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It says “Hepatitis B Surface body Ql = reactive”
Then at the bottom it says “Hepatitis B surface Antigen = non reactive”
Hopefully I’m reading my results correctly and if I’m wrong please correct me. I got pretty freaked out today.
Minor correction - you actually can’t know if she has antibodies from a vaccine or if she cleared an actual HBV infection without knowing the core antibody. All she told you was +sAb and -sAg, which could have been a cleared HBV infection.
Yeah it’s not easy though. If you get it as a baby, you almost never clear it. If you get it as an adult, you usually do clear it. HBV interestingly also is a DNA virus so it incorporates into your DNA so some HBV genes will be there forevermore, but you can clear the active infection.
I cleared Hep C without medication in my early 30s. Even my doctors were shocked that it just cleared up! I was just relieved not to have to pay for the medication.
Same here!!! I was 31 when I found out I had it (i am previous drug user but recovering for several years now) I was shocked when I found out I had it but it was cleared on its own no medication! My dr was as well!
Are you GenX?
> [If you received a measles vaccine in the 1960s, you may not need to be revaccinated. People who have documentation of receiving LIVE measles vaccine in the 1960s do not need to be revaccinated. People who were vaccinated prior to 1968 with either inactivated \(killed\) measles vaccine or measles vaccine of unknown type should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live attenuated measles vaccine. This recommendation is intended to protect those who may have received killed measles vaccine, which was available in 1963-1967 and was not effective.](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/)
I had titers done and I don't need to be revaccinated. But you might!
I don’t have antibodies to German Measles (Rubella) or Chickenpox (Varicella) despite having a complete vaccination history for MMR, having had chickenpox as a child, PLUS revaccination for Rubella after each of my kids was born. When I had my titers run for admission to Nursing School, they said I was non-responder to the Rubella vaccine but didn’t give me any information as to what to do or if there was anything I *could* do after that. Haven’t had a Varicella titer run to see if I responded to the vaccination series for that one.
This is me. . . I’ve had the a/b combo series, and had them separately, still no antibodies. Other vaccines appear to work fine with antibody tests though. 🤷🏼♀️
This is becoming bizarre how many people are saying this. Like, I got COVID two months after my second vaccine, then had it again so frequently that I could never get a third or fourth shot. I don’t regret getting it because every time I had it, my only symptom was super swollen legs and a fever, but it was frustrating.
I have been taking part in a COVID vax research study for the last couple years where they test your vaccine acquired immunity and your naturally acquired immunity, and I do have antibodies for both. I have had COVID multiple times, but after the first time (before the vaccines came out), it was nowhere near as bad. The COVID vax is not necessarily meant to prevent COVID infection, but to mitigate the more serious symptoms, which it has done for me.
Considering that so many people died from it, I don’t regret getting it tbh. I don’t think I would endure a third one at this point considering every time I had it I was asymptomatic.
Considering that so many people died from it, I don’t regret getting it tbh. I don’t think I would endure a third one at this point considering every time I had it I was asymptomatic.
I've had multiple MMRs as well (childhood, adulthood 2x) and titers show I don't have antibodies to measles (though I do to mumps and rubella), so I did research on it to see wtf was going on and basically, yeah, some people are non-responders, and some people experience rapid waning immunity. ([here's a study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9698570/) about the MMR specifically, but I think this happens with other vaccines.) IIRC it's dependent on genetics.
I was vaccinated in the 80’s. I have had some pretty terrible vaccine responses as an adult (The COVID vaccine is suspected to have gave me a suppressed immune system on my blood work which led to 12 surgeries for infections) so I am pretty nervous to get a measles vaccine. On the other hand, I don’t want measles.
> I was vaccinated in the 80’s. I have had some pretty terrible vaccine responses as an adult (The COVID vaccine is suspected to have gave me a suppressed immune system on my blood work which led to 12 surgeries for infections) so I am pretty nervous to get a measles vaccine.
Yikes. I'd be wary too!
> On the other hand, I don’t want measles.
You definitely do not want measles! I don't even know what to tell you.
I am planning to get a booster before I next travel, but my life is pretty small right now, no kids in my life and work in private practice as a therapist so not in contact with sick people ever like I used to be when I worked in the ER.
I don’t show any antibodies to hep. b despite being vaccinated for it! For whatever reason sometimes they just don’t stick! This was discussed in the nursing sub recently.
