Question for Doctor Moms - Update

[WellPreserved]

My daughter (26) has been experiencing pain in her knee for a couple of months which she chalked up to working on her feet and repetitive motion. She had an appointment in April with her primary and figured she could wait until then to have it checked.

Two weeks ago, she started experiencing pain in her ankles, wrists, elbows, and hips. She went to her primary and was told it's probably "long Covid". They took a lot of blood for testing. Over the weekend her ankles swelled considerably and the pain became worse. Yesterday she woke up to bruising on her ankles. She called her primary again and was told that they are still waiting on the test results and she should take pain relievers. This morning she can't get out of bed and her ankles and shins are painful to the touch. I called her primary and was told the test results "should" be in by Friday.

I am SUPER concerned as this is progressing. Should I take her to ER or Urgent Care or will she just have more blood drawn and have to wait for results. Would test results come in sooner if she were at the hospital? I have never been to the hospital (other than giving birth at a birthing center) and neither has my daughter so unsure if this is hospital worthy? I need to know where to direct my mama bear energy!

DD went to the ER and was seen right away! I guess it's a slow Tuesday which is a good thing. She was poked and prodded and underwent a whole battery of blood work and x-rays but bottom line, don't know what's going on. Ruled out all the really scary stuff except for Lupus <sigh>. However her complete blood count and sedimentation rate were normal. She was referred to a rheumatologist and given steroids to bring the swelling and inflammation down. Back at her home by this evening.

Thank you everyone for the well wishes!

[Murdoc's Mistress]

I'm not a doctor, but I would def take her to urgent care or the ER. Sounds like doctors aren't taking this seriously enough.

[sarah824]

My son and I have both been to the ER in the last couple of weeks and they were able to take blood and get nearly immediate test results. I would think if blood testing was needed that the hospital could do it faster. Although our family practice dr gets results within a couple of days so waiting 2 weeks seems crazy to me....

I would go to the ER if it were me or my kids

[AZOldGal66]

I would take her to the ER today.

A UC is limited on what they can do as far as tests. Lab results are still sent out as they are in a doctor's office.

An ER can start to get to what is going on with her, including any hospitalization necessary.

[Slimshandy]

I don’t think it’s helpful for me to say what it sounds like to me because it might just be low iron… but she really needs to go in and get a blood test that checks her leukocyte levels.

Go to the er because if the bloodwork has to be sent to a secondary lab that’s going to add days to getting the results.

[SallyMae]

Here's hoping it's nothing serious. Good luck!

[Olioxenfree]

Urgent Care. The ER would take forever and cost a whole lot more of a copay, urgent cares can provide basic tests to rule out more serious issues, such as blood cell count and infection. I’d call and find one that has a lab on site that can provide same day results. If her basic labs look good I would then wait for the doctor, unfortunately there’s not much else they can do without a full blood panel and further diagnostics.

[Baconqueen13]

She had blood taken 2 weeks ago and STILL doesn't have results? Okay so first and foremost she needs to find a new F***ing doctor at a different facility because that is ridiculous and uncalled for. Her condition is worsening so I would say definitely go into urgent care. If she is suddenly unable to walk due to pain, ER.

[PoplarGrove]

I'm not a doctor but I'm fairly certain that sudden swelling, bruising and pain of the legs and ankles can mean heart failure and other circulatory issues, including clots. If it's both sides that can mean the heart's having issues, especially if it came on fast. If it were my child we'd be in the ER.

[MrsDavidB]

That is so ridiculous her results aren't back yet. Since her condition is worsening definitely take her to the ER at this point. I hope all is well.