A suggestion from a newbie : I just thought that... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

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A suggestion from a newbie

I just thought that maybe I should suggest something that would help newbies like myself. I AM NOT being critical here. Just a thought. I’m sure there are many new posters like myself who aren’t familiar with all the acronyms that are used on here. For example TT. Maybe if a person identifies him/ herself as new, for the first time answering you could say the full word with the acronym in brackets. It can be frustrating when you don’t have a clue what the poster is trying to say to you. It’s hard enough trying to take in and remember all the very welcome advise being given.

Just a thought.

Written by

mikkymouse

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13 Replies

•

radd6 years ago

If you look under pinned posts (think of it as a physical notice board) helvella has left a sheet compiling many of the abbreviations & acronyms used frequently within the forum.

dropbox.com/s/og3lmxa1dqadb...

mikkymouse• in reply toradd6 years ago

Thanks but newbies don’t know that I would think. Just a suggestion.

helvella• in reply tomikkymouse6 years ago

a) I have completely lost count of the number of times I have pointed out that this document exists;

b) I have also lost count of the number of times I have pointed out abbreviations and acronyms that posters have not explained and asked them to do so;

c) And the number of times I have gone away and found an interpretation and posted it on the thread;

d) There is a base limit to the this. I really cannot complain at people using a handful of the most important and common ones without explanation - maybe, TSH and T4?;

e) Not every new member needs such help - many might be new here but have years of thyroid experience;

f) As administrators are here to help, continually carping on about abbreviations is not going to be appreciated by lots of members. There are more important issues.

In summary, your principle is fine, converting it into reality is another matter. And some posters simply seem wilfully not to explain! (Probably not true - just feels like it. ) The most common one appears to be NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) which some posters assume everyone is born knowing.

mikkymouse• in reply tohelvella6 years ago

It was just a suggestion!!! But I personally have never read what you listed above. Not complaining. Just saying that if I had known that I would have kept my mouth shut. I had never heard the term NDT before I came on here by the way. Because this is the first forum ever for me I am still trying to figure it all out. Not succeeding that much but that is just me. I’m trying to take a lot in while feeling like hell! And coping with memory loss and lack of concentration

😱😰

helvella• in reply tomikkymouse6 years ago

I do agree that people should not use unexplained abbreviations and acronyms. (And not just for the sake of new arrivals.)

I go further, and try to avoid many forms of English which are not standard - including, for example, text-speak.

Or non-English posts of which I (and others) have posted English translations.

Also, because on re-reading it isn't quite as clear as it needs to be, it is very much NOT just me who does these things. Many other members put a lot of effort in.

mikkymouse• in reply tohelvella6 years ago

Not quite sure what the last part means but don’t need to. IF I stay in this forum I will try really hard not to say too much. It has just got me in trouble and has caused me too much upset and tears by a few members. Most are wonderful and patient. I do appreciate them.

helvella• in reply tomikkymouse6 years ago

It means no more and no less than this:

Although my original wording made it look as if I am the ONLY person who tries to ensure no unexplained abbreviations and acronyms, and posts links to my document, and posts interpretations of abbreviations, that is actually far from the truth. Many others do the same.

Marz• in reply tomikkymouse6 years ago

It takes time to get to know a site - but most questions can be answered by looking at RELATED POSTS or PINNED POSTS. On a PC you can look to the right of this page - on a phone scroll down and down ! It's all there 😊 Have you found the SEARCH facility yet ?

mikkymouse• in reply toMarz6 years ago

Thanks Marz. No I haven’t found much at all. If I do it’s by accident and then I can’t remember what I did. 🤔 I’m on a phone. I need to keep on trying different things but like I tried to explain to other posters, it’s hard to do when you are feeling like heck and your concentration is bad. I was bedridden up until a couple of weeks ago. If any members have been there, they should understand.

Thanks again.

mikkymouse6 years ago

Thanks Scrumbler

I get my notices via email. I haven’t seen a home page. I need to look and see if I can see pinned notices.

I should never have posted that last night. I regretted it right away because I knew I would get feedback that I really didn’t want.

In honesty I need a break from this site because it seems that all I do is upset people and that was never my intention.

Take care.

Zephyrbear• in reply tomikkymouse6 years ago

Dear Mikki, we’ve all been where you are now and it’s sometimes easy to forget how bewildering all these abbreviations used to be, especially when the brain was beset by fog... However, if you scroll all the way to the bottom of this thread you will come to the ‘Pinned Posts’ section where you will find ‘helvella’s A Brief Thyroid Glossary’ which you can look at every time you come across an acronym you don’t understand yet (you will get most of them eventually as you become more familiar with the terminology) If you have access to a computer it’s quite easy to download and print a copy of it out which I found quite useful when I started, but if you haven’t then it’s always there at the bottom of every thread. All new things are bewildering when we first start out, but this site is very good, one of the best I’ve come across and people are always ready to help. Don’t give up on it yet... Give yourself time to learn and adjust. You won’t regret it. 💖

mikkymouse• in reply toZephyrbear6 years ago

Thank you. I am leaving for now at least. I feel that I started on the wrong foot and I’ve never gotten on the right one. There are lovely caring people on it and I appreciate their help so much and I have said it a lot but I still get lectures about how they are only trying to help, as if I don’t know that. I am sensitive right now but even if I wasn’t I wouldn’t like to hear the negative comments.

I hope you are well.

Sheila xx

mikkymouse6 years ago

I plan on pm you but we are going out now. I don’t dare put publicly what I want to say.