Blood Drug Testing

How much do blood tests tell you?

Well the title pretty much says it all. If you were to go for blood tests for pretty much everything (i gave 4 different samples), would it tell you if you were ill or can these tests miss things...like cancer or STD's or any other random illness..? :) I got my tests done at the GP who then sent them to a lab, he tested for anemia, thyroid problems, liver function and something else..glucose maybe. I was just wondering wether if i had anything else wrong with me it might show up?

Public Comments

1. depends on the blood test what u have to remeber is that when you take a blood test you are simplay asking a question if you ask the wrong question you learn nothing
2. It depends what kind of tests they give you. Some of the tests your regular physician gives you are not indepth, you could actually have something wrong with you and not know until you go to a specialist and they give you a different line of tests that they specifically know how to read.
3. It depends what your doctor has instructed the labatory to test for. Most standard blood tests will include red and white blood cell counts, perhaps liver function and kidney function tests. Thyriod function. Blood sugar levels. A blood test won't test for STD (apart from syphilis or cancer however, a high white blood cell count could indicate your body was fighting an infection. Any abormalites would usually be followed up with more specific tests.
4. Blood tests are usually for specific illnesses, bacteria, infections or diseases. Yes, it's possible for something not being tested for not to show up.
5. it tells you what the doctor has ticked on his form. the list is quote long. dont think cancer but not sure
6. I just had to have a bunch of blood work done (because I'm pregnant). The tests that I took determine not only my blood type, but also things such as STDs, blood diseases, whether or not my baby has a risk of having Downs Syndrome and many other things as well. It can also determine if I have any sort of Diabetes, low iron, etc. Depending on which types of tests your doctor ordered, that is what the results of the test will tell you. Good luck!!
7. If you had specific symptoms, your blood tests were ordered to help you dr. make a diagnosis. If you had a general physical, the blood tests were ordered to evaluate the functioning of your organ systems: thyroid, kidney, pancreas, liver, etc. They usually do not test for cancer or STD's routinely. Remember the blood test results along with clinical signs and symptoms help the dr. in making diagnosis or evaluation.
8. It really depends on why you visited the doctor and what sort of tests they ordered. If you presented with very general symptoms (such as being tired or down) the GP would generally do some routine tests. Normally these tests look at some of the mineral levels in your blood, some hormone levels, blood sugar levels and blood count. Because these tests are so general, the idea is that if something was wrong some of these levels would be abnormal. This would give the GP an idea of where to look to find the source of any problem. As I said, these tests are general and any specific disease tests (such as for a sexually transmitted disease) should be discussed first. To answer your question, these general tests can not rule out disease or infection but generally can give indications of disease. The most important information for you and your doctor is not your blood results, but how you are feeling. Many serious illnesses such as mental illness or depression will show very few abnormal blood results but can be more debilitating than a physical problem. So the most important thing is to not get hung up on tests and investigations but to talk openly about your lifestyle and problems so that you doctor can quickly get to the root of any illness and help you treat the problem. hope you feel better soon.
9. the lab only looks 4 what the doctor asks 4. but if any of the levels appear raised the lab will notify the doctor, so stop worrying,, even a minor cold can alter your blood count, they are all routine tests your liver bone thyroid and sugar tests all come from the one bottle. the blood count will come from another bottle [anaemia test] one is a gold top bottle the other is purple, without knowing the colours of the tops of the other bottles no one can say what else the doctor was looking 4