Posts by restlessangler

I’m wondering how long it’s considered "polite" to wait for a call from a private clinic.
Basically, almost six months ago, I scheduled an MRI at Mayo Clinic.
Then, just a day before my appointment, they called to tell me not to come in because their machine was down—they said someone from a private clinic would reach out within a week to reschedule.
Well, a week passed, so I sent them an email asking when I could expect that call... since a week had already gone by. They replied saying they’d referred me over to a private facility downtown and that someone would be in touch. When? Honestly, I have no clue... It’s going to be incredibly awkward starting next week, because several people in my department are heading out on vacation, which means I won't be able to swap shifts. I don't even want to think about what happens if I tell them I can't make a certain day—I don't want them thinking I'm just pushing it off for another month or more.

Would it be too pushy if I emailed the private clinic directly to ask when they plan on calling me? I'm honestly losing my mind waiting... :-/

Kate Williams68 said:They reached out from Karlovac—well, they told me to contact the Vura clinic there—but I haven't heard a peep from anyone in Soka since over a week ago... Honestly, it’s all starting to make my head spin 155 miles coming from the area near Chicago

Man, I swear, I have no clue about the hospital in St. Louis...

Just head over to this site and see where you might be able to ask...

Kate Williams68 said:Where can I get an MRI or MRA done using a standard insurance referral...

Wherever works best for you...

Robin Carter9 said:I went to my doctor to get a referral, and I applied for an appointment at the hospital—but my referral actually expired on June 25th. I mentioned this in my request, asking if there was any way to be seen sooner because of the expiration date... but then I just got an email saying I'm scheduled for July 9th. Does that mean I can still use the original referral, or am I going to need to go back and get a new one?

As long as you submitted your request within a month of getting that referral from your doctor, it should still be valid...

Charles James9 said:The doctor told me today to head over to the clinic for some blood work. It wasn't until I actually got there that I realized she hadn't handed me a physical referral—so I'm guessing that means she just sent an electronic one through the system?

Sorry if that sounds like a silly question... it's just been ages since I've had any medical checkups, so I'm a bit out of the loop regarding how things work these days 😁 😕

Second thing—is the blood draw for the Westside Community Clinic still located over on Baron Filipović Avenue? I was there once a few years back for the exact same thing.

Do I need to make an appointment, or can I just show up in the morning around 7?

Thanks!

If it's an electronic referral, you're all set. It'll be right there in their system.
Just swing by in the morning starting at 7 and show them your insurance card.
They still do blood draws at the Baron location. If that's where you went last time, then yeah, go there. 😉

SCLE (Lupus) diagnosis
Just doing my regular check-up.
I was wondering about this creatinine level in the urine and the creatinine clearance...
Thanks for the help

http://s10.postimg.org/4mmnbkdrd/image.jpg

I was hoping I could get some help from the doctors hanging out on this forum.

I’m looking for some guidance on who I should reach out to—maybe via email—regarding Vitamin D supplementation.
Every doctor I've consulted so far—whether it was my primary care physician, an immunologist, or even a dermatologist—hasn't really been able to give me much insight into the specifics...
I’m honestly feeling a bit lost on who might actually have a deep understanding of Vitamin D in relation to autoimmune diseases—someone who can dive into the more complex questions I have...

Thanks in advance

silverpuma18 said:My doctor sent me over to get some bloodwork done in downtown Chicago. I totally forgot to ask for the exact location—does anyone know if it’s that clinic over near St. Mary's Park... maybe around 3rd Street?

Yeah, it's the station heading toward the depot—if it's actually a station—right by the police precinct...

Maria Fisher46 said:That’s a pretty low reading... Generally speaking, anything under 15 nmol/L is where we see the most significant deficiency, but honestly, even at 22 nmol/L, you're looking at a substantial drop—anything below 25 is officially considered deficient...

