Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Patientone on May 01, 2014, 12:35:12 PM
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Ugh .. I think after years and years of being a caretaker for my mom right up until her death, I have developed a phobia of medical tests, or rather, waiting on results. In the fall, after weeks and weeks of spotting I went to the dr and had an endometrial biopsy and ultrasound done.
I felt tortured for the next week, literally scared out of my mind, a few days I took 1/2 a xanax so I could calm down. It's awful.
My tests turned out good, just showed fibroids. thank the lord.
Now ..my Dr wants me to go for a mammogram. I am 54, have never had one, I got an automated message yesterday reminding me to go, and it upset me the rest of the day.
I've been reading lately about the stress of waiting for test results and the lasting psycological affects. I think that years and years of waiting for my mom's test results has made me like this.
So, my issue is not going for the test, it's the following days waiting for the phone to ring, or getting the letter in the mail. Here in the US 61% get called back.
I just can't get up the nerve to put myself through it. :-(
How do you deal with the anxiety of waiting for test results?
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I take medication. To ease those awful anxiety panic surges …….. waiting can make the mind go into over-drive >:( but what is the worst that can happen?
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I cannot cope with it very well. I had a recall for my mammogram this year, only had a week to wait to go back but for that week I could not sleep, could not eat etc etc. I felt sick and shaky all the time. Of course, living on my own, I had nobody to take my mind off it so it was worse. At least if there are other people in the house, they can help to preserve some semblance of normality but on your own, your mind just goes into overdrive all the time.
The only help I can give you is that it is better to go for the mammogram and get it over with. A case of gritting your teeth I'm afraid. But at least you know you are doing the right thing. I was amazed at how many first-time ladies were recalled when I was there so do not be too anxious if you do get recalled. Good luck.
Bramble
Bramble
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Have a chat with the Radiographer before the mammo takes place and ask the questions! You will be given a form to fill in when you arrive about your health. You should have a booklet too ………
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Perhaps if you feel so strongly about waiting for test results then its probably better that you don't go for the mammogram in the first place. Although it seems a good idea to have tests, if you haven't thought about the possible results and what decision you would make dependent upon those results, then maybe its best you don't put yourself through the worry!
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Surely it's better to go for the tests rather than ignoring them. Of course it's a worry but medical tests can be potential life savers.
It's a personal choice of course.
Honeyb
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Hi Patientone
I too have a massive phobia about waiting for test results, infact I have anxiety issues relating to almost anything medically related. Mine, like yours is linked to a trauma in the past that I went through. I was given bad news during my first pregnancy. So I relate diagnostic tests to bad things happening rather than being a postive thing. I have had counselling and took medication a few years ago. I'm now going through something similar to you, had an internal ultrasound and they have found a fibroid and a polyp so I have a hospital appt in a couple of weeks to investigate further. I'm 50 and perimenopausal and there was no bleeding, they only did the scan as I was having pains coming off my pill. So really I do know that things should be fine, but I am still incredibly anxious about it all, having panic attacks at night, and trying to function at work and looking after my kids.
I went for a really long walk with a friend and her dog in the countryside this week and it made me feel so much better. Can you get out and just walk and breathe in some fresh air? It really helped and I'm going to keep doing it as often as i'm able when I start feeling the anxiety coming on.
I would go for the mammogram if you can manage it. I've had one and it was fine. No, the waiting for the letter to come wasn't easy but I kept myself really busy and tried my very best to forget about it. Hard I do know.
Take care :)
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First of all please, please book your mammogram. So important to get this done. After all, isn't the resulting 'all clear' or, and I am sure this will not be the case, early diagnosis and early treatment, more important than the 'waiting to hear' anxiety.
Secondly, I am as bad as you are. If I have to have a blood test, say because I feel fatigued - which goes hand-in-hand with the menopause, I convince myself I have every ailment under the sun where my symptoms are indicative, and stress myself out with anxiety of 'not knowing'.
