Your test results may come back as normal – but there is a reason that this could happen – despite your symptoms.
An NHS GP has stressed that even if your test results appear ‘normal’, there may be a reason for it, and it doesn’t mean your symptoms are imaginary.
On TikTok, Dr Karan Raj, known as @dr.karanr, highlighted that numerous patients are informed their test results, like blood, are normal. This leads to assertions that nothing is wrong with them, even though they continue to experience symptoms.
The expert explains: “There is a saying in medicine, treat the patient, not the results. Blood test, scans and other investigations are just pieces of the puzzle. They are not always definitive on their own.”
Dr Raj admits: “Medicine often has a hard time saying I don’t know and instead puts the lack of explanations as proof of no disease, or worse, a mental disorder. A lack of answers could also be down to a doctor’s lack of knowledge or maybe that we are looking in the wrong place.”
Giving an example of common conditions, he adds: “A number of chronic gynaecological conditions have bowel symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and more. No surprises then that when doctors do bowel-specific tests, everything comes back normal.”
The doctor elaborated that certain tests have inherent limitations and that there are “numerous conditions which medical testing may not easily identify,” including migraines, endometriosis, IBS, fibromyalgia, among others.
He concludes: “Every test can have false negatives either because the test is not sensitive enough to pick up that condition or due to human error. Normal just means you likely don’t have the specific things those tests were looking for but it doesn’t mean your symptoms aren’t real. It means maybe we need to work harder to find the right test, treatment, or even the right doctor to advocate for you and your symptoms.
“There is nothing wrong with getting multiple opinions. When a patient presents with a condition that can’t be explained, the problem is with the medicine, not theirs.”