Regarding those calcium and phosphorus levels—honestly, I think it might be worth running the tests again... If you were dealing with chronic kidney disease, I’m pretty sure you’d already be aware of it by now—especially since other kidney function markers would likely show deviations too, rather than just seeing an isolated spike in phosphate. If the numbers still come back wonky after a retest, then we should probably look into checking your 24-hour urine collection results...

Thanks so much, Felix...
I started taking Vitamin D about two weeks ago...

Regarding the phosphorus—honestly, I feel physically fine, especially when it comes to my kidney function. I'm not experiencing any symptoms at all... Plus, my 24-hour urine test from late December showed everything was perfectly normal back then...
I had my creatinine and urea checked about a week before I ran these specific tests. Those results were actually fine—honestly, my blood work has never looked better than it did back then...

I'd probably go ahead and get my blood drawn again just to re-check those three specific markers—but since there's nothing to worry about right now, I think I’ll just wait until I've finished my current course of Vitamin D... Do you happen to know when would be the best time to check if this dosage is actually working for me—or if my levels are starting to creep up...? Taking six drops a day—which I know is a bit much since the recommendation is only four—might be a bit overkill... I really don't want to jump the gun by getting new labs done too soon, just to end up unnecessarily stressing myself out because my Vitamin D is still running low...

Jessica Chavez4 said:Hi everyone, could someone please help me make sense of these results? Everything looks pretty low to me—is this level of low actually dangerous, or should I not be too worried?

Iron 2 L
TIBC 99 H
UIBC 97 H

ERC 4.39
Hemoglobin 76 L
Hematocrit 0.258 L
MCV 58.7 L
MCH 17.3 L
MCHC 295 L
RDW 18.1 H
Platelets 518 H
WBC 10.1 H

I’ll jump in right away before someone else who knows how to read labs takes over.
You really need to list all your results—it doesn't matter if they're high, low, or perfectly normal—and include the reference range next to each one. Every lab facility or hospital uses slightly different standard ranges... without those numbers, nobody is going to be able to give you any real insight...

Has anyone ever heard of getting a MED (minimal erythema dose) test done? I'm wondering where someone could actually go to get one...

bluebadger14 said:If you're looking for Creatinine and BUN (blood urea nitrogen) on your lab results—and wondering what their abbreviations might be—you'll usually see them listed simply as Creatinine and BUN... though sometimes they can be tucked under a broader heading like "Renal Function Panel" or "Kidney Function Test." To find them, just scan your report for those specific terms—they should be right there near your other metabolic markers... once you spot them, you'll have your answers. ☕

As far as I know, there isn't really an abbreviation for creatinine—it’s just written out exactly like that on my lab results (at least, that’s how it shows up on all of mine). As for the other one, I'm honestly not too sure...

gentletiger73 said:Does anyone know if I actually need an appointment for the lab over at Mount Sinai? I need to get some blood work done—specifically ANA and thrombophilia factors. I've been calling for a few days now, sent an email with my scanned referral, and... nothing. Just radio silence. 😁

Thanks 🙏

They scheduled me for immunology tests once, but since I needed a specific time slot, they booked me out a month ahead... Honestly, try resending that email, and if you still don't hear back, just call the main hospital line at Mount Sinai. For a test where you'd be waiting four months at Mount Sinai, I managed to walk into Mount Sinai without an appointment at all...

fadeddriver19 said:They’re only running
TSH, anti-TPO, cortisol, and insulin.
Plus, I have to wait until mid-June—so about three months before I can actually get the bloodwork done.

Really? It seems a bit odd to me that they put all those tests on a single referral...

Give the hospital in Chicago a call and ask them.
They usually handle these hormone tests over in endocrinology—though it looks like they send the actual samples down to the lab (if I’m remembering right)... You might be able to get everything done under one roof, though... Just give the lab at the University of Chicago a ring and see what they say about it..

restlessangler said:I know there's no need to panic, but I figured I'd ask...
I just got my Calcium and Phosphate results back.
Calcium is 2.48 (ref range 2.14-2.53)
Phosphate is 1.50 (ref range 0.79 to 1.42)

I have an SLE diagnosis and an unspecified collagen disease.
About nine months ago, I had an echocardiogram, kidney ultrasound, lung scans, and an EKG...
Everything came back fine then.

