Hi guys, I’m looking at seeing a private endo after all the trouble I’ve had the last two days with my GP, and knowing how much faith I have in my NHS endo (not a lot!) and trying to get ANY sort of treatment despite blood work indicating that I need it!
My question is, roughly how much (roughly) am I looking at paying out for a consultation, and what happens after that initial consult with regard to treatment and ongoing prescriptions?? I understand that it depends on the area that you live in, I am in South East Wales, not far from Newport. Don’t know if that helps or if anyone is local-ish to me that can advise.
Many thanks as always.
Shelley xx
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LuluCops
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I don't know what the charges are but Dr <redacted name> who works at Weston-super-Mare prescribes T3 and NDT. You can contact him through his secretary at Weston Hospital.
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LuluCops Consultant fees will vary according to the individual TBH. To have an indication, you could search online for private Endos in your area, and look at the websites of a couple as some do specify fees there, or if fees aren't specified, you could contact one or two randomly, and ask. Earlier this year I contacted Spire by email for a friend, to ask about certain investigations, and they happily told me how much was the initial and subsequent consultations depending whether you saw a GP or a Consultant, and the cost of the procedures plus follow up, for instance. That is what I would suggest as a start point - no need to worry about whether the ones you contact are good bad or indifferent at this stage if you are just wanting a ball park cost.
As a result of seeing someone privately, there is no guarantee that your treatment will be taken on by your NHS GP, some might do so, but they are perfectly free to tell you that if you want to follow your private Endo's treatment plan then you have to return to your private Endo for it ie pay. There's no guarantee how it will go for you. So you may end up paying for the actual prescription to be written, about £50, plus will definitely have to pay for the prescription to be dispensed. Depending on what blood tests the private Endo wants, you may have to pay for those also if your GP won't order them, and will need return appointments for monitoring and treatment adjustment as necessary. The cost of the meds will depend upon what is prescribed and how much - Levo is cheap as chips in theory and again for a ball park figure you could ask in a couple of local pharmacies how much they will charge to dispense a private prescription for a month's supply of say, 100mcg per day, to get an idea. T3 and NDT will be a LOT dearer - in excess of £200 per month for say 20 mcg per day of T3 for instance. Whilst we are in the EU you could send your prescription for T3 to Germany say, where it will cost c31 € for 100 x 20 mcg tablets of T3. UK pharmacists are free within their regulations, to also charge a dispensing fee if they wish, for dispensing a private prescription, which I think is expected to be in the region of £50, but I don't know if any actually do do that, so again you could ask your local pharmacists if they do or don't. If you've never been given any thyroid meds, you would be advised to start with Levo rather than the T3 options.
So the total outlay will depend whether once you have seen your private person initially, your NHS GP is willing or not, to pick up the ongoing tab, as it were; and until the Endo writes to your GP with his recommendations, you won't know that.
Thank you for your reply MaisieGray it’s really helpful. I am already on Levo, and just paid out for private blood tests that show I have TGab anti bodies, proving what I’ve been trying to tell them for ages, that I believed I had Hashimotos. But my GP is refusing to treat me. I’m also low on the RR for B12 and I’m extremely symptomatic of a deficiency and again they won’t treat it!
Basically I’ve had to have a meeting now with the practice manager and another doctor and even though I went in with a LOT of research and guideline printouts but although she admitted that the local guidelines differed to national guidelines but they have to adhere to the local guidelines and therefore won’t be treating me, they need to contact a haematologist regarding the B12 and an endocrinologist for my thyroid. Even though, ever since I was diagnosed, in 2016, I’ve never once seen an endo for my thyroid nor been offered an appointment to do so! They made me feel as if I was in the wrong, at both my initial consultation with the GP on Wednesday and my meeting yesterday, they reduced me to tears, they could see I was struggling with my speech and my memory and cognitive issues, yet they still won’t treat me as a patient, only as a number. According to the GP that was in the room yesterday, she didn’t want to treat me because according to the NHS I’m within range for both, even though my bloods for my thyroid clearly show I’m under medicated and have Hashimotos. She stated that she is outside of her comfort zone and that’s why she won’t treat me for either!! So angry and frustrated!!
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