My doctor refused to treat
bradthemedic
Posts: 623 Member
I have all of the signs and symptoms of hypo. My blood work came back with my TSH on the high end. My Cortisol was on the high end. But he refused to treat me.
At the end of the day my numbers may not be shockingly high like many others but I am suffering the symptoms - isn't that what is important to treat and not the numbers? I can barely get out of bed in the morning and can't lose fat, my fingernails are brittle and weak, my eyelashes are thin and fall out, I am in a constant fog and my mental awareness is so low sometimes i know I am a zombie.
I'm furious. What are my options?
At the end of the day my numbers may not be shockingly high like many others but I am suffering the symptoms - isn't that what is important to treat and not the numbers? I can barely get out of bed in the morning and can't lose fat, my fingernails are brittle and weak, my eyelashes are thin and fall out, I am in a constant fog and my mental awareness is so low sometimes i know I am a zombie.
I'm furious. What are my options?
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Replies
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Not sure how well your insurance would work with this, but if you can find another doctor ... take your bloodwork to them, let them know your symptoms and tell them you would like to get well! I know how frustrating that mental fog and sleepiness can be ... a good doctor will understand and medicate not based on the numbers, but based on the patient's symptoms.0
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I'm going on vacation and going to take my bloodwork to my old doctor this weekend. I hope he understands. He is excellent so I think he should.0
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Go see an Integrative Therapy doctor if you can find one. They are good at looking at all of the symptoms and treating based on that, rather than only labs. This is how I got my Armour prescription after many years of not feeling well with Synthroid alone.0
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Is this your M.D. or endocronologist? My M.D. kept saying that my numbers were fine. I went to see an endo...she said yes my numbers were not bad but what is normal for one person is not necessarily correct for everyone. Knowing my symptoms (freezing cold constantly and sleeping 12 hours a day & still tired) she prescribed a low dose of synthroid. Within a week I saw an improvement. So, my advice would be to get a 2nd. opinion. Good luck.0
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It's a GP yes... I am going to my old doctor for a second opinion.0
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I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. It's awful, knowing there is something wrong and no one will listen. If your old doc won't do anything, keep looking for a new doc.
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that stinks! i hope your other doc is more understanding. I went to an endo for the first time a little over a year ago and she was the first to listen to me and treat the symptoms and not the number. My initial level was only 3.4, technically normal, but she treated me!
good luck!0 -
Hi,
So sorry you're hitting a wall with your Dr. It is not unusual though. For help, check out stopthethyroidmadness.com it helps a lot!
I go to a naturopath. And she found that I had adrenal fatigue, which would have interfered with thyroid meds anyway. What you're describing sounds like me. I would bet you're suffering more from adrenal fatigue then hypothyroidism.
You can order saliva tests online (cheaper) & take the results to a professional (naturopath, or endo). Dr's don't deal with adrenal fatigue, so you need to find someone who does. That site I mentioned above also has a lot of info on adrenal fatigue.
After being treated since July, I'm amazed by how much energy I have! My husband can't believe it! I haven't taken a "nap" in over a month...
Hope you get help soon,
Blessings,
Debby0 -
I think I'm going to end up in the same boat as you.... My first doctor took no interest at all, the 2nd one ordered labwork for me yesterday but I have a feeling that if the results aren't off the chart then she won't treat me even though I have symptoms. I'm not sure what I'll do next, I know I can't force myself through life though. I wish I had advice for you but for now all I can do is sympathize and tell you to hang in there and cross one bridge at a time.0
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A couple of things I've learned:
1. There are two sets of numbers out there that doctors use to determine whether a person is hypo. The older of the sets is way off- the newer set was introduced in the late 90's/early 2000's. If your doctor is older, s/he may still be following the older guidelines.
2. The numbers are ranges, and the most important thing is how you feel. Some people are ok as high as 2, and some need to be less than 1. If you feel you have the symptoms and your doctor won't treat, see if he'll refer you to an endocrinologist. Or, just find a new doctor.
I know you're going for a second opinion, but if that doesn't work out, go for a third. Do some research and see if there's a doctor in your area that's more thyroid friendly.0 -
Is this your M.D. or endocronologist? My M.D. kept saying that my numbers were fine. I went to see an endo...she said yes my numbers were not bad but what is normal for one person is not necessarily correct for everyone. Knowing my symptoms (freezing cold constantly and sleeping 12 hours a day & still tired) she prescribed a low dose of synthroid. Within a week I saw an improvement. So, my advice would be to get a 2nd. opinion. Good luck.