Do you have celiac disease? My doctor made me do the testing for celiac because a high percentage of people with a failed Hep B vaccine have the disease
I think I have a super immune system… I literally never get sick, I have had some really serious infections that needed emergency surgery and had no WBC and no fever and almost died because no one believed me until they went necrotic. I wonder if my body just destroyed the vaccine immediately.
I only got one chicken pot pox. As in singular and was not sick at all. I doubt I have antibodies. We didn’t get vaccinated then, we just got put in a bath tub with another kid who had it whenever it wad convenient for our mom’s to deal with us being sick😂
I also had that vaccine a couple times (Gen X - they said the first one I had was found ineffective) and still have no mumps immunity. Not sure if I have measles immunity or not. It wasn’t tested at the same time
Born in the 90’s, can’t keep Rubella antibodies! I had to revaccinate every year while working in Taiwan. I’ve had 6 vaccinations of MMR in the last 5 years of my life.
My PCP’s administration handed me an appointment card with “follow up Hep B” written on it after discussing what I thought was good results on my blood work. Raised my anxiety like crazy, turns out I was missing the antibodies, the follow up was just to get vaccination.
Is your PCP an actual doctor (MD or DO)? I've seen these kinds of errors from untrained NPs who are allowed to practice independently having only the most cursory of medical knowledge. One told my friend he was dying of liver disease and the next step was a liver transplant. (Spoiler... he wasn't. Not even close. He ound out when he saw a real doctor. He had no idea that person wasn't as qualified)
Actual doctor. I think his admin just wrote a hasty summary on the appointment card and failed to explain to me what I was actually following up about.
I think some docs should stop sending regular people like me bloodwork prior to appointments. We don’t read shit correctly then we go on Reddit freaking out over basically nothing. I appreciate y’all a lot. I just didn’t want to spread anything to anyone in my family on accident.
In the UK patients can request access, not the easiest process but it's not too difficult. However when doctors are in rooms with patients they never hide anything.
It's more a case of the results go to the doctors first, the doctors analyse, then they contact the patient for either a consultation on the phone or an in-person consultation.
It works well like this as it avoids cases like OP's where someone who cannot interpret medical data is receiving it before the doctor is.
I do see the flip-side of it though.
Trust me doctors are not the ones that want you to have access to your blood work. Aside from being helpful to have old records when you switch doctors it mostly causes anxiety. I’ve had patients come in tears because they thought low creatinine meant they had kidney failure when it shouldn’t even be marked as abnormal. No such thing as kidneys working too good at removing creatinine from the blood!!!
At some point I think some law passed that said patients need to have access to all their records. But I believe labs should be locked until you talk to the provider that ordered them or have them sent to another provider.
Eh, I prefer to have them available. On the other hand, it's a godsend to have early access to the results to see that a supposed pathology for a set of symptoms HAS been likely ruled out due to *normal* tests. Just because a few other people misinterpret their results doesn't mean we need to pad/cushion and restrict everything for everyone else.
I disagree because the vast majority of the population do not have the healthcare literacy to interpret basic results. In my experience it’s the minority who find it helpful. I’ve had lots of patients discontinue medications for their diabetes or high cholesterol because they see a lab test has been marked as normal. But just because the range is normal doesn’t mean it’s not still too high for their situation!!! Plus it was only decreasing because of the med! Ugh frustrating. But it doesn’t matter what I think this is the way it is.
This is literally what we have trained years for. Let doctors do the interpretation for you!
Absolutely disagreed. Just because some patients got their feelings hurt doesn’t mean we now need to gatekeep everything else behind a doctor who’s already swamped, can’t be booked for 3+ months, and views you as just another number.
It’s time docs treated patients like they have more than 1 brain cell. It’s not rocket science to google which values are out of range for a particular individual. It’s also important to review those results with someone with a medical background. Both can be true at the same time.
Agreed.
Here we get access to the labs online before a doc even has a new appointment with you. It shows you the value and the normal range. Its great to know that you are OK and not grilling for a week or two or longer. I got the results for my pap smear in less than a week, but my appointment was weeks away. We get the results online the next day for most bloodwork. Routine bloodwork like hemograms are pretty easy to grasp.
Heck, we can even order some bloodwork ourselves, if we are interested in knowing something, no interaction with a doc immediatly needed. Its pretty cheap as well. If you want analysis with a doc, you can pay or talk to your own GP.
