READING YOUR BLOOD TEST RESULTS....................
You can help your doctor or health professional immensely
by learning to understand your own blood test results. You
might also wish to remain discreetly silent about it in order not
to offend him/her. There is an element of mystique created
around test results in order to keep them off-limits to patients
and hold them hostage. I believe this practice is archaic. Not
only can you learn to interpret blood test results, you can learn
not to panic or take up doctors’ time needlessly. Sharpen this
new talent on all the blood test results given for the case histo-
ries, and then apply it to yourself. Remember, though, not to
add your state of psychological distress over reading your own
blood test to your doctor’s burden. Find solace in the fact that
you are going to learn to solve most problems yourself, right
now!
Your blood test results are easy to understand, although the
form looks complicated. In one column, your results are given.
In another column the expected “normal” results are given. The
normal results will be given as a range because healthy people
can be expected to vary to some extent. Your first step is to fit
your result into the normal range given on your printout to see
whether it is above, below, or in the middle of it.
The Perfect Blood Test
Photocopy the next page and use it as a bookmark and refer-
ence while reading this chapter and the case histories (True Sto-
ries) that follow.