New doctor doesn't think I'm Hypothyroid

tabbyblack13

Since my old doctor closed up shop and my move to another state; I've had to find a new doctor within my new insurance. I found one that was part of an endocrinology clinic. When I went down there this doctor took a look both of my blood tests. He believes that the first doctor misdiagnosed me with Hypothyroid and was giving me the wrong medication.

Now I need to wait for 6 weeks to get a new blood test to check my levels. He wants to check for adrenal fatigue now. I've looked it up and the symptoms are so similar that a lot of websites say that doctors are just assuming that people are Hypothyroid. There are a few websites that if your thyroid numbers look good but you still feel bad then your adrenal glands need to be checked.

Has anyone else had to deal with this as well?

Fuzzipeg

I hope your six week wait will not drag for you. Hypothyroid seems to be a catch all term used by many for thyroid issues and problems within our interrelated systems where all to often problems occur. I've read adrenal fatigue should be ruled out before thyroid medication is given. It is not always so. I hope you've found someone with a genuine interest in finding the right treatment for you. Hope they prove to be a gem. Several on here have adrenal fatigue. I'm sure you will hear from them later.

slieber

Not me personally, but a close friend did. Turns out it WAS adrenal fatigue. Extra supplements, slight diet changes and her energy returned along with her hair growing back.

tabbyblack13

I think the new doctor I have is quite passionate about this. He was PISSED when he was reading my tests and looking at my medication. I don't think I've seen a doctor act like that before. When I told him about my first doctor closing shop because she wasn't making a living with the insurance payments my new doctor acted like she just wanted the money and didn't care about helping people.

The next few weeks will go quickly. I just signed a contract for a house so I will be working on that.

CSARdiver

Actually shocked that a physician is thinking adrenal fatigue as this is a hotly debated issue in the medical community. I tend to agree with this point and think that many are actually not hypothyroid, but there's a competing hormone acting against T4/T3.

Awesome that you have a passionate doctor on this and best regards on getting to the root cause of this!

...and good luck on the house! New purchase?

lindsey1979

I've never had a doctor change my diagnosis, but docs are supposed to check your adrenals before administering thyroid meds because you can actually feel worse when starting thyroid meds if your adrenals are out of whack. It's not uncommon to have both things --- my doc says he believes it's because the adrenals are the body's attempt to compensate when your thyroid is underperforming and it goes untreated for a long time. Same with blood sugar issues. He often sees blood sugar issues (insulin resistance) and/or adrenal issues with his thyroid patients who have been untreated for a long time. It's so common in his experience that he often tests for all three at the same time if the patient shows any clinical symptoms of adrenal insufficiency or insulin resistance. And he always tests for adrenal issues before starting anyone on thyroid meds.

I personally had adrenal issues -- my DHEA was almost non-existant and my cortisol was beginning to drop out. I couldn't sleep all the way through the night to save my life. Like clockwork, I woke up around 4 am. Very common with a certain stage of adrenal fatigue because your body can't make enough cortisol anymore to regulate your blood sugar when you're sleeping, so it ends up making adrenaline to compensate and you wake up. It was awful only being able to sleep for 3-5 hours at a time.

Tabby -- what sort of hypothyroid do you have? Hashi's? Or something else? It's very possible that you have both issues.

editorgrrl

lindsey1979 wrote: »

My doc often sees blood sugar issues (insulin resistance) and/or adrenal issues with his thyroid patients who have been untreated for a long time.

Interesting! My Hashimoto's was undiagnosed for years, and I was just referred to a sleep study. They tested my insulin, but when I asked for adrenals to be added the PA said she "didn't know the codes."

tabbyblack13

Lindsey- It was regular Hypothyroid not Hashi's. I was tested for Hashi's because of family history but I was negative.

I still have a 6 week wait before I can do the blood tests needed to find out what is wrong. The new dr needs to make sure that the extra hormones are out of my system and everything has equalizes before I can do any tests. The first dr didn't have my adrenals tested as far as I can tell since the new dr couldn't find them on my tests that I gave him. The first dr was an internist and not an endocrinologist so she might have not know to check adrenals.

