Does anyone know if doctors are allowed to test for something you are unaware is being tested?
I received a text message from my practice saying a past blood test ( not had one through gp for at least 18 months) showed I am pre diabetic!!!!!
I am totally unaware of this, and certainly haven’t been tested for diabetes, according to my knowledge.
And, I feel it’s totally unacceptable to inform you through a text message.
Anyone any ideas? Is this common practice these days????
Thank you.
Hi Milpol. I know that texting is becoming more common but I’d be very annoyed at a text imparting bad news so to speak. I’d be even more annoyed that they’ve sat on these results for so long without letting you know.
The general health check includes glucose which is your diabetes indicator. They try to get you in every so often. Most people I speak to have no idea what GP requests on blood forms.
I’d be picking up the phone to practice manager. Good luck.
Thanks Hay2016,
Yes, to be honest, I was furious for those very reasons!
I will contact them,just wasn’t sure if it was spam etc , just don’t know these days.
Thanks for responding x
I guess it could be a mistake! My surgery repeatedly sent me reminders to go in for a b12 injection. Three times in all. I had to keep going in and telling them I wasn’t b12 deficient. It took a while for the message to get through!
If you’ve not had a blood test for 18 months, it might well be a mistake.
Best wishes
Caroline
Many thanks Caroline,
I am hoping it’s a mistake!
Or they have moved the goalposts and you now fall into a new range. I tend to take most of what they say with a pinch of salt. They don't help us with the serious issues we have with our thyroids but are always trying to get us to change our diet and exercise more!
Exactly! They wouldn’t try to get my FT3 levels tested when I was feeling really rough and had to go privately for that. Yet they spend money when it’s not always needed!
I suspect they had an edict from the health minister saying people have to be checked for diabetes. Shame there’s not an edict to doctors on how to treat our thyroid issues correctly 🤬
Especially as inadequate thyroid hormone levels adversely affect our insulin and glucose metabolism.
Ooh do they ? I didn’t know that. That’s so interesting. I’ve only been diagnosed 2 years ago( though with hindsight I’ve suffered with symptoms for many years and not understanding why ) , so it seems I still have so much to learn....
Wish I wasn’t so ignorant about my thyroid 🙄
Lack of thyroid hormones buggers up our metabolism completely. I just checked the symptoms list below for you to make sure I was right. Actually it says hypoglycaemia, so not sure if that means the same thing so I could be wrong. However, in my case, I'm so sedentary because I'm so tired all the time that I can't exercise and my weight keeps increasing so that will not help my diabetes status. I'm pretty sure if I could only have some energy again I could reverse that by moving and motivating my diet etc. Right now, I'll kill the next person to tell me to change my diet and move more!
Have you seen this list of symptoms? It's useful to keep a copy and mark off what you suffer with and review it over time.
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Yes thanks, I do have the list. However, looking through the list of symptoms for diabetes, I don’t have any of these, so maybe I’ve got a gp who’s very vigilant! I’ll call them when I’m not working, which is what I’m supposed to be doing today 🙄
I don't think there's anything untoward going on here, if I'm reading it correctly. Your Dr is supposed to be looking out for your health, and presumably you didn't have your bloods taken by force at the time - if the Dr said something like "let's have a look at what's going on" or "it's a good idea to check your basics" or some such, and you didn't ask exactly which tests would be carried out, that's down to you surely? Or there's a possibility with being presumably hypothyroid, that you've forgotten? I can nod sagely at everything I'm told then it's out of my head by the time I'm outside. But was your blood sugar being checked alongside whatever you thought was being checked when you allowed the blood to be drawn, a bad thing; and did you not ask for a copy of the results of the tests in any case? We need to be proactive & responsible for our health, which includes knowing and monitoring our blood tests. You've not reported the wording or reason for the text - was it sent along the lines of "as you tested pre-diabetic last time, we'd like you to come in for a progress check", or was it "oops, we've just noticed we forgot to tell you?" because there's obviously a difference. If the former, that's great; if the latter, then not so good, but perhaps the lesson here is that if it concerns you when giving blood - and we're talking blood sugar not Ebola or AIDS - ask & be clear first, what's about to be tested, and then always seek out your results afterwards. For me, they can't test enough, even if they didn't list it all to me, as I'd rather they checked than didn't. I'm not sure why it would be considered spam though, as presumably you'll be phoning the surgery with which you're familiar, to book your next test or whatever is required, and not sending money to the bank account of a Nigerian Prince .....
