How can I get my GP to test vitamins?

[Gillybean129]

Have my review coming up, what's the best way to approach this?

[Moggie]

By asking politely and making it clear that you have learnt that certain vitamins are very important as far as thyroid medication, and its ability to work properly, goes (not that you wouldn't have ask politely of course).

Are you still having symptoms and want to know why? If so then this could be a way around it by asking something like "could my continued exhaustion be lack of iron and not my thyroid levels".

Moggie x

[Gillybean129 in reply to Moggie]

I'm just so weary in the morning and if i sit down after tea well that's it I have no energy, fingers swollen and hurt and the general aches and pains....

[shaws Administrator]

First, are you feeling well? If not you need a raise in meds but probably need to wait for blood test results. Ask for a copy and post with the ranges for members to comment on them.

You can say can I have my B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate checked (the first two are usually deficient in hypo).

[Gillybean129 in reply to shaws]

They only ever test TSH, which the last year has been 1.8 April 2013 1.2 in July and December 2013, nothing else to go on the refuse to test anything else..

[shaws Administrator in reply to Gillybean129]

email [e-mail] and ask for a copy of the Pulse Online article by Dr Toft. Make a copy highlighting question 6, which tells GP how low your TSH could be if you have clinical symptoms, plus if still not well, the addition of T3.

Send this to your GP with a note before your next consultation so that he has time to read it so that you can discuss this.

Please ignore the comment by Dr T that 'anything else is due to home life etc. etc. This is pure conjecture by people who have never had hypo. In fact this part is an insult.

[oldgreybird]

I found the best way to get my doctor to test vitamins was to suggest that by testing them if they came back fine then we could discount them from having anything to do with how I was feeling and that I would stop going on about them - she always poohpoohed my suggestion that maybe low Vitamin D was contributing to my problems and I think she was tired of me banging on about it so relented to doing the tests as a way of shutting me up. Of course the Vitamin D was very low! She did have the decency to apologise for dismissing me wanting the tests.

[Gillybean129]

To my astonishment I have been allowed the test for Vitamins and Iron etc, plus my GP wanted a Full Bloods done, which now I am paranoid about as I am thinking why does she want this, what's it going to throw up? At least I'll know about the vitamins situation which is good, so happy with that!