Aa
I'm tired of being made to feel like I'm crazy
So I went to the new thyroid doctor today and felt totally and completely blown off and unvalidated. :(
Quick background: 12 lb gain in 2 weeks, total 20. Exhausted, cold extremities, brain fog, achy..on and on. I'm trying to train for a marathon (my 4th), so I'm not uneducated when it comes to nutrition and exercise.
She pretty much said my blood work from September (TSH) was "normal" (all of my lab work is on low range of normal, including below normal for vitamin B and D) and blew off the rest of my symptoms as far as I'm concerned and started talking about calories out versus calories in. DUH! She also mentioned that I should document my food intake and make sure I'm really running 12-15 miles a week like I said I was (because a GPS watch that tracks my running couldn't possible be right). She also suggested my body is changing as I'm in my 40's and that I could just be stressed because of my dad passing away. I flat out told her I was raised by an alcoholic mother who on occasion beat me, I have never not known stress. Yes, I miss my dad and am grieving, but we also knew he was dying (not to sound cold) and had our time together and chance to say our goodbyes...and this all started before that. I take Aderral for ADD and it's a stimulant. It helps with the brain fog, but if I don't take it, I am so exhausted I can barely get out of bed. A medicine that helped me get more focused is now the only thing that makes me feel "normal" energy wise. I told her I had a big issue with that. She pretty much brushed it off. I'm tired of my fingers getting cold and numb as soon as it gets chilly, tired of being tired, of not having any sex drive at all (sorry for the TMI)....
She ordered some blood work (CMP..no idea what that is, Cortisol in the morning, and ACTH...no idea what that is, LH and Estadiol). When I asked her about testing my free T3 and free T4 she said there was no need to because my TSH looked fine and she really isn't concerned about my thyroid.
I almost walked out in tears. I don't feel like myself. I'm not even sure if I want to bother with the blood work and go back to see her. Am I being unreasonable?
Quick background: 12 lb gain in 2 weeks, total 20. Exhausted, cold extremities, brain fog, achy..on and on. I'm trying to train for a marathon (my 4th), so I'm not uneducated when it comes to nutrition and exercise.
She pretty much said my blood work from September (TSH) was "normal" (all of my lab work is on low range of normal, including below normal for vitamin B and D) and blew off the rest of my symptoms as far as I'm concerned and started talking about calories out versus calories in. DUH! She also mentioned that I should document my food intake and make sure I'm really running 12-15 miles a week like I said I was (because a GPS watch that tracks my running couldn't possible be right). She also suggested my body is changing as I'm in my 40's and that I could just be stressed because of my dad passing away. I flat out told her I was raised by an alcoholic mother who on occasion beat me, I have never not known stress. Yes, I miss my dad and am grieving, but we also knew he was dying (not to sound cold) and had our time together and chance to say our goodbyes...and this all started before that. I take Aderral for ADD and it's a stimulant. It helps with the brain fog, but if I don't take it, I am so exhausted I can barely get out of bed. A medicine that helped me get more focused is now the only thing that makes me feel "normal" energy wise. I told her I had a big issue with that. She pretty much brushed it off. I'm tired of my fingers getting cold and numb as soon as it gets chilly, tired of being tired, of not having any sex drive at all (sorry for the TMI)....
She ordered some blood work (CMP..no idea what that is, Cortisol in the morning, and ACTH...no idea what that is, LH and Estadiol). When I asked her about testing my free T3 and free T4 she said there was no need to because my TSH looked fine and she really isn't concerned about my thyroid.
I almost walked out in tears. I don't feel like myself. I'm not even sure if I want to bother with the blood work and go back to see her. Am I being unreasonable?
COMMUNITY LEADER
I tried FB and didn't come up with much of interest; maybe I didn't hit the right link; I'll try again........ thanks.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Iodine is most often contraindicated for those of us with Hashimoto's and should never be used without direction/supervision of a qualified physician.
I get Dr Mercola's newletters, also, and while some of them are good, one must always be careful, because, as you said, medicine is not a "one size fits all".
I get Dr Mercola's newletters, also, and while some of them are good, one must always be careful, because, as you said, medicine is not a "one size fits all".
Here you go, Barb135.
When I look in the mirror, I see my f---.
And when I want to read a good mystery, I pick up a b---.
I hope that can get around the restrictions. :-)
When I look in the mirror, I see my f---.
And when I want to read a good mystery, I pick up a b---.
I hope that can get around the restrictions. :-)
These stories sound familiar. No doctor in my circle of doctors is interested in doing anything more than test the TSH and won't test the free T4 or T3 or the antibodies.
I have the same story as several here, in that I can't see an endo without a referral. Well, I can't get the referral if the doctor won't do the additional tests.
I do get natural newsletters that talk about this. How so many people are in the same area of concern with "thyroid limo land". I decided that the only way I was going to get anywhere was to follow the natural doctors' advice and find a natural iodine supplement and take the amount suggested by the natural doctors. Google "Terry Talks Nutrition" for the proper amount and for the other information he suggests for natural help with the thyroid for those of us who fit this category of the doctors not listening just because the TSH is normal. This doctor is the one who uses a very good illustration about shoe sizes in comparison to sluggish thyroids. The only ones who get the help they need from conventional medicine are the ones at either end of the shoe size chart. Everyone else is considered "average" or "normal"
Actually, shoe manufacturers and hat manufacturers are the same in this illustration.
The one size fits all mentality for the thyroid doesn't make sense either, but that's how conventional medicine and insurance treats it. And, as someone pointed out, they're not really interested in getting to the root of the problem. When you understand how their game works, then you realize that it's really called "Follow the Money". The same thing applies with their new increased RDA for vitamin D. They weren't interested in immune health or optimal health when they finally "gave in" and increased the RDA for that either. They were only looking at the minimal amount for bone health.
