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If you got this voicemail from the doctor's office, after doing blood work, what would you think?

Asked by jca (36062points) November 25th, 2015

I had blood work last Thursday (four business days ago).

I have a doctor’s appointment next Wednesday to get the results.

Last night (Tuesday night, two days before Thanksgiving), I came home and heard a voicemail on my home phone. This is what it said, “This is Dr. ___’s office. The doctor wanted me to call you regarding your blood work results. Nothing urgent.”

Knowing what few things he tested for (TSH, glucose level and vitamin levels), and knowing what my health problems are (I’m pretty healthy with no major diseases), I assumed either I have diabetes or cancer.

Why else would they call me to discuss the results, when I’m coming to see the doctor in only 4 business days? Obviously, it was urgent if it couldn’t wait for me to see the doctor, 4 days away.

Long story short, when I called this morning, I was told by the receptionist that I have to speak to a nurse. When the nurse got on the phone, she told me that my Vitamin C level is low and the doctor wants me to increase my dose. I started crying and told her how I thought that I had diabetes or cancer. She told me when the patient has an appointment to see the doctor, it doesn’t come up when they look at the blood work, so the person who left the voicemail didn’t know I was coming in a few days. She said they can’t leave details on the voicemail because of privacy laws.

Someone at work said they could have said “It’s nothing major. We just wanted to discuss one of your levels with you” which would perhaps be a bit more reassuring.

If you got a call under the circumstances I just described, what would you think?

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