Doctor Doesn't Give Biopsy Results
>> 5/29/09
Why do doctors not give results of tests (labs, ultrasounds, biopsies) in a timely manner? Don't they know that in cases like a biopsy, where they are testing for cancer, that the patient is probably waiting anxiously for the result? My results were supposed to be in. My doctor's nurse was supposed to call me today. They told me it would be today (I specifically asked when I called this morning). I was told, "yes." I wasn't called. I also sent an email through the patient portal asking them to provide the results of the biopsy by today so I didn't have to wait through the weekend.
I know they results are there because the receptionist checked when I called. When they aren't there, they tell me they aren't in yet. She tried to get the doctor's nurse, who was busy at the time. They told me she would call me TODAY. I am so unhappy with this doctor and her staff.
Edited to add: I just called the hospital where the biopsy was done. They sent my doctor the results on May 20th. She's had them over a week and yet she, her nurse, or anybody else in her office couldn't find the time to give me the results?
5 comments:
I just found your blog looking up thyroid biopsy results. I know this post is from last year, but you could be describing EXACTLY what I'm going through right now. I've had hypothyroidism for eight years and am on synthroid. A couple of weeks ago my doctor found a nodule in my thyroid. I had the biopsy last Wednesday and have yet to hear any results. On Friday I called the dr's office and they told me "the results are on his desk, he'll call you when he's done seeing patients." He never called. Then yesterday I called and they said "the doctor isn't in the office until Wednesday." So I have to spend a week not knowing if I have cancer or not....
I'll be reading more of your blog!
I hope you get your results soon. Some of these doctors drive me crazy. From what I understand, nodules can be caused by not enough thyroid hormone or an iodine deficiency. I finally found a doctor who would listen and took me off Synthroid and I'm on a compounded armour right now and doing better so far. I recently found out that I have a conversion problem so all the T4 synthroid was giving me wasn't converting properly. I NEED a T3/T4 medication (but finding a doc who would prescribe it for me was a process). We are tweaking the dose right now and he wants me back on iron, selenium and iodine too.
I hope you get good results SOON.
I called them yesterday and basically just laid it on the line, saying, "I want my results." I wasn't rude, but just really assertive. About half an hour later the doctor called me. He was totally apologetic, saying that he had been "out of town" Monday and in surgery all day Tuesday. So, anyway, my biopsy was negative for cancer. Now I need to find a doctor who will help me figure out why my thyroid is growing itself a nodule. I've been telling my primary care physician for over a year that I think I need more synthroid. She keeps telling me that my TSH is "within normal parameters." I've asked about non-synthetic hormone. She's not willing to prescribe Armour. I'm at the point where I think I just need a new doctor! Why are so few doctors really educated about thyroid issues?
I ended up being rude to my family doctor because she'd had the biopsy results on her desk for over a week and nobody had called me back.
When doctors say results are "within normal" ranges, I found that there is an "optimal" amount within that normal range where most people feel their best. I would definitely ask for copies of all your lab work so you can see where within that normal range your labs fall. TSH should fall towards the bottom of normal, T3 towards the top or normal, etc. If my TSH is mid to high range, my periods are extremely heavy and painful, hair falls out, etc. It's now at the lower range and I'm not curled up in a ball for several days every month in pain. If you get copies of your labs from your doc and go to the Natural Thyroid Hormone yahoo group (link posted in the sidebar), you can post your lab ranges and your actual results and they can help. I can't believe how much better I am doing by finding a doctor whose beliefs are in line with what this group thinks for the most part. Also, Mary Shoman's thyroid site on about.com is helpful as is www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. There is a lot of info. out there. I just wish I'd found it sooner:(
My first couple doctors weren't willing to prescribe natural thyroid for me either so I kept looking. That natural thyroid group on Yahoo also keeps a list of good docs that have helped members. I did horrible on Synthroid for eight years and the doctors wouldn't listen because my TSH was "within normal". Now I know to be more concerned about T3 levels, Reverse T3 (I have a T4 to T3 conversion problem no other doc attempted to even figure out so every Synthroid pill they insisted I take for 8 years converted to Reverse T3), ferritin, and Vitamin D3 levels.
I just found this page and hope someone out there is reading it. I am frustrated and confused. I was told I had 1 solid nodule then the office girl said it was 3 and now one again. So truthfully I don't even know for sure how many I have. I believe it is one solid nodule discovered by a check that my thyroid was enlarged. I was told it is small 1cm so I don't need a biopsy. The iodine scan was inconclusive I was told. What do you all think? Can I just demand a biopsy or does that make me look paranoid.
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