New tests. May have to kick my doc to the curb.

[ChristineO]

SIGH. I am so tired of feeling poorly. My daughter saw me crying on the phone to the doctor. Yes, I was crying and pleading to be made whole again.

I seem to be moving toward hypo while not being on any meds. My last TSH was
.03(.3-3.3)
FT4 was 1.1(0.8-2.0)


I feel like crap. Tired and cold, and despite a drop in appetite, I have put on 3 pounds. Doctor suggested more Wellbutrin.
ARGH!
I am on the verge of getting rid of her. She said that she would let my FT4 sink as low as .8 before adding hormones.
She wonders if it is a pituatary problem, so she ordered estrodiol, cortisol, FSH, and TT3, in addition to TSH and FT4. I had some of these tests a few months ago. Whatever. This is it.
She said that if it's not a hypo problem, adding hormone will put me in crisis. "First do no harm".



Lord give me the strength.

[Nancy LC]

I am on the verge of getting rid of her.
Did you have RAI? I can't remember.

When you're ready to find a better doctor you can fix this. There are no fairy godmothers that can fix broken doctors. Begging and crying at a doctor just gets you another script for anti-depressents. This doctor isn't interested in having you feel good, she is just interested in your blood tests. That isn't going to change when you get to some magical point.

Come on, take some control here! This is your life. You don't need to continue feeling lousy.

Good look at the Top Docs link and/or post where you live and I bet you can get some ideas on who to see.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but I think hypothyroids are so exhausted and overhwelmed they don't realize that this is really under their control to get fixed and changed. You don't have to be at anyone's mercy.

*hugs* You can do it!

[ChristineO]

Thing is, she is a Top Doc. I don't know who/what to believe.
No I did not have RAI. Glad for that!
She said that TT3 is a better test when gauging hypoT, versus Ft3 for hyper???

[wcollier]

Christine, first thing you do is get her removed from that list. Contact Mary Shomon and tell her your experience. This woman is NOT a top thyroid Doc.

As Nancy says, let us know where you live and someone here might be able to help. Mary's site isn't the only one out there. If push comes to shove, there are even phone consults with top, well respected thyroid doctors as alternatives.

[Nancy LC]

A lot of those top doctors were just recommended by someone just because they felt better, not necessarily because the treatment was state-of-the-art (checking FT's and using T3).

I think Wanda is right, she's not a good one.

[ChristineO]

I am in the Buffalo, NY area. I would love to audition doctors, KWIM? I do really like her NP, but I don't feel like my needs are being serviced. She is a PCP to boot. I am not a primary patient, as she was full.

Should I even fill these tests?

[Nancy LC]

Should I even fill these tests?Not if you have to pay for them yourself. If you don't, then sure. You can always take them to your new doctor.

Otherwise, go get the proper tests done: FT3, FT4 and pay for them yourself if you must. There's a link in the FAQ about where to go.

And interview the doctor or their nurse before you go ask them how they would treat someone with a low TSH but abnormally low FT3/FT4 who presents symptoms of hypothyroid. You want someone that WILL treat you, obviously, and hopefully you'll get someone open minded about letting you use natural thyroid.

I bet Wanda will have some recommendations.

[ChristineO]

I just found this:
It is noteworthy that within 2 to 3 months of treatment
for hyperthyroidism, TSH concentrations can remain
suppressed even in the presence of low concentrations of
free T3 or T4, giving a similar pattern to pituitary
disease.5 The patient’s medical history should provide the
diagnosis, but an unsuspecting clinician could wrongly
assume that the individual is still thyrotoxic (suppressed
TSH) when, in fact, they are profoundly hypothyroid.

[Nancy LC]

Yes, which is why we're always saying TSH test is junk for a lot of people.

[Sunshne24]

Christine,
I had the same symptoms as you and felt bad every day for more than 2 years. I did have RAI for Graves and went Hypo but never felt well again. I tried different brands of meds and kept adjusting doses trying to feel normal again. My labs always showed I was within the "normal range" and my Endo always insisted my problem was not my thyroid. I didn't believe him and thought he was a horrible doctor for telling me that. I struggled for 2 years only to find out he was right all along. Somehow I got Candida while all the thyroid stuff was going on probably from antibiotics and stress. Once I started treating Candida the fatigue, low body temp, dry skin and most noticably depression and crying spells all disappeared. I had a ton of symptoms and most are gone now. I guess the thyroid cant always be to blame and sometimes there are other underlying causes. All of my symptoms seemed like Hypo symptoms but lots of other conditions have those same symptoms. If she is a Top Doc and she doesnt feel its your thyroid she MAY be right..just something I've learned along the way.

[CindyG]

I'm exactly the opposite of Sunshne24. I was SURE that candida was my problem. I tried the candida diet, candida-stroy, oil of oregeno, everything I could figure out to try to combat it. I had virtually no die off response to any of these. And NOTHING worked to cure my symptoms (which at that time were really only slow weightloss). Turns out a couple months on Armour and I'm losing weight again. For me it was thyroid.

It can't hurt to try the anti-candida diet. It's a stricter low carb diet.

[wcollier]

Hi Christine:

From my experience, finding good thyroid doctors in New York is very difficult.

By best advice is to check out this group - the people there can help you out based on their own experiences trying to find a doctor in New York. It'll save you the hassle of calling doctors haphazardly.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/New_York_Thyroid_Groups/

If you find someone, please let us know. It's good to know for future reference.

[Sunshne24]

Cindy,
You made a good point bringing up that you didn't get a die-off response with antifungals and diet. I got major die-off when I started Nystatin...I actually tried it last year and since I felt worse I gave up. I also wasnt following the diet...I wasnt very informed. Now I know better. I read that lots of times people with hypo symptoms but normal labs test positive for Candida and all symptoms go away with Candida treatment. This was the case for me but if someone doesnt experience die-off and symptoms dont improve then most likely its not Candida.