May I vent?

Question

I'm going to! It's been a long time since I was here, but it seems to be the same old story all the time. Patient meets doctor and before you know it he already knows everything. It was a very long time since I had been to a doctor, and it was because I usually felt half stupid when I was done. I don't go unless I have to, period. My last experiences over the year included heart issues, diabetes, and thyroid. Over the last couple of years my THS level has been all over, from a 3. something all the way to 10.85, then it screamed down to a .58. Doc says "it's working good". "But Doc", I say, "I've been having these chest pains and palpitations". "Nope not the thyroid, it's working good", says Doc, but he adds that I am a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic and I should see a cardiologist since I'm having pain. Since I have no insurance after I lost my job, I had to drive 140 miles to see this guy 15 days following a referral. I'm game, I'm glad I can get help, I'm thankful for that. Now I'm at the clinic, and I'm not seeing a cardiologist, I'm seeing a GP. We have the question and answer period and I quiz him about the thyroid. "Nope, not the thyroid" he says, it's working good according to the paper work he has, but he does some lab work for other stuff. I'm a little disappointed about how things went, but what the hell, I got a great deal on some prescriptions I needed. He had doubled two of them, and one of those was for an arrhythmia. Now I'm a little over half way home, stopped at a rest area and used the facilities. When I returned to the car, there was a voice mail that informed me that my thyroid levels were dangerously high, so high in fact they could easily be affecting my heart rhythm and causing pain. WTF is wrong with this picture? I've been on the same amount of medication for months and "IT"S WORKING GOOD"!  Now in a couple of hours my levels are dangerously high. Crap!!!

Thanks, I'm all vented now, blood pressure is probably a little lower, thyroids good, all's good. I just need to take a little more of this and a little less of that!!

guessagain · Answer

I thought I did know something, but finding out different. It been said I have to know the free t3 and t4. I just have been believing the doctors got it under control. I'm finding that to be different also after the latest experience. How much will a person's thyroid levels fluctuate if they are normal vs somebody having hyroid problems?

LazyMoose · Answer

Sounds like you need to educate yoursely on your condition. Dont rely on the doctors office to do all the explaining. This is a good place to learn.

Hypo thyroid is a conditon. Hypo thyroid from Hashimots disease is an auto immune disease from antibodies destructing your thyroid. You need antibody testing to figure this out. That sould be done to anyone found with hypothyroid.

RAI is a treatment for Graves (hyper thyroid) - not your situation aparently.

guessagain · Answer

I don't have any idea what's going on, I thought I was just hypo, but I think somebodies starting to catch on now. I called my local Dr. and made an appointment. I played the voice-mail warning me it was dangerously high. He left and came back with his own labs done 6 weeks before. He said, "no way", he wasn't going to change anything until he saw the labs from the other clinic and he sent me home explaining that the other clinic would not get back to him that day. I had been home an hour when the phone rang and my meds. were lowered, and I am to be seen in two weeks.

What's hypo induced from RAI. I don't know about Hashimoto, I think they're starting to think like I am, somethings wrong. I was first diagnosed a little over a year ago and all that doctor said was your thyroid is pooping out. It hasn't been stable since.

liya8 · Answer

Hi thats sound allllll tooo familiar - had the same experience until I decided to take things into my own hands - walked the streets to find a lab that will do my tests, found someone to analize it and now found a dr who takes my body, how I feel and test results and view them as a whole - he is not in the blood results syndrome only.

wishing you well

LazyMoose · Answer

You need to confirm what was ' dangerously high". 

Do you have Hashimoto, just hypo, or hypo induced from RAI? - And for how long?

You need to know what your frees are. If your doc refuses to test those, even after you explained the importance, get a new doc ASAP. You are the customer, he is not very customer friendly, or thyroid educated as it sounds.

guessagain · Answer

OOPS, the date of 10/7 should be 10/8

guessagain · Answer

I don't have the T3 or T4 values and the doctor didn't include anything on the voice mail. He just said he wanted me to drop a notch with the levothyroxin. From 150mcg to 137mcg. I'll show the TSH levels I do have though.

7/07--- 3.85
2/08--- 6.39
10/7--- 4.32 there was another one in here that was close so the doctor said there was no need for further testing.
3/09--- 10.85 and issues, I was started on levothyroxin, had a test and I don't know what it was. It was increased and another test said it was good. It was re-checked 4 months ago and it was 0.58. "Working good". 15 days ago he refused to test, "your thyroid is working good".
Today, "it's working good", then the call that says the levels are dangerously high. I'm assuming it's something other than the TSH level.
Do you think it's something with the free T4 or T3 or whatever?

gimel · Answer

A sorry situation for sure.  If you will post your thyroid test results and their reference ranges, our many experienced members will be glad to help interpret.