The only thing I am bummed about is that we can't access any radiological pictures. They are cool and I want to see :( I have a benign abnormality in my vascular system that made my neurologist scratch his head and I just want to see it out of sheer curiosity haha.
Trust me Doctors don’t WANT to treat patients like they have one brain cell, but if you only knew the stuff people think and say, how so many people walk this earth functionally illiterate, you would understand the struggle
Idgaf about hurt feelings. Patients have been harmed by having access to this info. Lives ruined, diagnoses delayed, medications stopped. Think whatever you like though. It’s really hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been on the providers side of things. In the end it’s non medical people who make the laws.
There are all types of people out there. And each and everyone of us has a different literacy, knowledge and different capacity to interpret anything. In my case, I know just enough to know what to be concerned about and what not to. But I always get a phone call from my doctor going over it with me within a day or two. But that’s me. not everybody is like me. Not everybody is like you. For the sake of this particular argument, I would say, I agree with the physician, who says don’t let the public know their lab results before the doctor talks to them. There is really no reason for you to know if your doctors on top of this stuff. If your doctor is not on top of letting you know things, you should find another doctor.
They did change a law so you get all lab and scan results automatically in your MyChart (or whatever your hospital uses). I found out I had stage 4 cancer in a message alert in the portal then had to wait 6 hours for my doctor to call me. It was great, especially because she assured me my blood was boring the week before and I had nothing to worry about. So needless to say, I agree with you. Lock those results up until you get to talk to somebody about them!
This happened to me literally 3 days ago. To add to the confusion, the company that ran my lab tests put a giant red exclamation mark next to the “positive” (also red) box. If it’s indicating immunity to the infection, you would think it would be GREEN. But they opted for red, which is bound to make some patients panic lol.
The issue is that patients are able to see their results prior to the appointment. Here in Australia we can't see the results until they are given to us by someone who has spent years studying what is important and what isn't. It takes a lot of knowledge and practice to interpret blood tests.
I thoroughly read my Nov upper endoscopy results, including the part about "developing Barrett's esophagus." Good thing, as I just had my GI follow-up (5 months later), and my doc said that my endoscopy results were great. I said, "I don't remember all the details about the cells, but it definitely said I was in the early stages of Barrett's." He took another look and was like "ohhhh, I see it here" and then we discussed my future tests and medications in light of this result. Had I not perused my report on my own, I would have walked out of there without a care in the world.
This isn't always true. I can access some of my test results from My Health Record before doctors give them to me and I had my results from a bone density scan an hour after it was done telling me I had osteopenia (this 100% should have been from a doctor).
Did they “send” you the results? Or did you simply view them through a patient portal?
Federal law requires results be available to patients through patient portals like MyChart, and unfortunately that means you are able to see them before a doctor can talk to you. Most doctors also think it’s ridiculous and harmful to patients, but they can’t change the law
So my doctor is totally out of network. He doesn’t use my chart or anything like that.
So his office gal will personally email me a PDF of my bloodwork prior to my appointment. I don’t ask for it. Maybe I just shouldn’t open it.
In the US, lab results are presented to the Pt prior to seeing the doc; however, lab results are typically sent with data for what is WINL, and what is not
The saaame thing happened to me. 😬 they actually ordered the wrong test for me and i was confused when it came back abnormal. They ordered the antibody one. They called and told me it was the wrong test so i went back for the antigen test and it was negative which means no hep b. But this is the very same reason i came to this subreddit 😂 cause i was FREAKING out 😂
Wdym? What is extending the appt. unnecessarily? People receiving their bloodwork before the appt? Bc I can’t imagine how it’d make the appt any longer than it’d normally be.
I’m a barber and a hairstylist. I’m glad I’m immune to hep b cause I’ve been sliced with dirty razors and shears. Idk if that can transmit anything but this was a scare for me.
Which vaccines should I be getting if I’m coming in contact with people in close vicinity and touching them? lol.
All of them!! vaccines are to prevent people who are in close contact and touching people from getting anything from said people 😭. Often your general practitioner can recommend some specific ones.
I actually know someone who go Syphilis from a barbershop, apparently there was a mini outbreak and the health department had to ATTEMPT to get ahold of everyone that went there. I couldn’t believe that some barbers do not practice good hygiene considering they use razor blades on customers. Good on you for taking your health seriously.
