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  #1   ^
Old Tue, Sep-14-04, 11:27
jaykay's Avatar
jaykay jaykay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,157
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 160/143/130 Female 5'6"
BF:32/*?!*!!/20
Progress: 57%
Location: NorthEast England
Default useless b****** doctors!

Well - I went to the docs today. Hmmmm. She says that with my test results (high-normal TSH, low-normal T4, below normal T3) they wouldn't normally treat me. The doctor that gave me the thyroxine (50mcgs) wasn't happy about it. She said that they would have put me on 25mcgs at the most.
So, she wasn't a bit happy when I told her that 3 weeks on 50mcg had done nothing so I'd upped it to 100mcg and was just beginning to feel a bit happier.
She wanted to prescribe me 50 again. So I objected. She has written me 1 months prescription for 100 but says she is having a meeting with the partners about me and they may revoke it.

So - they wouldn't have treated me! How far off the 'normal' range do you have to be to get treated. If they'd done anything, they'd have put me onto such a low dose it wouldn't have done anything, then when it didn't they'd have concluded it couldn't be my thyroid. She says that the doctor who originally saw me doesn't think its my thyroid (hello, my TSH is elevated and my T3 is off the bottom of the range, as well as having all the symptoms).
Never mind that I feel rotten. It's not usual to treat people like me so I can stay ill as far as they're concerned. They're so concerned not to do anything out of the ordinary, they're failing to treat. They think we'll sue them if they go out on a limb and get it wrong. Well, I'll be thinking of sueing them for not treating me!

Anyway, the upshot is that I've booked a private consultation with a thyroid expert who is recommended on the ThyroidUK website. It'll cost more than I've got to spend, but maybe if he says what's going on, they'll listen and I can get the Armour or whatever on the NHS.
Thing is, the appointment isn't until the end of November. So my thyroxine will have run out before then. If they won't give me any more I'll just buy it on the internet until he sees me. Or I'll buy the equivalent dose of Armour and see how it goes. At least I'll be seeing a doctor who can tell me if I'm right or not, so its not as dangerous as just dosing myself without anyone knowing.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Sep-14-04, 14:58
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Angry DI-F.ing-TTO!

Hey JayKay!
Im thinking of doin the exact same thing, Im getting the stuff on the Internet. Illigel I know, but...WTH, when I was 17 a doctor in Ecuado said that my levels where a little high and he gave me Levothyroxine. I lost about 30 (!!) pounds in 2 months but when the meds ran out and I was back in Sweden I GAINED 20 lb back in no time. Coinsidesce... I dont think so! I had to starv with WW for 6months to get that of.

Im gettin a copy of my resent test when I visit the doctor this thursday and Im putting it up for yall to goveme some kind of indication on what the numbers mean. Thaty way I know what kinda dosage I should buy. Do you know any good website that sells Levoxine or Armour in Europe?
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-04, 11:47
Paulie-M's Avatar
Paulie-M Paulie-M is offline
Champagne Paulie
Posts: 13,589
 
Plan: My Fitness Pal
Stats: 156.2/123.8/120 Female 5 ft 4 ins
BF:Got some, thanks
Progress: 90%
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne,U K
Post

Hi Jaykay,


I don't know where abouts in the north east you are but have you seen an endoctrinologist or just your GP? I am lucky in that my GP has herself had thyroid problems (she had cancer of the thyroid) and so she takes a specific interest in it. A lot of GP's though, don't know too much about its workings.

I go to the RVI in Newcastle to see the consultant at least every 12 months. Who are you going to see? PM me if you would rather.
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-04, 13:04
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Thumbs down

Hi Paulie!

I just when to my gynokologist to se her about my period, I havent had it in 12 months now and its stressing me out. I thoughd I had PCOS or something but when I told her that all females from my mothers are hypos and that my grannie had it removed she was pretty sure I had that. When I checked up more info about the symptomes it all matched perfectly.

