Pre OP blood test

[Toby1971]

Have booked the OP with Dr. Karidis. Need to get blood test done in advance. Silly question but do I just go to my GP for this?

[Albion71]

I went to see my GP about this but he said I didn't need one, and the surgeon would do that if he felt I needed a blood test.

When's the Op? Got my consultation with Karidis in December. (I've already had consultation with Hamed and Levick.)

[Time_to_fix_it]

Have booked the OP with Dr. Karidis. Need to get blood test done in advance. Silly question but do I just go to my GP for this?

It depends what the blood test is for.  Did Karidis say?  It might well just be a test to see if your blood clots correctly, thereby making sure you don’t bleed excessively during and after surgery.  However it might be that he wants you to have a full blood hormone profile done to make sure that your hormone levels are correct and in balance.  I would always recommend the latter just to make sure there isn’t any existing underlying cause for your gyne.
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So if you aren’t sure what Karidis wants, I would suggest you contact him and ask.  Your GP should (if he is worth his salt and not too mean with his budget), run the tests for you on the NHS, but some of them are scrooges and won’t do it.

All the best to you.

[Toby1971]

They sent me an info pack which included the tests they want: Full Blood Count (FBC) & COAG Screen.

Have got an appointment booked with my GP (think it may just be a nurse I am seeing) tomorrow. Hopefully they will do the tests & get results back to me fairly quickly.

Already went to see GP, who said he was referring me to an endo(?) for hormone profile. That was 8-10 weeks ago but nothing ever came through. Frankly I didnt want to wait any longer.

OP is in 1st week of December. 

[outertrial]

My GP was convinced I had hormone problems because og my gyno but when I went to the endo she took one look at me and said "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your hormones and the blood test will show nothing"

And she was right. I think unless you look like you have Klinefelters (sp?) in which case they need to work out what medicine to give you, then a blood test wont reveal much.

[Time_to_fix_it]

My GP was convinced I had hormone problems because og my gyno but when I went to the endo she took one look at me and said "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your hormones and the blood test will show nothing"

And she was right. I think unless you look like you have Klinefelters (sp?) in which case they need to work out what medicine to give you, then a blood test wont reveal much.

I am a simple layman, but I have seen a number of Endocrinologists and a world leading Andrologist; that experience has led me to ALWAYS recommend a full hormone profile be done first on any person considering surgery for gyne.  I accept that if you have had gyne since puberty with no re-growth and excellent general health, it will probably show that your hormones are back in balance.  However ask yourself this simple question ..... are you as a patient prepared to risk the boobs growing again after surgery and having to go through the whole process again?  If the answer is "yes" then good luck with your gamble.

In these days of screening and preventative medicine, for the few pounds it costs to run such a test, I strongly believe it is money well spent.  A simple blood test to check how your Endocrine system is working could reveal any underlying issues from a number of cancers (pituitary, adrenal, liver, prostate etc), low levels of testosterone, thyroid issues etc etc.

In short, that simple blood test is a damn good health check up, and gives peace of mind that if you elect for surgery, the boobs shouldn’t re-grow.

I am VERY sceptical of NHS doctors/endos who take one look at a patient and say "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your hormones and the blood test will show nothing".   I seriously wonder if their first thought is on the cost rather than the patient’s health.    Call me an old cynic, but after battling with the NHS for 3 years (once over £52 my GP wouldn’t spend on a one off drug a Professor of Endocrinology recommended) life has made me this way.

My layman’s opinion is that a patient should insist on the blood test. You pay your taxes which makes you a customer as well as a patient. You are paying the doctors wages after all.  Point out the benefits of the health screening it provides and the reassurance that you (or the NHS) won’t have to spend further money on a second or third surgery.  The doctor or Endo already know this, they sometimes have to be told that YOU know this too.

It's a cliché I know .. but information is power.

[Toby1971]

I hear you & understand you. Trouble is I was meant to get checked out but the referral never came through. I guess I should have been more pro-active in chasing this up, but I'm now almost out of time as the OP is in 12 days, but I am away on business most of next week.

May seem a strange thing to do but I guess I could have the tests done after the op, just for reassurance.

By the way the blood tests required by karidis were done by a nurse at my GP's practice & cost me £20 (which I thought was fair enough).

[outertrial]

The blood test is for HIV that's a fact.

Wrong, unless you can back it up with evidence.