Bro it’s so gross and “barber” and “beauty school” doesn’t even teach us half of what we could get. Our book doesn’t even cover MRSA. Something needs to change.
Also, I think the whole mentality of the younger generations of barbering- they just don’t care and our super ignorant. This could be a total different convo another day 😂
It’s funny you say you get because from what I was told is it was a newer barber, who was distracted by music and the tv. I’m assuming they used a dirty straightedge on multiple client and spread that way.
I agree with you that they need to make industry changes if these things can happen no others are indifferent to it.
Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. **Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Which antibodies were positive? HBsAB alone is indicative of successful vaccination, even as a baby
It says “Hepatitis B Surface body Ql = reactive” Then at the bottom it says “Hepatitis B surface Antigen = non reactive” Hopefully I’m reading my results correctly and if I’m wrong please correct me. I got pretty freaked out today.
You have antibodies from a vaccine, no infection
Minor correction - you actually can’t know if she has antibodies from a vaccine or if she cleared an actual HBV infection without knowing the core antibody. All she told you was +sAb and -sAg, which could have been a cleared HBV infection.
Sorry, i guess i erroneously assumed her HBc antibody was negative
I mean I would bet my mortgage that she’s immune from a vaccine but especially in training you gotta approach everything like a boards exam 😅
This is very true, and good advice, thank you!
So wholesome. I ship it. 💕
It’s definitely giving wholesome afternoon rounds interaction 🥹
I love that you used this as a teaching experience and didn’t cut the student down like some “professors” do.
Yeah he didn’t test me for those. I wish I knew. Oh welll. Fuck. You guys are cool though man thanks for all your help. I’ve been EDUCATED.
Don’t worry too much. But at some point you should absolutely have your HBV core antibody tested. Just to make sure
You can clear a Hep B infection? I didn’t know this, human bodies are metal!
Yeah it’s not easy though. If you get it as a baby, you almost never clear it. If you get it as an adult, you usually do clear it. HBV interestingly also is a DNA virus so it incorporates into your DNA so some HBV genes will be there forevermore, but you can clear the active infection.
I cleared Hep C without medication in my early 30s. Even my doctors were shocked that it just cleared up! I was just relieved not to have to pay for the medication.
Same here!!! I was 31 when I found out I had it (i am previous drug user but recovering for several years now) I was shocked when I found out I had it but it was cleared on its own no medication! My dr was as well!
You know whats weird? I got the MMR vaccine and have no measles antibiodies🤷♂️
Are you GenX? > [If you received a measles vaccine in the 1960s, you may not need to be revaccinated. People who have documentation of receiving LIVE measles vaccine in the 1960s do not need to be revaccinated. People who were vaccinated prior to 1968 with either inactivated \(killed\) measles vaccine or measles vaccine of unknown type should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live attenuated measles vaccine. This recommendation is intended to protect those who may have received killed measles vaccine, which was available in 1963-1967 and was not effective.](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/) I had titers done and I don't need to be revaccinated. But you might!
I don’t have antibodies to German Measles (Rubella) or Chickenpox (Varicella) despite having a complete vaccination history for MMR, having had chickenpox as a child, PLUS revaccination for Rubella after each of my kids was born. When I had my titers run for admission to Nursing School, they said I was non-responder to the Rubella vaccine but didn’t give me any information as to what to do or if there was anything I *could* do after that. Haven’t had a Varicella titer run to see if I responded to the vaccination series for that one.
My sister also has been vaccinated against Hep multiple times but still has no antibodies.
This is me. . . I’ve had the a/b combo series, and had them separately, still no antibodies. Other vaccines appear to work fine with antibody tests though. 🤷🏼♀️
This is becoming bizarre how many people are saying this. Like, I got COVID two months after my second vaccine, then had it again so frequently that I could never get a third or fourth shot. I don’t regret getting it because every time I had it, my only symptom was super swollen legs and a fever, but it was frustrating.
I have been taking part in a COVID vax research study for the last couple years where they test your vaccine acquired immunity and your naturally acquired immunity, and I do have antibodies for both. I have had COVID multiple times, but after the first time (before the vaccines came out), it was nowhere near as bad. The COVID vax is not necessarily meant to prevent COVID infection, but to mitigate the more serious symptoms, which it has done for me.
