Private endocrinologist advice

[Simplyred57]

After my GP referred me to see an Endocrinologist of my choice ( from the list from Dionne ) the wait is nearly 4 months , So I have made an appointment to see him privately next week, I would just like a bit of advice please. Do I tell him I got his name from here? ( He has prescribed T3 ) and that is my aim. My GP is doing a letter with my last bloods where my conversion was T4 78% through the range and T3 33% so hopefully he will pick up on it , or do I have to ask for T3 ? Also if he does prescribe T3 how much will it cost me to get it through him? Thank you 😊

[MaisieGray]

"Also if he does prescribe T3 how much will it cost me to get it through him?"

It would be unlikely that you'd get the Liothyronine through him, rather, he can give you a private prescription that you can have dispensed as normal, by any UK pharmacy. But as long as it is written correctly, you might chose instead, to have it dispensed much more cheaply in Germany, where it costs c30 Euros for 100 tablets. The prescription needs to be written as 'Liothyronine 20 mcg 100 tablets' - not as liothyronine sodium, as it is liothyronine hydrochloride that will be dispensed in Germany.

Whether you mention that you found his name in the ThyroidUK list is up to you, I can't think why the subject would come up though. You could just say he was recommended by another patient, if you'd rather. He'll no doubt ask why you've come to see him, and you could say that you aren't doing as well as you'd like, with mono-T4 treatment, and feel that because of your relatively low FT3 level, believe you might benefit from the addition of T3.

[Simplyred57 in reply to MaisieGray]

Thank you for your quick reply. I have purchased some T3 from Greece that I have not used, but yes would be cheaper from Germany. 🤞 x

[shaws Administrator]

He may want to try a couple of alternatives before he prescribes T3.

You can say you've had his name from TUK I don't think there's a problem with telling him.

[Simplyred57 in reply to shaws]

Thank you shaws, do you think he might up my T4 to try to get my T3 up a bit ? I tried that myself by upping to 125 a day ( I’m on 100 ) a day then did medichecks bloods and it sent my T4 up to 25 (top of range 22) and my T3 pretty much stayed the same, I did feel better though , should I tell him I’ve done this without my GP knowledge, I don’t want him to think I’m a know it all.

[Kipsy]

I took a table of all my blood test results to my (private) endo the first time I saw him together with the actual print outs of each one. I added columns to the table showing the % through the range that my T4 and T3 were so that he could see at a glance that I wasn’t converting very well. T4 was top,of the range and sometimes slightly over, T3 was bumping along the bottom eg 3.3 when the range started at 3.1. He reduced my thyroxine and added in T3 which I bought from Germany. Could you perhaps prepare something similar? Good luck.

[Simplyred57 in reply to Kipsy]

Thanks Kipsy , I’m certainly going to do that and hopefully will get the same outcome, 🤞

[Kipsy in reply to Simplyred57]

Keep us posted! Hope it goes well.

[silverfox7]

If he queries advice from Thyroid U.K. you can tell him it's recommended by NHS Choices for thyroid disfunction.

[Simplyred57 in reply to silverfox7]

Thank you , I will and they’re a actually giving him business 😂