I am looking forward to getting lab tests this week to see how my blood levels are since I started on Dr. Friedman's increased dose of levoxyl. I am wondering whether to switch GPs owing to my GP's "care" of my hypothyroidism, and thought that I would post to elicit comments. I asked Dr. Friedman if he thought that I should switch GP's. In my case, my GP treated me with a way too low dose of levoxyl for almost a year and did not ever try to refer me to an endocrinologist. She discounted my symptoms even when my bloodwork showed that I had every reason for concern; and she refused to make telephone calls to try to help me get in more quickly to an endocrinologist. (I would have had to wait about four months to see an endocrinologist in Phoenix had I not gone to Dr. Friedman.) Dr. Friedman was very dipolomatic and told me that, unfortunately, he sees general practitioners prescribing way too low doses of thyroid hormone and not referring patients who should see specialists to specialists quite often. I asked him if there was any sort of philosophy that would merit my having been put on such a low dose of levoxyl. He told me that doctors can be hesitant to put older people and people with heart disease on a treatment-merited dose of thyroid hormone. However, as I was neither older, nor did I have heart disease, such considerations would not apply in my case. He told me that I should consider whether the GP is a good doctor for the other things that I see her for. The fact of the matter is that I have nothing else to assess her ability as a doctor on. She did have me get a full pelvic ultrasound when I had really heavy and long periods owing to what turned out to be my hypothyroidism this Spring. Still, she suggested that I might want to consider taking a diuretic and also taking hormones to regulate my period while I got my hypothyroidism under control. I told her that I understood that water retention from hypothyroidism does not respond well to treatment with diuretics, and that I thought that it would be prudent to see how my menses fared as my hypothyroidism improved. My reasoning was sort of that too many cooks spoil the broth. In other words, to really treat my hypothyroidism, I would have to see which symptoms would resolve with appropriate therapy. Taking hormones for menstrual irregularities owing to hypothyroidism might regulate my period, but might also mask my hypothyroidism. I am inclined to think that I should look for another GP owing to this doctor's discounting my symptoms and to her unwillingness to make any sort of effort to get me in to see a doctor in Phoenix. Moreover, her willingness to treat symptoms of hypothyroidism while the hypothyroidism itself has not been properly treated just seems like bad medical practice and, to be quite frank, bad science. One wants to hold as many things constant while getting one thing under control, and then move on to the next thing. That just seems like good medicine based on good science. What do you folks think?
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I am looking forward to getting lab tests this week to see how my blood levels are since I started on Dr. Friedman's increased dose of levoxyl. I am wondering whether to switch GPs owing to my GP's "care" of my hypothyroidism, and thought that I would post to elicit comments. I asked Dr. Friedman if he thought that I should switch GP's. In my case, my GP treated me with a way too low dose of levoxyl for almost a year and did not ever try to refer me to an endocrinologist. She discounted my symptoms even when my bloodwork showed that I had every reason for concern; and she refused to make telephone calls to try to help me get in more quickly to an endocrinologist. (I would have had to wait about four months to see an endocrinologist in Phoenix had I not gone to Dr. Friedman.) Dr. Friedman was very dipolomatic and told me that, unfortunately, he sees general practitioners prescribing way too low doses of thyroid hormone and not referring patients who should see specialists to specialists quite often. I asked him if there was any sort of philosophy that would merit my having been put on such a low dose of levoxyl. He told me that doctors can be hesitant to put older people and people with heart disease on a treatment-merited dose of thyroid hormone. However, as I was neither older, nor did I have heart disease, such considerations would not apply in my case. He told me that I should consider whether the GP is a good doctor for the other things that I see her for. The fact of the matter is that I have nothing else to assess her ability as a doctor on. She did have me get a full pelvic ultrasound when I had really heavy and long periods owing to what turned out to be my hypothyroidism this Spring. Still, she suggested that I might want to consider taking a diuretic and also taking hormones to regulate my period while I got my hypothyroidism under control. I told her that I understood that water retention from hypothyroidism does not respond well to treatment with diuretics, and that I thought that it would be prudent to see how my menses fared as my hypothyroidism improved. My reasoning was sort of that too many cooks spoil the broth. In other words, to really treat my hypothyroidism, I would have to see which symptoms would resolve with appropriate therapy. Taking hormones for menstrual irregularities owing to hypothyroidism might regulate my period, but might also mask my hypothyroidism. I am inclined to think that I should look for another GP owing to this doctor's discounting my symptoms and to her unwillingness to make any sort of effort to get me in to see a doctor in Phoenix. Moreover, her willingness to treat symptoms of hypothyroidism while the hypothyroidism itself has not been properly treated just seems like bad medical practice and, to be quite frank, bad science. One wants to hold as many things constant while getting one thing under control, and then move on to the next thing. That just seems like good medicine based on good science. What do you folks think?
September 14, 2009 - 9:37amThis Comment
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