Blood Tests Consistently Negative despite problems.

hacked

I have a problem with getting blood tests and was wondering if there was anyone else on the boards who has had a similar issue.

I am having long term health problems and I have asked my doctor to test me for numerous stuff over the years, but my bloodwork always comes back normal...even if there is a problem.

The most extreme case of this I've had in my life was during pregnancy and the first year after the birth of my daughter.

I had undiagnosed gallstones and gallbladder disease that went undiagnosed for 2 years and spread to my pancreas causing pancreatitis. I was in and out of hospital non stop, sometimes up to 4 times a week. Blood work was always taken and everything always came back normal until one day (the previous day bloodwork had been normal) BAM it was critical and I could die.

I don't know what to do. I know there is a problem and it would make sense since I was so critically ill with no medical intervention for a prolonged period but it's so discouraging and humiliating going back to the doctor and saying there is definitely something wrong. I am most definitely not a hypochondriac but I can't ignore the problems I'm having anymore out of discouragement.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? It would e nice to know I'm not alone / crazy.

Wesser

What was the blood test that was negative and then turned positive?
Was it amylase?
It tends to do that......only jump up suddenly....

What symptoms are you having at the moment? Not all medical problems are diagnosed with blood tests....people think that the bloods reveal everthing but they don't.....

Why don't you tell us what your symptoms Are?

hacked

Wesser wrote: »

What was the blood test that was negative and then turned positive?
Was it amylase?
It tends to do that......only jump up suddenly....

What symptoms are you having at the moment? Not all medical problems are diagnosed with blood tests....people think that the bloods reveal everthing but they don't.....

Why don't you tell us what your symptoms Are?

Sorry I wanted to stay vague because I wasn't sure how much medical talk was actually allowed on the forum.

I am not really sure what bloods were done. I spent a year in this particular A&E and they were pretty terrible. I'm working on getting my file from the hospital (which has since closed) to work it out. I just know for a year they said I was fine and then one day I was told to go home and as I was walking out of the hospital a surgeon sprinted up and grabbed me and asked me if I was XXXX because my bloodwork had come back critical and they thought I had gallbladder disease and needed surgery and immidiate admission.

I've been incredibly prone to dental decay and now for the first time in my life have gum disease and it won't go away. I have good oral hygiene but nothing I do makes anything better.

I am always exhausted. I have very little energy.

I look pale and washed out and often have bags or dark circles under my eyes. I am prone to acne despite my age.

I am consistantly dehydrated. I know I drink a lot of caffeine to keep going, but even when I'm drinking plenty of water, I can't get enough. Always somewhat dehydrated and have a lot of problems with bloating and water retension.

I am constipated 99% of the time. No matter what. I need to sometimes ask for prescription laxatives. When I'm not constipated my stool is kinda greasy. I don't think I've been absorbing fats since my surgery as I often find fat goes right through me and I can see it as fat in my stool. (Sorry, kinda gross)

Those are the main ones off the top of my head.

njs030

My daughter was sick for years until during one stay her consultant recognised symptoms of an illness he'd recently learned about, because it's so rare there is no blood test for it.
She's since been diagnosed with another rare illness and another less rare one.

If you know something is wrong don't give up, what are you symptoms? Maybe someone can help?

hacked

I should add that some of these symptoms predate my illness from 8 years ago, but everything has got worse since then.

hacked

Oh also, I still get pain in my abdomen when eating. I had to stop eating high fat foods like coconut milk because I get pain when I eat them.

I also frequently get the feeling of fullness after eating a very small amount.

njs030

Do you have a decent gp? Perhaps they need to look at thyroid testing, ibs or something along those lines.

Wesser

Maybe some kind of problem with bile production which has gotten worse after your gallstones surgery.

Can't detect bile problems with bloods

Have you seen a gastroenteroligist?

I think it is unlikely that the op has had these symptoms for 8 years and nobody has checked her thyroid. !

njs030

Wesser wrote: »

Maybe some kind of problem with bile production which has gotten worse after your gallstones surgery.

Can't detect bile problems with bloods

Have you seen a gastroenteroligist?

I think it is unlikely that the op has had these symptoms for 8 years and nobody has checked her thyroid. !

They probably have. My doctor had that attitude too and said sure we only checked it 3 months ago and you were fine, I insisted and it had jumped to 12.9!
Sometimes you have to push a little.

hacked

Thanks so much guys, you're making me feel so much better and giving me the confidence to see this through. I've been getting so depressed. It's really crushing.

My doctor was recently testing for pancreatic functioning as it sounds like I am not absorbing nutrients properly. The tests came back negative, but she told me she might try me on Creon even if tests were ok.

There are other symptoms that don't match up like chronic constipation for decades so I still want some work ups and tests done. I'm getting kind of scared that one of these days I'll just find out I have cancer from problems being untreated for so long. Paranoia, I know.

I am not sure if my current doctor has checked me for thyroid problems. I have had symptoms of thyroid stuff for YEARS (I am very petite and skinny and can't seem to put weight on easily, I lose weight very easily etc) and I think I was tested a while back but again, they said bloods were negative and that was that.

In the last 8 years I've requested coeliac testing and diabetes testing, just trying to rule stuff out but tests are always negative.

My current GP is really lovely and very compassionate so I think I'll sit down with her week and just tell her everything thats going on. I'll also mention it to the dentist tomorrow to see if she can give me any things regarding dental issues that she thinks my doctor should check for.

hacked

Thanks for the encouragement in going to the doctor. The bloodwork came back normal, but my doctor said looking at my file she expected that. I am being sent to a gastroenterologist who looks for the weird and wonderful as my doctor put it. She's also trying me on a two supply of Creon.