Hep C Discussion Forum

I have come to find out that if it wasnt for my knowledge of my treatment schedule and what labs are needed when and what scripts my Dr had sent to the lab I would have been getting the WRONG labs drawn at the WRONG times... here is what I mean:

My two week labs and four week labs were sent to the lab office.... many of them were the same labs (CBC, LFT, Thyroid). The lab staff did NOT look at the SERVICE date and threw the double labs away cause they ASSUMED they were just an extra copy. They also were going to draw my VL at 2 weeks, again NOT looking at the service date! So thank God I got that all straight before it was all screwed up!

Then... Yesterday I went in to get my 4 week labs drawn. Everything seemed to be going well and as always I verified with the lab tech the labs that I KNEW were suppose to be drawn.. CBC, LFT, Thyroid PANEL and VL. She had order the THyroid level but not the free T3 or T4 AND she was going to order a QUALITATIVE VL and not a QUANTITATIVE!! This is very important to know:

QUALITATIVE= positive or negative

QUANTITATIVE= The amount, the Quantity

Please know and understand the labs that you are ordered....cause they are very important to you and your treatment, but you are just another person to the lab techs and this has NO impact on their lives. Knowledge is power and if you are not proactive about this, it could set your treatment back!