You are not alone here xxx
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It's normal to worry- everyone does and no one likes having to wait.
You'd be quite odd if you didn't worry!
Maybe accept that this is normal and then put it to the back of your mind.
I have a very straight talking friend whose advice to me if I am worried is 'Worry about if it happens'.
In other words, don't waste precious emotional energy worrying about things that will probably never happen - and if they do, you will deal with them.
Try to push the worry away and focus on something else if you start to dwell on it.
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If you can afford it, have it done privately - you get the results straight away ;)
Libby
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Maybe it's different in the US anyway waiting for results because isn't all health care private- paid for by insurance?
In the UK you won't get the results immediately because they have to go to the dr who reads them which takes at least 24 hours and more like 2-3 days at least before they write to you or your consultant.
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Hi Sarah
You're right, I'm not sure about how it works in the US. But I've had a private mammogram and ultrasound and the radiographer told me there and then :)
Libby
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Really? I have had a few too. The person who takes the X rays is not a dr- they are a technician ( radiographer ) and the person who reads the X rays is a consultant radiologist/ breast specialist. If you had an ultrasound too, maybe you were having further investigations and it was actually a dr who saw you?
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I like the idea of instant results. I feel like i need to work up the nerve to just go in and do it. First on the agenda though is a repeat ultrasound for my fibroids.
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I'm not good at waiting for results either, but the big question - is it worse than wondering if something is wrong with you?
I agree with Sarah the UK it is possible to go private and see a consultant, have a mammo then an ultrasound then go back and see the consultant for the results all within an hour - I have done this twice.
Is this an option for you?
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Not sure if we have that here Linsey, but I can ask my Dr.
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Excuse me - a radiographer is not a technician ;) - they know enough to ask a Consultant for views on an X-ray should the need arise.
I had annual mammos privately for over 10 years but was never told at the time :-\ - the result came to me as I was paying and a copy to my GP within about 10 days. The X-rays go to the Consultant who reports onto tape and then the results are typed by the secretary ;)
My breast disease was not found on mammo but on self examination - that was in 1995 ;)
I had an ultra-sound 5 years ago which was within normal limits.
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Personally, I would not trust the result of a mammogram unless it had been reported by a qualified consultant and I would move to a different screening unit if their protocol was that radiographers only refer x-rays to a consultant "should the need arise". That is a big responsibility to put onto a radiographer (who let's face it, isn't paid nearly as much as a consultant). So, a radiographer tells you a mammogram looks fine and it's put in file and no-one else looks at it? Or a radiographer tells you a mammogram looks fine but a consultant reviews it later and finds something suspicious, or not? Hmmm, not a system I'd like to be part of.
I respect that everyone has a job to do and the qualifications and training they have undergone to do that job but I prefer important medical tests to be analysed and reported by people who are suitably qualified to do so. However, I accept that I am probably fussier than some patients.
That said, as has been commented already on this thread it's personal choice whether to undergo screening. I think it's also personal choice what level of service one accepts from healthcare providers.
Getting back to the point of this thread and the original subject... I suppose what it boils down to is... if the prospect of worrying about a mammogram result is perceived as worse than the prospect of late-diagnosis of breast cancer or other disease then it's a no-brainer, don't go for a mammogram.
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A radiographer is the person who takes the X rays, and other forms of screening CLKD.
I don't mean to be critical of them- they are trained professionals - but I've never even considered them looking at mammograms!
I don't really understand what you are saying -you seem to contradict what you have said because you say they have to ask the consultant...
A radiologist is a dr who has then gone on to specialise in interpreting X-rays and ultrasound, and who sometimes carries them out.
When I've had my mammograms privately they tell me that the consultant will look at them and the results will be sent to the dr ( my gynae) who referred me. I wouldn't be paying what I do if I thought the person who took the X rays was the person analysing them!
Out of interest ( and I'm very sorry to learn you have had BC) why does the NHS not offer you regular screening so that you need to have them done privately?
