GP no good... what r my options?

[Billirvine44]

Hey all ...

I tried to get some comprehensive blood tests from my gp .. 3 months ago my tsh was 5.6 .. we agreed to up my levo dose to 150 mcg from 125mcg a day. He wasn't going to do anything as he said that level is fine.

I asked for.vitamin and other items including t3 in next blood test. He gave me standard t4 and tsh only.

What do I do .. I am I believe experiencing symptoms..

Should I medichecks blood test ? But then will gp act on those results?

Private endo is way too expensive for me.. 270£ initial consultation..200 every other visit, plus bloods and meds.

What are my options ?? Should I hunt for a cheaper endo? I don't want to wait many months for an nhs endo .. I'd like to sort asap.. is it an option to self medicate ? But I am worried.by that option that supply will not be constant etc.

Any advice please ?

Thank u

Ps.. I don't want to upset my gp .. I want to stick with him

[Nanaedake]

If it were me, I would return to GP with a list of symptoms and say you've read the item on

british-thyroid-association... Page 9 refers to nutritional deficiencies as a possible cause of continued symptoms and advises investigation. It gives this list.

"Nutritional

Vitamin B12 deficiency

Folate deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency

Iron deficiency"

Your doctor should take this website seriously as it is subscribed to by thyroid specialists.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Nanaedake]

This is the full link

Hopefully working

british-thyroid-association...

[Billirvine44 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank u .. that link does work..

Medichecks do all those tests.. do gps take notice of medichecks?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Billirvine44]

Depends on the GP

Do you have Hashimotos also called autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies?

If not had antibodies tested then this needs doing too

Low vitamins and gluten intolerance common with Hashimoto’s

[Hidden in reply to Billirvine44]

Blue Horizon do a blood test named Thyroid 11 it tests all of the things that you require testing. You may only have to do this once a year and then reduce to

a lesser package costing less money, it's well worth the money in my opinion

I followed this protocol and now self medicate and feeling well again. I have no thyroid either. I wasted over £2000 on private Doctors and Endos just to warn you against this idea.

Please don't worry about upsetting your GP if he is a good doctor it will not worry him.

[Billirvine44 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thank u .. I am a little worried about upsetting my gp. Lol .. I wanna kèep him in side. Thank u for the link .. I do want all those things checked.

[Greybeard in reply to Billirvine44]

Your GP isnt worried about upsetting you. Your first duty is to yourself.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Billirvine44]

Suggest you politely request these tests. Underline really how very unwell you feel.

Perhaps take in this tick list of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

If he still refuses to arrange then you can say you will be arranging to get tested privately, as advised by the NHS recommended thyroid support group and bythe British Thyroid Association. Both say it's necessary to test FT3, Thyroid antibodies and vitamins, if symptoms remain

[Billirvine44 in reply to SlowDragon]

thank you for that link .. that Is really useful.. I can list from that very easily.

I think ill go straight for the private tests..and take the results to him with my symptoms checked

Thank you for your advice

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Billirvine44]

Make sure to include vitamins and antibodies in testing

[Billirvine44 in reply to SlowDragon]

Got ultravit with rt3 .. hopefully everything in there 😎

[Hidden in reply to Billirvine44]

I forgot to say to do the blood test first thing on an empty stomach and leave of your Levo for 24 hours prior to the test.

[Hidden]

I would not rely on an endo to make you better, the endo I saw said I was lucky and should be grateful that I had a tsh of 22 as this meant that I didn't have diabetes, n that i needed to stop reading such rubbish on the internet that t4 has to turn to t3 in your body to become active. I would follow all of the advice above and pay for your own blood tests 🙂 I hope you feel better soon x

[Billirvine44 in reply to Hidden]

this is a big concern I have about paying a lot of money for something I dont know will deliver anything..

Thank you for your wishes, I hope it all came good for you in the end

[StillEverHopeful]

I understand you not wanting to upset your GP. I felt similar but I used Medicheck. I took results with me to my next visit and told GP that I was feeling so poorly that I had resorted to a private blood test and used advise from here (printed out) the GP was not offended and used the information I provided.

[Billirvine44 in reply to StillEverHopeful]

this sounds like my course of action too

thank you

[StillEverHopeful in reply to Billirvine44]

I hope it goes well for you. I still have a long way to go, but I don’t feel so hopeless. Do get print outs of results from GP too. 😃

[Billirvine44 in reply to StillEverHopeful]

thank you .. very best wishes to you in your journey ..

ive just been looking at medichecks tests.. ill be going that route

[endomad]

I put my request in writing, listing the tests i wanted and why, i also put that the letter was to go on my medical records in case of further deteriorating health and that i wanted my dr to work with me to get me well, i had until that time been compliant patient and done exactly as instructed by my dr but was getting worse NOT better. He booked me in that week!! they do not like requests in writing on your medical notes as it means you can refer back and say...you were negligent. These tests are not expensive on nhs they just cant be bothered and it is another way of pushing us private. I saw my endo private 1st appt 45 mins, we covered everything, then he put me on his nhs list. It was money well spent.

My experience was nhs gp wouldnt even look at private tests and ignored the letter from endo as a private appt but accepted the exact same letter when endo sent on nhs paper!

[Billirvine44]

I would pay for a private appointment or 2 with a private endo if I knew what I was getting .. im just worried ill do £1000 and my GP still wont NHS prescribe me as recommended - if the Endo was even one that understood thyroid as I would hope he should :-S

How did you get an endo that

1) was knowledgable.

2) would write to your GP with NHS prescription recommendation ?

Thank you

[sibyl]

The web based service Thriva offers a comprehensive thyroid function test for £84. I sent my blood to them last Thursday and had the results back by Saturday morning via email. Test include autoimmune, folate, ferritin, D3, B12 as well as T3, T4 and TSH with a commentary by a doctor. In your NHS GP's defence even if they request T3 to be done the labs will only do this if TSH/T4 are out of range.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to sibyl]

Medichecks offer

TSH

Total T4

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

TG antibodies

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Plus Inflammation Marker CRP

Normally £99 often discounted on Thyroid Thursday at £79

Blue Horizon also offer the same test as Medichecks for £99.15

Medichecks and Blue Horizon make a donation to ThyroidUK for every test ordered by members.

[Billirvine44 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I've paid now.. just waiting.. small price to pay if it helps 😉

[Billirvine44 in reply to sibyl]

Wow.. way cheaper then .. I paid nearly 200 with the blood sample. 🙄

[NAdge]

Hey after years of tsh issues plus hospitaliasions at 125 tsh level bone issues etc if your under active make sure you take first thing in morning with water only. no other meds if that doesn’t work crush tablets. Make sure kept in fridge and not expired. That was my main mistake. Have to keep refrigerated and on empty stomach x

[Billirvine44 in reply to NAdge]

Thanks for that reply.. I do take other tabs in morn with my thyrox ..selenium.. that's it though.. but I do sometimes have breakfast.. I have never heard ofnthe keeping in fridge.. crushing sounds sensible. I'll see what my results from the test bring up.

Thank you for taking the time to reply 😉