So, she sendt me to the district healthcare center to take some blood and they sent that away to a lab. Thay say that all my levels are "within the normal" ranges and that I dont have hypo, I dont believ them. Even if my levels are just somewhat out of wack they should give me some kinda help... it IS affecting me. I just think that thay wanna be cheap b/c ya know.. its not private and Im not paying anything extra, all stateprovided (from our taxes, the HIGHEST in the WORLD!) and that thay only feel an obligation to cure the sympomes that they can't ignore...like my period. The nurse even said they MAY put me on some kinda hormone treatment to fix it. The word MAY just makes me mad, MAY?! Offcouirse you have to do something! and she continued "or the doc might just want to wait it to come by int own." What?! Thats what they said six moths ago!

You se what kinda careless people I have to get treated by... sight!

Last edited by Da Rosa : Wed, Sep-15-04 at 13:43.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-04, 13:33
jaykay's Avatar
jaykay jaykay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,157
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 160/143/130 Female 5'6"
BF:32/*?!*!!/20
Progress: 57%
Location: NorthEast England
Default

Hi Da Rosa,
It could still be all sorts of things - don't get too fixed on one thing, but keep chasing your doc to keep investigating. Like you say, you've got a strong genetic link for hypothyroid. But it could be some sort of female hormone imbalance which could also make you put on weight. Or maybe something else we don't know about.
Buying thyroxine/armour and dosing yourself with nothing to base it on could be dangerous - it can cause heart attacks etc.
I know I'm prepared to buy thyroxine/armour if they won't renew my prescription, but I do have blood tests which show me to be hypothyroid and I have been on at least 50mcg under medical supervision - they just don't agree with the amount I've upped it to - and some docs in the practice dispute treating mild hypothyroid (goodness knows where they get their ideas from).
So - I think maybe you should find out what the numbers were from your tests and keep pushing them to find out exactly why you aren't having periods. It's not like you're anorexic, so that shouldn't be stopping them, you're eating sensibly. So there has to be a reason, they need to find it for you.
I think you need to go back and talk to them, assertively and calmly and say that you're not happy just being left to see if things get better, that its been a year now and you expect to be helped.
Good luck and let us know how you get on, take care, Jay
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-04, 17:32
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Wink LOL... I just notised you where writing JayKay. Sorry Paulie!

Hi JayKay!
I know it just might as well be something else and the doc is pretty sure ist some kinda hormonal inbalanse, but I also hope that treating that inbalance will help my weightloss.
IF the test shows that my levels are somewhat out of order and IF the hormonal tratment isnt working I am going to a private doc to begin with and then se what happends.
I remember thet the Levothyrowine dosage I was taking was about 75mcgr and I was also taking a hunger suppressant called Douromine (I dont want that one again!)... isnt 75 pretty high? I just thoughd of that by just comparing. Ill get back to you tomorrow morning and tell yall what happend.

~Priscilla Da Rosa
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  #7   ^
Old Fri, Sep-17-04, 09:52
Paulie-M's Avatar
Paulie-M Paulie-M is offline
Champagne Paulie
Posts: 13,589
 
Plan: My Fitness Pal
Stats: 156.2/123.8/120 Female 5 ft 4 ins
BF:Got some, thanks
Progress: 90%
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne,U K
Smile

Hi Priscilla,

I'm no expert, but I don't think that 75 mcg is a very high dosage. Certainly when I was taking 50 mdg daily, the consultant said that that was low!

I'm not hypo or hyper, I have had a lot of my thyroid removed as I make abnormal nodules. It is called Hurthle cell carcinoma and according to my surgeon the form I have is quite rare. The fact that I have had 4 operations was enought to make me the talk of the hospital
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  #8   ^
Old Fri, Sep-17-04, 10:31
jaykay's Avatar
jaykay jaykay is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,157
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 160/143/130 Female 5'6"
BF:32/*?!*!!/20
Progress: 57%
Location: NorthEast England
Default

Hi Priscilla
As Paulie says, I dont' think 75mcg is a huge dose - certainly there are people on the UK thyroid forum who are taking a lot more than that, their blood tests were way out of range and that's what they need to normalise.
Let us know how you get on, take care, Jay
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Sep-23-04, 05:02
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Unhappy Now I can really say "Useless B**** Doctors"!