^^^This was my experience^^^
Try another doctor or endo. My doc also tested for the antibodies that indicated Hashimoto's disease. That came back positive which prompted him to treat. I am a different person today. Good luck.0 -
it took a while for me also to convince my dr to treat me s my numbers were also technically normal but also on the high end/ borderline. Once she treated me i felt a huge difference fast. I seen a endo dr for the 1st time yesterday and it was a waste of time. she did do some blood work, so i hope something comes back from that otherwise i think i am screwed! she made excuses for why i feel the way i do and that it could mean many different things. yes i agree but lets find out what that is!!!!! so if i don't hear back i see my regular dr again in Jan and i will ask to go and see a different one and see what happens from that0
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I'm another one who had to find a different doctor. My endo said my numbers weren't bad enough for me to have any symptoms and was giving me a very low dose of Synthroid. New doctor is much more with the times and is treating me more based and my symptoms and not as much on the bloodwork.0
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TSH of below 4 is "normal" but so is a TSH of 2. For 10 years, I was kept at 3.8 and I never felt right. I added cytomel to my synthroid and the added hormones took me down to 2.2 and I feel much better. My eyebrows are even coming back ever so slowly. If your TSH is any higher than 3, find a doc who will treat it correctly.0
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So sorry you're hitting a wall with your Dr. It is not unusual though. For help, check out stopthethyroidmadness.com it helps a lot!
I go to a naturopath. And she found that I had adrenal fatigue, which would have interfered with thyroid meds anyway. What you're describing sounds like me. I would bet you're suffering more from adrenal fatigue then hypothyroidism.
I ordered some Natural Sources brand raw adrenals (actual bovine hormone) on Amazon a while back when I was feeling like poop for too long. I took them for two weeks and have felt better ever since. You shouldn't take them long-term, just as a jumpstart. Since most docs don't believe in adrenal fatigue, just getting the supplement might be a good plan.
The same company also makes a thyroid supplement which, again, does seem to contain the actual thyroid hormone, but since thyroid is a long-term thing, I don't really think it's a great idea to self-medicate with those.0 -
I am a nurse and I have several Dr.s that have refused to treat me or change my meds. :noway:
All I can say is do what I do. Find another doc and move on.:huh:
Hope you get the help you need :flowerforyou:0 -
Most Insurances will allow you to see a specialist. When my Dr. wasn't getting the whole picture, I informed her I wanted a consult with an endocrinologist. She wasn't thrilled about it, but she did send me. Didn't take long to get proper treatment and feel better!0
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The problem with general doctors is that they have a basic understanding of the thyroid. For 10 Yeats I have been asking my Drs who are treating me for hashimotos but they keep telling me that they can treat it and I don't need an endocrinologist Finally I found a new dr who said yes I needed a specialist. I never had a problem getting it treated but I doubt if it was treated correctly. I understand the frustration that you are feeling. I only had my first visit last weekend. I know my problems won't be solved overnight, Good luck and keep pushing!0
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Even if you see a specialist, as in an Endocrinologist, do not expect them to know anything about diet and thyroid health. This is the single most significant piece of the pie that doctors miss with thyroid disease. And as such, you'll continue to yo-yo up and down despite all your best efforts.
There is a link between leaky gut and autoimmune disease. Knowing the reasoning behind improving your diet will significantly decrease your joint pain and fatigue.0 -
If you get your bloods repeated, make sure that they test for your T3 and T4. My TSH and T4 can be normal, but I know that how I actually feel is dependent on my T3, so I always insist that that is measured too.
Im pretty lucky though, if I tell my doctor Im feeling like crap, and im towards the outer limit of 'normal', she will adjust my meds, and Ill go back in a few months to get a retest (even if it means just taking an additional 0.25mg tablet once a week or something).
Even though things are relatively under control at the moment, Im still curious about visiting an endocrinologist - my doctor is lovely, but you can tell that she doesnt have an indepth knowledge into thyroid issues. The cost of the appointment is mostly covered by my insurance (Im not in the states though, which might make things a little different for me, compared to you), and I think that I want to go just for a peace of mind type thing. More knowledge cant ever hurt, right?0 -
I agree that you need to get your Free T3 and Free T4 tested if you haven't already.
When I went in for my last two appointments, my lab results showed that I was almost hyper for TSH and T4, but my T3 is normal. I feel good, so I asked my doctor to leave me on that dosage, and he did. My blood pressure is excellent, and there are no hyper symptoms. The way I feel is most closely tied to my Free T3 number.
When I first went in for treatment, I was "borderline" hypo.
Ask your doctor about the Free T3 number and see what he or she says. If you don't like the answer, go see another doc.0
