Sorry for the ranty post but I’m home alone so my partner can’t take the brunt of my annoyance!
I went for a medical at my GP today (work related). So I didn’t see the lovely GP who has been so good with me - the one who listened, Tested everything you lot recomended, then prescribed all the vitamins I said I needed, even though I was technically ‘in range’. No, I saw the guy who without a doubt is the one responsible for the practice budget.
He spent a good 10 mins at the start of the medical appointment trying to remove vitamins from my prescription saying that I was ‘within range now so they’ve done their job’. I argued a bit and the only one he removed in the end was folate - mentioning ‘leafy vegetables’.
I asked how I got so low in the first place and surely the supplements were the things keeping me at the levels I’m at now (and still not where I want to be, ferritin was 49 at the end of May). He said I couldn’t hope to get my ferritin higher unless I have a very meat heavy diet...?!
He said my last blood test also showed that my free T4 was high (only 1 point out of range) and queried whether I could be over medicated. I don’t feel remotely over medicated! I asked if he was going to prescribe me some T3 to help me convert it lol - he declined and waffled on about the prohibitive costs.
I get all that! But surely he should want me to absolutely optimise my B vitamins because if we on here all understand the correlation between these and good absorption, surely he does too?
Just grr ... i think the only reason he agreed to keep me on the ferritin and Vitamin D was that I said I would be happy to try without but would want regular blood tests - I could see him doing the sums in his head!
I wouldn’t be a GP for anything but it totally felt like the budget is the only thing that matters! I wouldn’t mind but I didn’t even go for a medicine review! He was paid £120 and only checked my BP and heart.
I don’t even know why I’m ranting - I think I just didn’t enjoy feeling like a drain on the NHS instead of a person! I felt so ill for so long and can see them trying to whisk away the things that make me feel well!
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Jooju2004
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T3 is not expensive here, so I don't think insurance companies care much. But in rural areas docs have no knowledge of T3. At least that has been my experience.
That's exactly my observations after reading posts of US patients. Also much easier to obtain NDT and knowledge wise most doctors quite switched on (not al I admit) in comparison to UK standard of primary care. But I could also say same other European countries doctors are much more patient orientated and knowledgeable vs UK status.
Definitely UK has very bad rep health wise in primary care level.
I'm one of those with complete lack of respect to any UK GP and will happy hop on the plane to get scripts for the medications I need.
Well you see, that's the thing...you have to demand T3 in the US because almost no doctor is going to suggest that you might benefit from it. They have been conditioned to only write scripts for Synthroid and not even generic levo. Let alone T3 or NDT.
I also had to fire 2 Endocrinologist in order to fine that one who was willing to listen and not blame the patient (me) for not feeling well on only a T4 medication and still didnt feel great on T4 and T3 meds on Armour Thyroid now.
I believe most doctors say no or dont even suggest T3 medication because your labs look good and because they nolonger want to be bothered with the you because of your lab numbers say your doing good. For example, I would go see my Endo every 6-8 weeks even if my blood results said I was good (I felt awful) and complain about severe feet, ankle and knee pains that left me bed bound more often then not and mood swings that were scary and still my 2 Fired Endos did not care.
Recently my Orthopedic surgeon ask me how I felt after knee surgery and I paused he said look Grace I can do xrays, MRIs and blood test all day long but you need to tell me how you really feel because only you know this.... he's right!
Endocrinologist are nothing more then medical accounts basing your health on labs numbers ignoring the patient.
I even wonder by the time you've paid for a prescription would you be better buying a better quality vitamin, I'm not convinced Dr's surgeries buy in good quality ones.
A GP years ago said he could give me Vit D2 so I didn't bother with it as Vit D3 is the one that's needed.
Unfortunately Dr's don't receive proper training on vitamins, minerals or on how foods can help us.
I saw someone say on here the other day - 85000 members! Would any one of us have even found this forum if our GPs managed us better? I know I only found this lifeline of a site because I had been feeling so ill for so long. Thank god this site exists but it shouldn’t have to!
At least with a diagnosed thyroid problem we get free prescriptions! I’ve never agreed that free prescriptions for certain lifelong conditions are the best use of NHS funds but I’m not complaining - although I’m with you on the poor quality of prescription vitamins.
If you're Levo & it's works for you that's great and so much better that it's free. Us thyroid sufferers have enough to worry about as it is 😊 All the best. Paula
Apologies to add fuel to the fire and hijack your rant but....... it’s not just the NHS but also private GPs... had so many horrid experiences... to list a few ....
- when I was 21 and just starting my masters literally overnight I started sleeping 18 hours a day, put on 10 kilo in 3 weeks, was crying non stop. Went to my private GP sobbing something was wrong and he laughed and told me I was just stressed at starting a masters and prob eating too much (I wasn’t awake long enough to eat)... 4 months later and having dropped my masters because I couldn’t hold my head up without it falling he finally tested me and then laughed and told me I had the lowest thyroid he had ever seen (TSH was over 100). They then put me on thyroxine and I had a few tests and specialists just said they didn’t why I had hypothyroidism) and no one even told me how best to take levo etc.