So she said that I didnt have anything and then she started to mock me for me being paranoid!!! She checked with an ultrasound and said that it was all good and that I just had some... cant remmber... that is similar to when someone had PCOS but that mine wasnt that severe and that what I had is jus treated with the pill. So she goes on and says that I dont have anything that is related to weightgain and that they dont give out copies of the test... with a mocking degradig tone on her voice! I said I have a right for a copy and then she still said no. Then when I bursed out in tears she got scared (probrably of a lawsuite) and got the nurse to give me a copy. Bia*h! She notised how messed up in the head I am about this and she ordered for another specialist to give me a secoont opinion, then a nutrialist/metabolism specialist to help me and a counselor. When I told hr that I was doing this diet in the begining she stared at me quetly with that mocking look and asked... "and who sais this is good for ya?! Well, if you wanna get your TOM back you are not even giving it a chance! You got to start eating "normal"!"
She doesnt get it, does she?! She didnt even know about this diet and she trashed just like that*. "Well, yes I DO know about nutrision. I whent to medical school for 12 years ya know!"... BIT*H!

Well this is the result:_______________** Ref.value

TSH: 2,5 ____________________________0,4-4,7 mU/L
4T free: 14 __________________________12-23 pmol/L
3T free: 3,1__________________________3,0-6,5 pmol/L

This is exactly what it sais, but it is in sweidish:
S-Tyrotropin,THS: 2,5
S-Tyroxin fritt: 14
S-Trijodtyr fritt: 3,1

Then some other stuff:
Erc-Volymfrakt,EVF: 37
S-Koriongonadotropin: <2
S-Testosteroner, S-T: 0,7
S-Sexghormonbind.glob: 38
S-Foll.stim.hormon: 7,2A
S-Luteiniser.hormon: 2,6A
S-Östradiol-känslig (<-sensitive): 74C
S-Prolaktin: 9,3

The doctore said that thay dont gove these out b/c its confusing and that there is a kind of comparasing with age and other stuff to get these results. Maybe yall know more about this.

Im so tired of this, I just want a normal life...

ps. She also said my estrogen was low...

Last edited by Da Rosa : Thu, Sep-23-04 at 10:58.
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, Sep-23-04, 10:54
Paleoanth's Avatar
Paleoanth Paleoanth is offline
Slothy Superhero
Posts: 12,159
 
Plan: Vegetarian Atkins
Stats: 165/145/125 Female 60 inches
BF:29/25.2/24
Progress: 50%
Location: Tennessee/Iowa
Default

If I were you I would go to an endocrinologist. Your TSH is still a little high-studies of populations with totally normal thyroid have TSH's between 1 and 2. I would not go to any doctor that mocked me! You know best how you feel and PCOS is also one of those things that is hard to diagnose and treat. An endocrinologist can discuss that too.
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  #11   ^
Old Thu, Sep-23-04, 11:13
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Default

I think endocrinologist was what she said... I really hope that this one will listen to me. Guess Ill have to be prepared huh? What should I "take with me", as in questions, sudgestions and so on?
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  #12   ^
Old Thu, Sep-23-04, 11:19
Paleoanth's Avatar
Paleoanth Paleoanth is offline
Slothy Superhero
Posts: 12,159
 
Plan: Vegetarian Atkins
Stats: 165/145/125 Female 60 inches
BF:29/25.2/24
Progress: 50%
Location: Tennessee/Iowa
Default

Take your test results.

Go to this site for information on what to ask:
http://thyroid.about.com/blthyroid.htm

I would read some articles from this site and look around a LOT. Lots of information.
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Sep-26-04, 10:32
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Question

BTW, I got an idea... just tell me if its useless or not.

Should I trust that the doc here will treat me or... should I make it wors?!
What I was thinking was -"What if I could make it wors and up the TSH levels by eating the soy and such." Bad idea?! Or would it just make the prosses longer?