Can you imagine how many people would feel better if their thyroids were functioning well and their vitamin D levels were optimized?
If you go to Dr. Mercola's website, you will find out, too, that what I said about the "Follow the Money" scheme is exactly that. And, too, you will find out why natural medicine was snubbed out and treated as inferior. It doesn't really have to do with natural medicine being no good. And, the two schools of medicine to not really need to butt heads. Integrative medicine, where the two come together with the common goal of what's best for the patient is a better school of thought. Dr. Mercola actually explains very well and very thoroughly what happened in history and why natural medicine is still treated as quackery. Well, it doesn't need to be. And, it doesn't need to be one kind or the other.
But, in the case of thyroid limbo land, it's clear that natural medicine is going to be the only thing that really works. Especially, when so many doctors prefer to be derisive and dismissive with people who can only fit into thyroid limbo land. Being dismissed and given an antidepressant pill for the trouble of trying to get helped is highly unfair. And, those things won't work for a sluggish thyroid problem.
Or, for the other end of the works: the adrenals. No one but an endo is going to test those. The adrenals work with the thyroid. If one end isn't working, the other end isn't working either. So, make sure you address the adrenals, too. The adrenals are the little organs that sit on the tops of your kidneys. Though no one tested it when I had renal failure a few years ago, the only thing that makes sense as to why I had an unexplained acute episode and got dehydrated in spite of drinking plenty of water until I got to the point where I couldn't even hold down water is adrenal fatigue. Of course, if I were to mention that now to any doctor they would undoubtedly be just as dismissive as they are with the thyroid gland.
So, don't forget to address the other end of the issue, since the adrenals and the thyroid are meant to work as a team.
I have the same story as several here, in that I can't see an endo without a referral. Well, I can't get the referral if the doctor won't do the additional tests.
I do get natural newsletters that talk about this. How so many people are in the same area of concern with "thyroid limo land". I decided that the only way I was going to get anywhere was to follow the natural doctors' advice and find a natural iodine supplement and take the amount suggested by the natural doctors. Google "Terry Talks Nutrition" for the proper amount and for the other information he suggests for natural help with the thyroid for those of us who fit this category of the doctors not listening just because the TSH is normal. This doctor is the one who uses a very good illustration about shoe sizes in comparison to sluggish thyroids. The only ones who get the help they need from conventional medicine are the ones at either end of the shoe size chart. Everyone else is considered "average" or "normal"
Actually, shoe manufacturers and hat manufacturers are the same in this illustration.
The one size fits all mentality for the thyroid doesn't make sense either, but that's how conventional medicine and insurance treats it. And, as someone pointed out, they're not really interested in getting to the root of the problem. When you understand how their game works, then you realize that it's really called "Follow the Money". The same thing applies with their new increased RDA for vitamin D. They weren't interested in immune health or optimal health when they finally "gave in" and increased the RDA for that either. They were only looking at the minimal amount for bone health.
Can you imagine how many people would feel better if their thyroids were functioning well and their vitamin D levels were optimized?
If you go to Dr. Mercola's website, you will find out, too, that what I said about the "Follow the Money" scheme is exactly that. And, too, you will find out why natural medicine was snubbed out and treated as inferior. It doesn't really have to do with natural medicine being no good. And, the two schools of medicine to not really need to butt heads. Integrative medicine, where the two come together with the common goal of what's best for the patient is a better school of thought. Dr. Mercola actually explains very well and very thoroughly what happened in history and why natural medicine is still treated as quackery. Well, it doesn't need to be. And, it doesn't need to be one kind or the other.
But, in the case of thyroid limbo land, it's clear that natural medicine is going to be the only thing that really works. Especially, when so many doctors prefer to be derisive and dismissive with people who can only fit into thyroid limbo land. Being dismissed and given an antidepressant pill for the trouble of trying to get helped is highly unfair. And, those things won't work for a sluggish thyroid problem.
Or, for the other end of the works: the adrenals. No one but an endo is going to test those. The adrenals work with the thyroid. If one end isn't working, the other end isn't working either. So, make sure you address the adrenals, too. The adrenals are the little organs that sit on the tops of your kidneys. Though no one tested it when I had renal failure a few years ago, the only thing that makes sense as to why I had an unexplained acute episode and got dehydrated in spite of drinking plenty of water until I got to the point where I couldn't even hold down water is adrenal fatigue. Of course, if I were to mention that now to any doctor they would undoubtedly be just as dismissive as they are with the thyroid gland.
So, don't forget to address the other end of the issue, since the adrenals and the thyroid are meant to work as a team.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Most of what you're talking about, we can get right here on MH - we can share our wisdom (gained from experience), give advice regarding proper testing/treatment, etc.
What we can't do is make our doctors do something they either weren't taught in medical school, because the guidelines/protocols aren't being changed to keep up with scientific evidence. We know what we, and others in our positions need, and we can talk till we're blue in the face, but if the patient can't get their doctor to pay attention and try something different, the patient is stuck finding another doctor, who will listen, which is not easy, either.
I'm sorry, I'm not "up" on social networking sites, can you try again, maybe not using the entire name or something? I can take it from there.
What we can't do is make our doctors do something they either weren't taught in medical school, because the guidelines/protocols aren't being changed to keep up with scientific evidence. We know what we, and others in our positions need, and we can talk till we're blue in the face, but if the patient can't get their doctor to pay attention and try something different, the patient is stuck finding another doctor, who will listen, which is not easy, either.
I'm sorry, I'm not "up" on social networking sites, can you try again, maybe not using the entire name or something? I can take it from there.
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