This new dr is apart of a large group of endocrinologists so they can always bounce ideas off of each other. I think that really works especially if you have a difficult cases.

lindsey1979

tabbyblack13 wrote: »

Lindsey- It was regular Hypothyroid not Hashi's. I was tested for Hashi's because of family history but I was negative.

I still have a 6 week wait before I can do the blood tests needed to find out what is wrong. The new dr needs to make sure that the extra hormones are out of my system and everything has equalizes before I can do any tests. The first dr didn't have my adrenals tested as far as I can tell since the new dr couldn't find them on my tests that I gave him. The first dr was an internist and not an endocrinologist so she might have not know to check adrenals.

This new dr is apart of a large group of endocrinologists so they can always bounce ideas off of each other. I think that really works especially if you have a difficult cases.

If your TPO and Tg antibodies came back negative, was any ultrasound done of your thyroid to detect inflammation. I've read that the vast majority of Hashi's patients have either TPO, Tg or both antibodies (something like 90% of Hashi's folks) but some folks will have Hashi's and not have either antibody (something like 10%). TPO and Tg are only the two most common antibodies, but there are others. So, many will take an ultrasound to see if inflammation is present -- because if it is, then you've got Hashi's. Given that you have a family history of Hashi's and Hashi's is inherited, there seems to be a strong likelihood that you too would have Hashi's just without the Tg or TPO antibodies.

lindsey1979

editorgrrl wrote: »

lindsey1979 wrote: »

My doc often sees blood sugar issues (insulin resistance) and/or adrenal issues with his thyroid patients who have been untreated for a long time.

Interesting! My Hashimoto's was undiagnosed for years, and I was just referred to a sleep study. They tested my insulin, but when I asked for adrenals to be added the PA said she "didn't know the codes."

For blood sugar stuff, it's my understanding that A1C is the best test to show insulin resistance as it covers a larger time frame -- preferred over both tests of fasting glucose and insulin. You might want to consider getting that done.

I think the two adrenal tests are for DHEA and cortisol. There may be others, but those are the two I remember.

tabbyblack13

I had my antibodies tested and there wasn't anything that showed that I had Hashi's. Hashi's doesn't run in my family but other autoimmune disease do and some of them are rather nasty. Many drs consider Hashi's, Fibromaylgia, Lupus, MS, and other autoimmune disease in the same family even if they don't damage the same systems. That is what talking about when I mentioned family history.

lindsey1979

tabbyblack13 wrote: »

I had my antibodies tested and there wasn't anything that showed that I had Hashi's. Hashi's doesn't run in my family but other autoimmune disease do and some of them are rather nasty. Many drs consider Hashi's, Fibromaylgia, Lupus, MS, and other autoimmune disease in the same family even if they don't damage the same systems. That is what talking about when I mentioned family history.

Have you ever had an ultrasound done (provided you have clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism)? It's possible that you fall into that 10% of Hashi's folks that don't have either antibody.

tabbyblack13

I've never had the ultrasound but I doubt I have Hashi's. I don't have any swelling or hoarse voice that would be suggest my thyroid is under attack.

Fuzzipeg

I have hashi, the endo did not tell me, it was the hematologist who did, he thought it mattered. Investigated everything other than breakage points in the endocrine system. I don't have, never had a goiter nor hoarse voice. I may not have or had a goiter because I had a tonsillectomy back in my teens. This effect/connection has been reported in several places. Not being argumentative just a flat simple comment. Tonsillectomy's went out of fashion much much later. We are all different with a choice of was, it 300 possible symptoms all under one stupid label Thyroid - which gets in the way of most medical understanding of the hyper's or hypo's and antibodies. Thyroid issues come as the end result of system breakdown at one or several points.

My dominant symptoms are all immune systems ones now and I can't get the endo to see further than "he does not do allergies". frustration. I am not permitted to go back to the Immunology Professor who said "when my thyroid is properly treated he would see me again if there were any remaining problems". Nor have a second opinion.

All the best. Probably not the right place for my grumble.

allaboutthecake

You still may wish to get an ultrasound. My thyroid nodules were found by accident via work being done on my shoulder of all things...so am a big supporter of the ultrasound. Also, a doc who treats off your symptoms vs just your blood work is golden. Good riddance to the other doctor.