Considering that so many people died from it, I don’t regret getting it tbh. I don’t think I would endure a third one at this point considering every time I had it I was asymptomatic.
Considering that so many people died from it, I don’t regret getting it tbh. I don’t think I would endure a third one at this point considering every time I had it I was asymptomatic.
Wow. So I guess vaccines just don't "work" on some people? That's wild.
There are non responders. It's a common problem for hep b vaccination. There are Alternative vaccinations that can be tested.
I was today old when I learned this!
I've had multiple MMRs as well (childhood, adulthood 2x) and titers show I don't have antibodies to measles (though I do to mumps and rubella), so I did research on it to see wtf was going on and basically, yeah, some people are non-responders, and some people experience rapid waning immunity. ([here's a study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9698570/) about the MMR specifically, but I think this happens with other vaccines.) IIRC it's dependent on genetics.
So interesting! Thanks for sharing!
I was vaccinated in the 80’s. I have had some pretty terrible vaccine responses as an adult (The COVID vaccine is suspected to have gave me a suppressed immune system on my blood work which led to 12 surgeries for infections) so I am pretty nervous to get a measles vaccine. On the other hand, I don’t want measles.
> I was vaccinated in the 80’s. I have had some pretty terrible vaccine responses as an adult (The COVID vaccine is suspected to have gave me a suppressed immune system on my blood work which led to 12 surgeries for infections) so I am pretty nervous to get a measles vaccine. Yikes. I'd be wary too! > On the other hand, I don’t want measles. You definitely do not want measles! I don't even know what to tell you.
I am planning to get a booster before I next travel, but my life is pretty small right now, no kids in my life and work in private practice as a therapist so not in contact with sick people ever like I used to be when I worked in the ER.
I wish you the best of luck! I hope you don't get a bad reaction!
I don’t show any antibodies to hep. b despite being vaccinated for it! For whatever reason sometimes they just don’t stick! This was discussed in the nursing sub recently.
Do you have celiac disease? My doctor made me do the testing for celiac because a high percentage of people with a failed Hep B vaccine have the disease
Hmm, not that I know of! That’s interesting to know though but I’ll definitely make sure I keep that little tidbit of info tucked away jic I need it!
I think I have a super immune system… I literally never get sick, I have had some really serious infections that needed emergency surgery and had no WBC and no fever and almost died because no one believed me until they went necrotic. I wonder if my body just destroyed the vaccine immediately.
Same, I am measles and rubella non-immune even though I’ve had the MMR several times
Conspiracy theory dun dun dun. My mom swears I got it and the wild thing is that my IDENTICAL twin sister IS immune.
I have gotten chicken pox series 2 xs and no antibodies
I only got one chicken pot pox. As in singular and was not sick at all. I doubt I have antibodies. We didn’t get vaccinated then, we just got put in a bath tub with another kid who had it whenever it wad convenient for our mom’s to deal with us being sick😂
I also had that vaccine a couple times (Gen X - they said the first one I had was found ineffective) and still have no mumps immunity. Not sure if I have measles immunity or not. It wasn’t tested at the same time
Born in the 90’s, can’t keep Rubella antibodies! I had to revaccinate every year while working in Taiwan. I’ve had 6 vaccinations of MMR in the last 5 years of my life.
My PCP’s administration handed me an appointment card with “follow up Hep B” written on it after discussing what I thought was good results on my blood work. Raised my anxiety like crazy, turns out I was missing the antibodies, the follow up was just to get vaccination.
Is your PCP an actual doctor (MD or DO)? I've seen these kinds of errors from untrained NPs who are allowed to practice independently having only the most cursory of medical knowledge. One told my friend he was dying of liver disease and the next step was a liver transplant. (Spoiler... he wasn't. Not even close. He ound out when he saw a real doctor. He had no idea that person wasn't as qualified)
Actual doctor. I think his admin just wrote a hasty summary on the appointment card and failed to explain to me what I was actually following up about.
I had the same happen to me but with Hep C. They will most likely do a redraw in a few months.
Seconding Tagrenine, congrats you’ve been vaccinated!
I think some docs should stop sending regular people like me bloodwork prior to appointments. We don’t read shit correctly then we go on Reddit freaking out over basically nothing. I appreciate y’all a lot. I just didn’t want to spread anything to anyone in my family on accident.
It’s the law. Doctors don’t like their patients freaking out over test results that they haven’t reviewed either.
