Can endo with hold medicine cos im a smoker

[miravgraves]

saw Dr N at sunderland royal my blood results were tsh 0.09(0.4 - 4) ft4 18.4 (12-22) ft3 3.3(3.95-6.8) my tsh has just risen from 0.01 it has always bin 0.01 untill this blood test the highest my ft3 has bin is 3.6 ihad a tt in may so i have only got results for ft3 since then, but every blood test i have my ft3 is getting lower and lower i told endo (different one) last time im having conversion problems and the ft3/ft4 ratio that i have is heart attack waiting to happen according to oxford university published paper so he booked me in for a short something test for adrenals. this endo looks a blood results and say i thing you would benefit from a trial of some t3 and i said so do i cos i will tolerate be left with a ft3/ft4 ratio of what i have he says what do you mean and i told him bout the publication and he said if you read 1 paper then you read an other 9 that disagree with it what are you going to be leave, so i said dont tell me 9 tell me 3 papers that disagree with then. no reply from endo then he starts asking about general health and asks if im a smoker and i said yes his reply i want you to stop smoking, me why endo because you are worried about a heart attack you are more likely to have heart attack from smoking than your level of ft3. me so if i dont stop smoking you will not give me ft3 even though you said i would benefit from it endo that is correct me well theres no point continuing this meeting so i got up and left, cos if i stayed any longer i would have ending up smacking him at this point (graves rage) i have contacted pals i am waiting for them to phone back or should i contact gmc to report him for refusing treatment that he has said i need

[alangardner]

hi there , if I was in your position [ we was 15mths ago ] the first thing I would do is research the best alternative hospital for you and then see your gp and insist on a 'second choice option ' at an alternative hospital trust and state YOUR first choice ....your gp will then arrainge the paperwork for you to make the appointment directly ----in takes a matter of days for this --- my lady is now being treated correctly and not by the pleb that was totally mistreating her ....you should be able to find an endo that can help you with empathy and understanding without trying to play G O D ------- never forget it could be easy to stop everyone smoking --- just make tobacco products illegal ===== but the tax burden from lost revenue would be astronomical==== not ever forgetting that taxes raised from tobacco far outweigh the TOTAL cost of the entire nhs ===== ....hope this helps ...alan

[Duchy82]

I think i would have smacked him too that is completely unethical. Alans advice is brilliant but it is definitely worth a complaint at hospital or gmc level not sure which would be better as i have never done it before,but im sure someone can advice you.

[alangardner]

if you want to pursue a complaint I have found the best way for this is to go directly to your hospital switchboard and request the 'chief executive's office' and lodge the complaint with him/her ...... they then have to inform the pals office AND follow up all outcomes and they then have the authority to deal with the idiot directly and they HAVE to inform you of all the outcomes ...... believe me it really does work !!!!! ..LoL alan xx

[galathea]

In future, if an endo ever says you need a trial or whatever of meds, just say ok. And nothing else. You managed to talk him out of helping you and now all this stuff about smoking has come up.

Its true that smoking will not be doing you any favours what so ever, but it isn't an illegal activity (yet) so the endo cannot insist you stop..

The endo is out of order, and it warrants a complaint, but this is not helping you get the meds you need. ... You can appeal to your doctor and see if he will give you some t3, you can try and different endo and maybe swear you have stopped smoking, or you can buy some for yourself and go back if it helps and tell them what you have had o do,

It shouldn't be this way, but some endos like to believe they are the experts and as such, hate to have their 'authority' challenged. They respond by throwing their toys and your health out of the pram.....

The priority ATM is your health, not the silly endo attitude. So do whatever you can to get better and donT allow yourself to get sidetracked.

Xx g

.

[Angel_of_the_North]

So tell him you've stopped smoking - but be careful to wear newly washed clothes (and hair) when you go or he'll know (unless everyone else in your house smokes). They lie to us ...

[rosetrees in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

EXACTLY what I was going to say. Tell him what he wants to hear. That's what doctors like.

[LouiseRoberts]

This thread has been heavily edited to bring the comments back on track to the original question.

Any further comments of the same manner will be removed. Please respect the original posters intent.

Louise Warvill

Charity Secretary

Thyroid UK

On behalf of the Admin Team

[miravgraves]

hi everyone thanks for everyone's response, i think galathea nailed it on the head, if i just sat down and acted like a submissive puppy and said yes dr no dr he would have, put me on t3, But thats not me, i may have the stupid disease (graves disease) but im justed as educated as the endo iv bin to university so i know how to research. I had my own company before graves picked me to mess with, and i treet my graves the same way i ran my business i dont have to be an expert in every aspect of my business i had staff in the relevant positions, i just need enough knowledge to know what they were saying to me before we decided which way to go forward, I have had wrong advice before of endos when i was told that my ted will settle down when my t4 is normal, that is wrong and i wish i new that at the time and i would have corrected her with the proteins that are being attacked in your thyroid making you hyper are present at the back of eyes, once we get the graves autoantibodys down the better, i hadnt read the paper about tt being better than being nuked for people with ted at that stage. The nhs guidelines say that the dr and patient should decide together on best course of action and thats what i want from an endo so going to ask gp refer me to different one. I am still waiting on pals to get back to me i will update when they do. As for smoking the endo is right to a point me giving up smoking would be great for my health but it has no relevance to me taking t3. i do want to stop smoking and i will try again when i am more capable i dont advocate smoking and if i had my way again i would not start thanks again everyone i will update when theres news

[Jeannineo]

I live in the North East too. I am 59, had Graves at 21 after birth of my second child. After years of being really ill, meds couldn't control it, I was rushed into hospital for an emergency Thyroidectomy, basically my body had just given up, (age 26). No time to shrink my enormous Thyroid before surgery, so a huge scar, and Thyroid storm afterwards. Sent home with my miracle pill! 100mcg Thyroxine, the dose has never been altered, up or down, even when I feel I needed it due to having no gland at all! Muddled through till the menopause, then went downhill, so have been fighting Gps, Endos, even private to address my worsening health, for the past 15yrs! One Endo told me after 30 yrs on Thyroxine it looked like the cells were resistant to it, didn't offer a solution though! Went to Sunderland Hospital too, can't remember Endos name, he told me he could help me, said he had something else I could try, I presume now it was T3. I had to have lots of tests that day, then was told to come back the following week to see this Endo.. I had to fill a Questionaire in too. I too admitted to being a smoker....... The following week, all excited and hopeful I eagerly awaited seeing this Endo again, unfortunately he sent one of his underdogs to see me, basically said, Mr such and such has unfortunately decided he can't help you further!!, I was then dismissed and he left!! To this day I blame saying I smoked on that form.