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The person that did my private mammo and ultrasound was a Consultant Radiographer whose job was was to interpret and report on the results, so yes, she did know what she was talking about ;)
Libby
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Hi libby
Thats similar to my experience. It was dr's who done tests but still the consultant who went thru results with me
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What's is a consultant ?
For us, we have the test done by a technician, then wait to hear from our Dr.
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Is there a typo Patient in your last post as it's not clear...:)
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I think that Patient would like a definition of the term Consultant.
Taz x
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There is the funny version
Definition of an Consultant
Someone who is called in at the last moment and paid enormous amounts of money to assign the blame
and here's what Wikipedia says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultant_(medicine)
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We do not have consultants here.
Sounds similar to a a physician's assistant though.
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Where do you live Patientone?
Where I live consultants are the top of the tree.
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Ohio, USA
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Ah - That explains it.
Things seem to work differently in the UK and USA.
What are the very senior, learned doctors called there.
We have GPs which we see regularly. When problems occur we are referred to hospitals, where if we are lucky we see the consultant. If we want to guarantee seeing a consultant usually we need to see somebody privately.
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It's takes an individual many many years to become a doctor. They study for many more years to become a more senior doctor. They must be proud of their title. They then study some more to become a consultant and what are they called
MR
Figure that one out ;D
Honeyb
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We don't have "Sr Drs", the new Drs are residents until they become full fledged Drs.
We have many specialists in all fields.
When my bleeding problem became a concern, I called my GYN and made an appointment. On that initial visit, November 26th, she did the endo biopsy, psp test and bloodwork. She gave me a requisition to get an ultrasound. Nov 27th was Thanksgiving so offices closed. I had my ultrasound Friday, Nov 28th. All results the following Wednesday.
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When problems occur we are referred to hospitals, where if we are lucky we see the consultant. If we want to guarantee seeing a consultant usually we need to see somebody privately.
I beg to differ... I have (unfortunately) had quite a lot of hospital appointments (mostly NHS, some private) throughout my life, and these have been more frequent over the past 4 years. At NHS appointments I have sometimes preferred to see a consultant, especially if I have questions/requests which I know would have to be referred upwards to a consultant anyway. In my experience it is always possible to see a consultant when attending an NHS hospital - one only has to ask. It may mean waiting a few more minutes on the day of the appointment (in fact, sometimes I've been seen earlier) but I have NEVER been refused access to a consultant, on the, not infrequent, occasions when I have asked. This has been in various specialties and at various NHS hospitals.
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Tiger - I'me very happy for you.
This has not been the case for me or OH.
I attend a MS clinic regularly, there is a consultant, do I see him, do I --------
Oh yes I could ask, but he has a lot of other people to see. This would involve waiting 2 or 3 hours, not minutes.
OH has been having significant eye problems recently, we've been very pleased to see anybody at all but the consultant is not in evidence at all.
You obviously live in an area better endowed with medical facilities than I do.
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Not many consultant appointments where we are either. Hubby is lucky to see a nurse for his diabetes never mind a doctor.
There are a lot of nurse led clinics these days.....give a guess as to why....now let me think.....Oh yes they are cheaper :P
Honeyb
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The GP is the Gate keeper, who decides which Consultant he will refer you to, once the appointment comes through (with luck about three weeks) you will get to see said Consultant, if not it will be his Registrar.
The wait can be up to two hours depending on how many appointments he has and if he is on time.
The follow up appointments almost are always seen by his Registrar.
That's how its suppose to work, unless you go private and see the same NHS Consultant usually in more comfortable surroundings and free coffee and tea. You see the Consultant almost at the time that is stated on your appointment letter, and have an hour of his time and he charges you about £165.
You usually have to see your GP to let them know who you are seeing, and they write a letter of introduction to the Consultant stating what the problem is. He/she is obliged to write to your GP stating his diagnosis and treatment.
That's how its all suppose to work.