So, my question is—what do these slightly elevated numbers actually mean, and should I be worried given my diagnosis?
Thanks

One more thing. My Vitamin D came back too.
- 22 - ref range (>75)

Is that considered really low? I'll probably need a supplement, but at what point does the level become truly alarming?

rapidpanther8 said:Your calcium levels are actually within the normal range... whatever looks slightly elevated isn't really a big deal—you don't need to worry about it...
And regarding the phosphate, I looked some things up online, so don't freak out the second you read the results... it's a very minor elevation and likely won't mean anything. If you're feeling anxious, though, definitely follow up with your doctor...

Phosphorus is a vital element involved in building bone density...
An adult's body holds phosphorus in the form of phosphates, which are distributed both inside and outside the cells. Inside the cells, phosphates are part of phospholipids and phosphoproteins (organic phosphates). About 85% of extracellular phosphate exists in inorganic form as hydroxyapatite. The hormonal regulators for inorganic phosphorus concentrations include PTH, calcitonin, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.
Measuring inorganic phosphorus concentration in the blood is an important indicator of bone formation and breakdown...

Reference ranges:
Men and women: 0.79 – 1.42 mmol/L

Elevated levels:
High levels of inorganic phosphorus in the blood can be caused by increased intake or decreased excretion—things like acute or chronic kidney failure, low PTH or PTH resistance, Vitamin D toxicity, phosphate redistribution during tumor tissue breakdown or heatstroke, hypoparathyroidism, acromegaly, respiratory acidosis, or lactic acidosis.

Well, I've seen that stuff online too 😬 but since I'm more Old School, I know it doesn't necessarily have to be anything. Doctors know which specific elevations or drops are actually worth panicking over.
The only thing crossing my mind is maybe something involving my kidneys, since this condition could potentially turn systemic and affect the kidneys among other things—though, like I mentioned before, I had a kidney ultrasound about six months ago and everything looked fine...
I have checkups coming up soon anyway, so my doctors will take a look at it, but yeah... just thought I'd share...😬

I know there’s no need to panic, but I figured I'd ask...
I just got my Calcium and Phosphate lab results back.
Calcium is at 2.48 (normal range 2.14-2.53)
Phosphate is 1.50 (normal range 0.79 to 1.42)

I have an SLE diagnosis and an unspecified collagen disease.
About nine months ago, I had an echocardiogram, plus scans for my kidneys and lungs, along with an EKG...
Everything came back looking fine then.

So, that's the situation—does this slight elevation in phosphate mean anything specific, and should I be worried given my diagnosis?
Thanks

Right now, the one thing that comes to mind is a specific department—specifically the intake desk

DERMATOLOGY - MRS. SHALAT

The woman working the front desk is just incredibly unpleasant. Even after going there regularly for over a year, I still feel this wave of dread whenever I have to check in at reception. Honestly, it’s even awkward for me when people meeting her for the first time get a taste of her attitude. It doesn't matter if you know exactly what you're doing or if you're a bit lost—she just makes you feel unwelcome regardless
For instance, I showed up for a check-up one day at 8:20 AM. I walked up to the counter, said, "Good morning, I have an appointment for a check-up," and handed over my paperwork.
Instead of a simple acknowledgment, she basically lectured me, pointing out that it wasn't "good day," it was "morning," and apparently, I should know better than to say "good day" before 9:00 AM. She even started lecturing me on etiquette... Basically, even though I did nothing wrong, I ended up getting a lesson on how to properly greet people..
I mentioned that I wanted to file a formal complaint, but I have much more pressing things on my plate right now, so I'll just let it sit for a while..

From what I can see, there isn't much available in Chicago right now—though other cities definitely have openings. I'm just not sure how far you're willing to travel... If you head out to Maui, the waiting list is probably the shortest one you'll find, but man, that's quite a trip...