Continuing treatment with diagnosis from abroad

[czarna91]

Hi guys,

I was wondering whether anyone has any experience with continuing treatment after being diagnosed abroad?

My mum has had her results done in Poland and seen a private endocrynologist, who had diagnosed her with Hashimoto's. Since she had been prescribed her meds she had been feeling loads better.

The problem is she has to go back to Poland regularly to get a few months worth of medications.

As you can imagine, this is not an ideal situation. She has been going to her GPs for years trying to get them to give her the right tests to get it diagnosed, but never got anywhere with it.

She has mentioned this to her GP recently and she has been told that she will have to stop taking her medication to get a reliable result from blood tests.

I have read somewhere that stopping meds for Hashis can be dangerous and I am wondering whether any of you have any suggestions of what she could do to resolve this problem?

Thanks im advance!

[soppysokes]

Is it possible for your mother to see a different GP within the surgery she is registered with in the UK, or persevere with this GP and insist,nicely at least at first, that her thyroid blood test is done.it is quite unusual to have that kind of response to somebody who is already diagnosed and being treated regardless of where diagnosis was made.could it be that you mum has no paperwork/blood test results/polish endo's letter- basically nothing to present to a uk gp?-if so that could well be the reason she isn't getting much help. You are correct in that if thyroid medication is stopped it can cause problems.the only other thing she could do is get a private blood test done in uk and then give gp the results to back up her claim of needing the medication many gps will accept that and then request their own blood test be done to verify and treat accordingly. So much is dependent on any particular gp's view but armed with 'proof' she should get the treatment she needs.

[czarna91 in reply to soppysokes]

Thank you @soppysokes ! I am pretty sure she has got all the paperwork she needs. I think the GP is just being difficult.

If she does have blood tests done whilst taking medications - will they still show that she is ill? Or will they be within range because of the medication?

She's got an appointment on Friday and asked me to come with her. I've done a bit of reading, as I am trying to get myself diagnosed too at the moment. Should have my results back tomorrow!

[soppysokes in reply to czarna91]

For your mum it really depends what the result of a blood test is but without that and the results it's not possible to know what going on really. If her results falls within 'normal range' whilst taking thyroid meds then it would generally indicate they are needed, if below range--taking too much, if above range-- need to take higher dosage.that is a very simplified explanation but without her blood test results with ranges it's difficult to be more precise. If you have any figures for your mum it helps a lot if you can post them on here and others will comment, same for your results when you get them.its a really helpful site here for giving good advice many members are very knowledgable and hopefully that will help you both. Good luck Friday with your mum's appointment.

[Marz]

Take the Polish paperwork along to the appointment. Blood test symbols are International - the doctor is being arrogant .... sadly.

[czarna91]

Right, so my mum is saying she can't find her test results from when she was diagnosed.

soppysokes the results you mentioned above - are they everything we can get, i.e. TSH, T4, T3 and antibodies? What would need to be higher or lower to show the need to adjust meds?

[soppysokes in reply to czarna91]

Have sent you a pm cos it's a bit long winded lol

[Marz in reply to czarna91]

The tests you need are - TSH - FT4 - FT3 - the NHS rarely test the T3. Are you able to have Private Testing done with a kit sent to your home. Well used on this forum by 100's of members. You could try the GP first. Medichecks - see link below - hve Special Offers on a Thursday which are flagged up here on the Forum.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

The above link will explain the various packages. Find one that also includes B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD - as they are usually low with Hashimotos.

Once on Thyroid treatment the TSH should be 1 or under and the FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of the range. What dose of Levo is your Mum taking ?

[Espisnowwoman]

Not a good idea to go off meds. She can be fasting and do labs in the morning.

[Ania22]

What a lot of rubbish coming from the gp.

Sometime syou have to ask, how should I say, not rudely, but in a very demanding way.

Myself, I went to a UK gp and said that I went to a private gynaecologist who diagnosed me with this and that...no questions asked...got a referral immediately.....

In your mum's case I would say a copy of a prescription or even the medicine itself should be enough as a proof that she takes and obviously needs the medication......and just say I am taking 100mg of Levo, could I get 100mg of Levo please......

You get free medication for underactive thyroid, just need to fill the form and send it off.....to get medical expemption certificate...

What if she would be on other meds which she cannot stop at all...would she need to "prove".....

[Lora7again]

Your mother's GP sounds dangerous asking her to stop her medication to do a blood test. I would get her to change GPs to one who actually knows what they are doing.