- subsequent to that I developed extremely bad IBS (as my gut stopped working for about 8 months) so spent years going to specialists and they told me was just stress and laughed at me when I said I thought was food/sibo related and told me I was imagining being bloated (despite looking 12 months pregnant) and tried to put me on antidepressants/hypnotherapy (now we know about FODMAPs and gut flora) . Between ibs and thyroid ended up losing my job in investment banking as was in agony every day.
- more recently, was ok (not great at all but ok) on levo for about ten years but last two years fatigue got much worse so went to new NHS doc, she did find my vit D was low but even after it went to normal levels it would take me 8 hours to get from bed to sofa most days. Over a phone call she said I prob had CFS and there is no cure. I didn’t have the energy to argue.
Am still not great, haven’t done a full weeks work in a year but after having had to spend half my life doing research on google and cutting out gluten/FODMAPs etc and taking supplements etc I do feel drastically better (not a placebo effect!) and it’s so bloody annoying the mainstream medical lot refuse to believe food/T3/vitamins etc can have such an impact or that we can feel in our bodies when something is wrong even if blood tests in range. They sneer when you mention things like SIBO / adrenal fatigue and maybe some of it is bull but the so called snake oil merchants helped me a lot more than the so called experts. If I hear it’s just stress one more time I might flip. Yes I am stressed because I feel like death!!
However don’t want to be too harsh and I know there are some good docs out there and it’s a tough job.
Rant over! 😁 on a more positive note it’s very helpful to have sites like this, especially when family and friends think you a lazy hypochondriac half the time. Xx
Oh god you’ve been through it!! I had similar fatigue but I think b12 was the thing that turned me around the most - despite the fact it was ‘within range’ I had 3 months off work, unable to answer a question such as ‘cheese or ham sandwich’ without crying as processing the words was just too hard (not great brain activity for a lawyer!). I was saying today that I kind of feel lucky that I was misdiagnosed (as post menopausal at 41) for 2 1/2 years because it meant I ended up researching by the hour to find out what might help. I feel I understand the thyroid so much better than the medical professionals I have encountered so far, and I wouldn’t have done if I was put on Levo from the very first symptom. I have a friend who has been on a high dose of Levo for 14 years and never feels amazing, but puts all the aches and pains down to age (50) and weight (maybe 2 stone overweight max). Doesn’t question it because she was never ‘that bad’ ... I guess in a roundabout way I’m saying that being so ill is crap but it is the only way for us to understand this journey we’re on.
I hope you manage to get back to where you were or where you want to be ... if you’re not there yet, there is an answer, but you’ll have to find it yourself
Your friends and family should spend just a few hours on here to see that it’s not just you!
Thank you and I hope you have better luck with your medicals in the future!
I have to say, I am feeling more optimistic as it didn’t occur to me until a few months ago that maybe I have a conversion issue etc so did think I had CFS etc and was losing the will. Am sure will be a process but at least, thanks to sites like these etc, I know what to ask for with docs etc.
Have an endo appt in mid October so let’s see! Will check out B12 as I had an injection a few years ago and felt high for about a month so might ask for another.
If we were Japanese we would get b12 injections if our level dropped below 600... here it’s 150ish I think? Mine was 280ish but since I started 10 weekly injections I realised that was a massive part of my CFS type symptoms.
Good luck in October ... and thanks for ranting along with me x
Doctors are a bit of a lottery! Mine told me to stop taking any vitamins. I ignored her! Recently she said which ones did I want testing! Only thing she may have done was to read my food intolerances which clocked up 142 though that included a few low vitamins and some E numbers but I think she had accepted my diet is lacking rather than taking on board as thyroid patients we can be low in Nutrients. But it's a step in the right direction!
No, I think they are ignorant though of how things affect the patient. Often I think doctors think if they have given treatment it's job done but I'm sure many will agree with me that actually doesn't happen. You only have to read this forum to see how different we all are in both symptoms and treatment and response to treatment. But I can't blame doctors or should I say GP's as they have a terrific workload, slots wasted as patients don't turn up or whatever. Experts in the field have a greater responsibility though and often we find them lacking basic facts. Now I know research is evolving all the time, my late husband was a researcher on Thyroid and some of its various workings but it takes an eternity for scientific research to become day to day medical advice and in many respects quite rightly as it's long way from lab rat to a family member. But a crossover is necessary as scientist can't prescribe he can only say why things are thought to be happening from data produced. Treatment is a different kettle of fish as they recommend the treatment if they are in agreement with it. Science and medicine have to work together but I cant see that happening in every situation as quickly as we might like it. So whether doctors are trying to kill us, no they don't intend to but however you look at it ignorance is not bliss for the patient who is still suffering.
Yeah can do that - it’s just that sense of injustice that my GP should want me to be well and should be proactive and educated enough on this subject to understand what I need, I guess.
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