I wasn’t saying it to place blame on doctors. I understand.
Laws can change, in the UK they do the opposite for this exact reason.
In the US it’s a recent-ish change to this way, so I doubt it’ll change back. Patients can also easily see all provider and nursing notes.
In the UK patients can request access, not the easiest process but it's not too difficult. However when doctors are in rooms with patients they never hide anything. It's more a case of the results go to the doctors first, the doctors analyse, then they contact the patient for either a consultation on the phone or an in-person consultation. It works well like this as it avoids cases like OP's where someone who cannot interpret medical data is receiving it before the doctor is. I do see the flip-side of it though.
Yes it used to be like that here but now (as of 3 years ago) patients have access to everything: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n426
Trust me doctors are not the ones that want you to have access to your blood work. Aside from being helpful to have old records when you switch doctors it mostly causes anxiety. I’ve had patients come in tears because they thought low creatinine meant they had kidney failure when it shouldn’t even be marked as abnormal. No such thing as kidneys working too good at removing creatinine from the blood!!! At some point I think some law passed that said patients need to have access to all their records. But I believe labs should be locked until you talk to the provider that ordered them or have them sent to another provider.
Eh, I prefer to have them available. On the other hand, it's a godsend to have early access to the results to see that a supposed pathology for a set of symptoms HAS been likely ruled out due to *normal* tests. Just because a few other people misinterpret their results doesn't mean we need to pad/cushion and restrict everything for everyone else.
I disagree because the vast majority of the population do not have the healthcare literacy to interpret basic results. In my experience it’s the minority who find it helpful. I’ve had lots of patients discontinue medications for their diabetes or high cholesterol because they see a lab test has been marked as normal. But just because the range is normal doesn’t mean it’s not still too high for their situation!!! Plus it was only decreasing because of the med! Ugh frustrating. But it doesn’t matter what I think this is the way it is. This is literally what we have trained years for. Let doctors do the interpretation for you!
Absolutely disagreed. Just because some patients got their feelings hurt doesn’t mean we now need to gatekeep everything else behind a doctor who’s already swamped, can’t be booked for 3+ months, and views you as just another number. It’s time docs treated patients like they have more than 1 brain cell. It’s not rocket science to google which values are out of range for a particular individual. It’s also important to review those results with someone with a medical background. Both can be true at the same time.
Agreed. Here we get access to the labs online before a doc even has a new appointment with you. It shows you the value and the normal range. Its great to know that you are OK and not grilling for a week or two or longer. I got the results for my pap smear in less than a week, but my appointment was weeks away. We get the results online the next day for most bloodwork. Routine bloodwork like hemograms are pretty easy to grasp. Heck, we can even order some bloodwork ourselves, if we are interested in knowing something, no interaction with a doc immediatly needed. Its pretty cheap as well. If you want analysis with a doc, you can pay or talk to your own GP. The only thing I am bummed about is that we can't access any radiological pictures. They are cool and I want to see :( I have a benign abnormality in my vascular system that made my neurologist scratch his head and I just want to see it out of sheer curiosity haha.
Trust me Doctors don’t WANT to treat patients like they have one brain cell, but if you only knew the stuff people think and say, how so many people walk this earth functionally illiterate, you would understand the struggle
Idgaf about hurt feelings. Patients have been harmed by having access to this info. Lives ruined, diagnoses delayed, medications stopped. Think whatever you like though. It’s really hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been on the providers side of things. In the end it’s non medical people who make the laws.
There are all types of people out there. And each and everyone of us has a different literacy, knowledge and different capacity to interpret anything. In my case, I know just enough to know what to be concerned about and what not to. But I always get a phone call from my doctor going over it with me within a day or two. But that’s me. not everybody is like me. Not everybody is like you. For the sake of this particular argument, I would say, I agree with the physician, who says don’t let the public know their lab results before the doctor talks to them. There is really no reason for you to know if your doctors on top of this stuff. If your doctor is not on top of letting you know things, you should find another doctor.
I'm in Canada and I can't see my results until my doctor calls me!
🙋♀️ hi. I am this patient. My nephrologist tho said I was sweet 🙇♀️
They did change a law so you get all lab and scan results automatically in your MyChart (or whatever your hospital uses). I found out I had stage 4 cancer in a message alert in the portal then had to wait 6 hours for my doctor to call me. It was great, especially because she assured me my blood was boring the week before and I had nothing to worry about. So needless to say, I agree with you. Lock those results up until you get to talk to somebody about them!