My last blood test was my thyroid, so all that I was aware I was tested for, as I asked the doctor at the time, was TSH and FT4. I know because I asked for FT3 testing and she refused. No mention of any other testing whatsoever. So that when I decided to do my own private tests from then on. So even if they did this extra test, there was no mention of it and what’s worse is that they’ve been sitting on a ‘pre diabetic ‘ results for at least 18 months!
So I presume it’s a oops we forgot to tell you! The text message simply said,
A previous blood test shows you are in the pre diabetic range. Please make an appointment to see the nurse !
I'd tend to read that as implying "As you tested ...." I have similarly inexactly expressed texts from my surgery, most recent one was about the flu jab which I'd said last year I didn't want. Have you checked it out with the surgery now?
I will call this afternoon as I’m supposed to be working right now 🙄
I’m tempted to say lucky you!
I can’t get my surgery to test what I ask for, let alone other things!
Sorry, I don’t mean to be flippant - you make a very valid point. I’m just such a cynic now!
I know what you mean, it’s so frustrating isn’t it ! Don’t blame you being cynical, unfortunately the system drives us in that direction!
If your tests have shown a potential issue then don't be annoyed it was done, I have numerous tests done every few months, if my GP adds in a few more then that's fine with me, recently unknown to me I had a heart failure blood test included and it came back raised so I'm off to see the Cardiologist in a few weeks 👍
Oh bantam12, I am sorry to hear that.
I agree with you, it was just a shock I suppose being informed my text message!
It seems so impersonal, but maybe I’m just old fashioned!
Good luck with your Cardiology visit.
I hope all goes well for you.
Thanks, I'm not worried as it's a possible early warning sign much like your pre diabetes, best to know about these things before they become serious.
Oh how I wish I was as sensible as you bantam 12. I’m a kinda ‘ head in the sand ‘ gal, though I wish I wasn’t so anxious and afraid of my aging health 🙁
Many thanks Londinium for the link. Will read through it.
I will ask for the print out but as I mentioned before, if this test was done, it was entirely without my knowledge. Then they’ve sat on the results all this time without informing me that 18 months ago it wasn’t within the range.
Since that test, I’m now gluten free, low carb and started T3, have lost nearly 2 stone on weight, so I guess a blood test now would give different results.
I understand what you mean about either you are or you aren’t diabetic. That makes sense. For example, I could have had a high sugar intake before the test was done. That would probably have given a false result.....
Many thanks Londinium for your opinion. It’s bad enough having thyroid issues we have to wade through let alone everything else!
HIya
I would be furious regardless. I have found out that I wasn't even tested for Hashimotos 10-12 years when initially tested for hypothyroidism and have been kept on T4 only for years. I went for private thyroid blood panel testing, and all sorts came up: iron deficiency anaemia, Hashimotos' etc, when I approached my GP he wasn't interested. I now have an appointment with a 'private' endocrinologist tomorrow at 16:45. Funny how they can send me texts for 'well woman' clinics and flu jabs but can't be arsed to discuss, treat the thyroid problems accurately!!!
Exactly! I’m with you on that one. I found out 2 years ago when I was diagnosed hypo that I’d had a raised TSH level back in 2008, and the Doctor didn’t think it was necessary to tell me. I’ve lost 8 years of my life feeling unwell with symptoms I’d no idea were because my thyroid was failing.
It makes me so angry and now they decide to tell me I’m pre diabetic from a test they took 18 months ago.
There will be words when I eventually get to see the doctor.
Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. I was looking at your past posts and can see you’ve had a lot of issues. Do you take T3 ? That might help ...
Hello again, nope, my GP has me on 200mcg of T4 only Levothyroxine and will not even entertain testing the T3 let alone put me on T3. If the Endo does a ultrasound on the thyroid and finds that the hashis has obliterated my thyroid gland....believe me you will hear me scream at my GP right across the country!! I have been reading the STTM 2nd edition book and yes, it is primarily a view of the US attitude to thyroid problems BUT boy oh boy does it ring true for the UK too. I have learned a great deal in a short span of time and I need to keep my mouth guarded tonight when attending the endo appointment. If all fails I will look at watching my own blood levels for various hormones etc and go online for the meds....lets put it this way, I can't do any worse than my negligent GP for the last 10-12 years!!!
No because nothing has been diagnosed yet, I've had minor heart issues for years but Cardiologists are notoriously uninterested in testing and treating women !
I had an angiogram a few years ago but two Cardiologists disagreed on results, I'm going back in the New Year for another battle !
There is a known well documented problem with how women are treated for cardiac problems, women are more likely to die from a heart attack because of poor/lack of treatment.
Good luck with the doctor. Let us know how you get on. I have been monitoring my own levels now for a while with the help of the wonderful people on this forum. So if you decide to go it alone, you won’t be alone.... if you get my drift .
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