push them these days and keep on at them, don’t ever feel like you’re being a nuisance or Impatient, it’s your health at stake here.
I totally agree with what’s been said by grassroots, at the very least the Dr was unprofessional in even suggesting you had cancer or cirrhosis unless you had extreme symptoms that may have been a possible indicator.
My abnormal blood tests were not reported back to me, it wasn’t until I tried to go on HRT that they looked back on the records and said I wasn’t able to have HRT with such results and they were repeated again and abnormal nearly 12 months later. I had a fibroscan which showed I have Cirrhosis again I had to chase the results. A Dexta scan which showed I had thinning of the bones, again not reported back until I asked the GP 6 months later. Should have had a virtual clinic appointment in September, again chased got a response in November. In the meantime I was waiting 9 months for an Endoscopy, rang the department and was given one 2 weeks to the day of the call. I rang after posting on the forum. It seemed an alien concept to have to do all this phoning and chasing around, but that was the only way I got any answers. Each GP surgery and hospital trust is different, but things do not seem to be the way things were when you got the phone call or letter through the door.
I hope you do get somewhere and I believe it is your right to know what is going on with your own health
It’s scary how badly ran the NHS is where patients are having to chase up for all kinds of stuff from appointments to results and it’s not acceptable at all. Our poor nurses and doctors are not to blame, although there are obviously some bad apples in there, by and large it’s the management, budget cuts and totally shambolic behind the scenes operation, especially with IT.
I would advise you to get in touch with the GP asap. Long story short, I was diagnosed in 2003 with Hepatitis C but my GP did not inform me and I was given no treatment. Fast forward 2020 I became ill and was diagnosed with cirrhosis due to the virus being untreated for 17 years. I contracted the virus from contaminated blood following a blood transfusion. For 10 years I was having abnormal LFT s and all I was told was stop drinking, even though I didn’t consider myself to be a heavy drinker. The consultant has said if I had been treated for the virus in 2003 I would most certainly not have liver damage!
Wow that’s awful and I'm so sorry for you, this needs investigated because someone’s failure has had a terrible effect on your health which is unacceptable, poor you. It makes me so angry because it needn't be like that and sadly you just know mistakes have lead to other people suffering and indeed to deaths. I always now chase after everything even if I have to visit the hospital itself and wait outside the doctor’s office or the waiting room until I’m seen or get answers because when it’s your own health on the line, you cannot take any chances.
The NHS badly needs a cull of people in management who have no business being in health care, more doctors and nurses should have a bigger say in running it and be well compensated, many members of my family are in health care and during Covid some of the stories I’ve heard are shocking, doctors and nurses being told to prioritise people with Covid for example by management over people with cancer and other serious diseases and life threatening issues regarding beds, treatment and being seen to.
I’m forever grateful for our NHS and the wonderful people in it and it’s still the greatest system in the world for me, but it’s at breaking point now and something needs done because it’s only going to continue getting worse. That said, us as a society need to take our own personal responsibility more for our own health and take the burden and strain away from our NHS by looking after ourselves more and better. Never mind teaching our kids about stuff like religion at school, we need to teach them all about their own health and nutrition and how to look after oneself.
Get to your GP and discuss the result. Don’t assume because you haven’t heard anything that the scan has come back ok. It does take some time for the scan to be reported so there is a chance it hasn’t even come back yet. Whatever the result, it’s better to know. Low platelets can’t be ignored. There’s something causing it and it’s far better to find out what it is and then get treatment.
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