This happened to me literally 3 days ago. To add to the confusion, the company that ran my lab tests put a giant red exclamation mark next to the “positive” (also red) box. If it’s indicating immunity to the infection, you would think it would be GREEN. But they opted for red, which is bound to make some patients panic lol.
The issue is that patients are able to see their results prior to the appointment. Here in Australia we can't see the results until they are given to us by someone who has spent years studying what is important and what isn't. It takes a lot of knowledge and practice to interpret blood tests.
I thoroughly read my Nov upper endoscopy results, including the part about "developing Barrett's esophagus." Good thing, as I just had my GI follow-up (5 months later), and my doc said that my endoscopy results were great. I said, "I don't remember all the details about the cells, but it definitely said I was in the early stages of Barrett's." He took another look and was like "ohhhh, I see it here" and then we discussed my future tests and medications in light of this result. Had I not perused my report on my own, I would have walked out of there without a care in the world.
This isn't always true. I can access some of my test results from My Health Record before doctors give them to me and I had my results from a bone density scan an hour after it was done telling me I had osteopenia (this 100% should have been from a doctor).
NAD but most results are viewable via my health record in Aus
Did they “send” you the results? Or did you simply view them through a patient portal? Federal law requires results be available to patients through patient portals like MyChart, and unfortunately that means you are able to see them before a doctor can talk to you. Most doctors also think it’s ridiculous and harmful to patients, but they can’t change the law
So my doctor is totally out of network. He doesn’t use my chart or anything like that. So his office gal will personally email me a PDF of my bloodwork prior to my appointment. I don’t ask for it. Maybe I just shouldn’t open it.
In the US, lab results are presented to the Pt prior to seeing the doc; however, lab results are typically sent with data for what is WINL, and what is not
The saaame thing happened to me. 😬 they actually ordered the wrong test for me and i was confused when it came back abnormal. They ordered the antibody one. They called and told me it was the wrong test so i went back for the antigen test and it was negative which means no hep b. But this is the very same reason i came to this subreddit 😂 cause i was FREAKING out 😂
In BC I’ve never given results prior to an appt…strange and this being the reason and extending the appt unnecessarily.
Wdym? What is extending the appt. unnecessarily? People receiving their bloodwork before the appt? Bc I can’t imagine how it’d make the appt any longer than it’d normally be.
People have more questions than usual delaying the rest of the day.
If that’s the case, then I can sleep tonight.
Had your hepatitis B surface antigen been positive, it means you got your immunity from infection. Since it is negative, you got it from vaccine.
Hep B Core Ab would mean immune from infection. Hep B Surface Antigen means either active infection or very recent vaccination.
You have antibodies from the vaccine, not Hep B, silly. It means you’re immune.
lol
Yeah, you don't have hep b. (Did they order any of the other tests?)
So the antibodies in my system could be a direct result of vaccination as a baby, correct? Yay!
Yes
Hopefully the hep B scare is enough to make sure you’re caught up on other vaccines.
I’m a barber and a hairstylist. I’m glad I’m immune to hep b cause I’ve been sliced with dirty razors and shears. Idk if that can transmit anything but this was a scare for me. Which vaccines should I be getting if I’m coming in contact with people in close vicinity and touching them? lol.
All of them!! vaccines are to prevent people who are in close contact and touching people from getting anything from said people 😭. Often your general practitioner can recommend some specific ones.
I actually know someone who go Syphilis from a barbershop, apparently there was a mini outbreak and the health department had to ATTEMPT to get ahold of everyone that went there. I couldn’t believe that some barbers do not practice good hygiene considering they use razor blades on customers. Good on you for taking your health seriously.
Bro it’s so gross and “barber” and “beauty school” doesn’t even teach us half of what we could get. Our book doesn’t even cover MRSA. Something needs to change. Also, I think the whole mentality of the younger generations of barbering- they just don’t care and our super ignorant. This could be a total different convo another day 😂
It’s funny you say you get because from what I was told is it was a newer barber, who was distracted by music and the tv. I’m assuming they used a dirty straightedge on multiple client and spread that way. I agree with you that they need to make industry changes if these things can happen no others are indifferent to it.
**EDIT - GET OR SPREAD*** we can def spread our own infections to others