Hello, health-conscious friends,

As a doctor (GP) I often get panicked emails or text messages from friends and family (and it is invariably at night, :) asking, 'what does this mean on my blood results sheet?'

And this is quite apart from my own patients who ask for their results to be sent to them, (instead of the results discussion appointment I invariably offer) and then panic-call my receptionist when something does not look right (aka marked 'red' on the lab results sheet).

So I thought I'd go through some common lab results with you this week. I hope you find this helpful.

🩸 CBC (Complete Blood Count)

Or, if you are British like me, 'Full blood count (FBC).'

Your CBC/FBC is basically a snapshot of how your blood “factory” is doing.

1. Hemoglobin / Hematocrit (Hgb/Hct)

These are the red blood cells.

Low? Think anemia – often due to iron deficiency, heavy periods, diet, chronic illness.
​High? Dehydration, smoking, or living at high altitudes.

2. White Blood Cells (WBC)

Your immune system’s activity meter, the white blood cells. The body's police force on guard against germs and bugs of all manner.
​High WBC: Infection, inflammation, stress, leukaemias.
​Low WBC: Viral infections, certain meds, autoimmune issues.

3. Platelets

Help with clotting.These are the natural blood coagulators.
​High: Inflammation, iron deficiency, certain blood cancers.
​Low: Increased bleeding risk, viral infections, autoimmune conditions.

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🧪 Biochemical Panel, U&Es, Urea and electrolytes

Think of this as the “how are your organs doing?” panel.

Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium, Chloride

Control fluids, nerves, and heart rhythm.

• Abnormal? Often from dehydration, meds (like diuretics), kidney issues.

Kidney Markers: BUN & Creatinine

High levels can mean dehydration or kidney strain.
​Low levels are usually not worrisome.

Liver Enzymes: AST & ALT

Your liver’s “check engine lights.”

• Mild elevations: Alcohol, medications (Tylenol, statins), fatty liver.
• High elevations: Liver inflammation or injury → needs medical evaluation.

Glucose

Blood sugar.

• High: Diabetes or prediabetes, stress.
• Low: Hypoglycemia (diet, meds like insulin, gliclazide).

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🦋 Thyroid Panel Basics

Your thyroid controls metabolism, energy, hair, skin, mood—so these numbers matter.

TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone)

The most important first test.

• High TSH → Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
• Low TSH → Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)

Free T4 (and sometimes Free T3)

Tell you how much actual thyroid hormone is circulating.

• Low Free T4: Confirms hypothyroidism.
• High Free T4: Points toward hyperthyroidism.

Thyroid Antibodies (TPO, TG, TRAb)

Help diagnose autoimmune thyroid disease (like Hashimoto’s or Graves’ disease, Morbus/Maladie Basedow if you are in Europe).

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✔️ Doctor’s Quick Takeaway

Most blood test “abnormal” results don’t mean disaster—they’re clues.
​Patterns matter more than single numbers, and symptoms matter most of all. Sometimes, even when a test result is marked red, it's just because it is outside of the LAB's normal range, not necessarily out of YOUR BODY's normal range. Everything is taken in context of your demographics (are you a big tall muscular man as opposed to a little old lady?) your symptoms and your general health. The best solution is to discuss blood results with your doctor and not try to interpret them out of context on some automated lab results checker...mostly. On rare occasions, these lab checkers are 100% right. But more often tahn not, they induce unnecessary panic.

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Stay healthy,

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👩‍⚕️ Dr. Joanna​
​AskADoc4Advice — where medicine meets curiosity (and a little bit of weird).

Youtube Askadoc

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