PS. Awww... I need help! I have to convert the pmol/L to pg/dl, for my research .

Noo need! I foud it!

Quote:
Conversion:

* to convert from the conventional unit to the SI unit, multiply by the conversion factor;
* to convert from the SI unit to the conventional unit, divide by the conversion factor.

Component Conventional Unit Conversion Factor SI Unit

Thyrotropin (TSH) mIU/L 1.0 mIU/L
Thyroxine, free (T4) ng/dL 12.87 pmol/L
Thyroxine, total (T4) µg/dL 12.87 nmol/L

Triiodothyronine
Free (T3) pg/dL 0.0154 pmol/L
Resin uptake % 0.01 Proportion of 1.0
Total (T3) ng/dL 0.0154 nmol/L

Source: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/s...nical_data.html


Ok, so this is what I came up with:

THS: 2,5
T4: 1.08
T3: 201,3

And this is how it should be:
THS - 0.3 to 3.0
Free T4 - 0.8 to 1.8.
Free T3 – 230 to 420.

Then this means my THS is "normal high", Free T4 is normal I would think and my Free T3 is low! Ok, so what does this mean. Does it mach in to any spesific sympton? Wilson's? What else?

Last edited by Da Rosa : Sun, Sep-26-04 at 11:57.
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  #14   ^
Old Sun, Sep-26-04, 13:18
Paleoanth's Avatar
Paleoanth Paleoanth is offline
Slothy Superhero
Posts: 12,159
 
Plan: Vegetarian Atkins
Stats: 165/145/125 Female 60 inches
BF:29/25.2/24
Progress: 50%
Location: Tennessee/Iowa
Default

The TSH is still a bit high, I don't care what lab "normal" levels say. T3 is converted from T4, so if your T3 is low then you are not converting well. I am not sure if that is a specific disease or not. That is something the doc could tell you.

As far as the soy is concerned, there seems to be a bit of a controversy about that. If you think it is affecting you, then stop eating it and see what happens.

Other things I would take to your doc when you go:

Make a list of all your symptoms. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, we can forget.

If you have any base line blood values from your current doc, that would be good to take too. Then you can see if your levels are going in the wrong direction or what.

Print out anything from that site I gave you that you think supports your case. Then you can discuss that with your doctor.

Personally, my doc put me on a low carb plan, because people with low thyroid don't process carbs the way others do. I would think that your doc would be pleased you are on a low carb plan.
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  #15   ^
Old Tue, Sep-28-04, 04:21
Da Rosa's Avatar
Da Rosa Da Rosa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 382
 
Plan: Mod Carbs.1200-1600 cals
Stats: 148/185/120 Female 5"2 or 159cm
BF:
Progress: -132%
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Lightbulb Found some info...

I posted the results in another board and was told this

Quote:
I just answered....you need to work on the PCOS with a good physician well trained in that....at the same time, you will need to keep an eye on the thyroid...and keep in mind that low estrogen and low ferritin both mimic hypothyroidism. I should think that taking Metformin (after blood labs of course, under a doc's care) and watching the carbs and even bio-identical HRT replacement (NOT synthetic, like birth control...that's old hat) would be the best. I get my endo's Rx for compounded replacement HRT---bioidentical, not synthetic.

and this:

Quote:
First off, your FSH/LH (follicle stimulating hormone/lutenizing hormone) ratio is out of whack; the normal ratio is 1:1, yours is more than 3:1. This kind of ratio is commonly found in women with PCOS, btw. It would be good to have a progesterone level to compare to the estrogen level, too; even if the estrogen seems a bit low (and that really depends on what time of your cycle the test was done), if your progesterone is even lower, then you could still be having symptoms of estrogen-dominance.

Your thyroid tests are suspect enough to warrant a TPO antibodies test to check if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (an autoimmune thyroid disorder that is very common in women with PCOS, and is the most common form of hypothyroidism).


Sound right?
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