after getting wonderful advice from the forum as always, I went to my consultants visit armed with everything I needed …and …..hopeful …..always hopeful. Well what a visit. What an obnoxious prat . Asked why I’d come…..asked how I charge my phone, is it in a socket or on the electricity pylon outside, asked my education 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣, made an analogy about taking steroids then stopping them ….told me to stop taking t3 ….take 50mcg levo, buy multivitamins, couldn’t see my goitre, wasn’t interested in my swollen hand. I was then given an exam into my knowledge of the thyroid and pituitary gland 🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙… Why after looking on google I thought I Could take liothyronine …..I told him that I had realised a long time ago that with this illness you have to fend for yourself as there is virtually zero help. Sooooooooo…………………I asked him what his education was, 😃😃😜🥳🥳🥳what case studies he’d done, what he majored in, or was he JUST general. I then asked him why he was so annoyed and had such an attitude and why every time I talked to him he rolled his eyes and looked at the wall. I also said if you are going to give me analogies please make sure they make sense and are actuall relevant. 😃😃😃😃😃. I was left being told I’d see him in 6 months….I think not, 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢I will never see him again and have asked for a complaints form.
His name…….well that’s the bit that’s just the best……his name is
Mr. V[edited]. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣and I really bit my tongue not to say ..v[edited] by name v[edited] by nature. ( sorry if that offends anyone, but it was just too appropriate than to leave out).
Don’t know who he thought he was. Just because he calls himself a consultant gives him no right whatsoever to think he is an better than anyone and there lies the problem. So now I’m on 50 mcg like a guinea pig until he deems me a good girl and can have more. Oh yes and I’ve put on 4 more kg yipeeeeeeeeeeeee 😕.
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Rowing2
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I feel your pain. I had exactly the same experience when I was trying to get my first prescription for T3. I have no idea why endocrinologists think they are God but sadly so many do.
In a way you are right. We should be allowed a black list, so that we don’t waste money on these arrogant men, who think they are God. To be fair, I did manage to get a private prescription for T3 from mine and then managed to get my GP to put it on my NHS prescription but that is long ago. It probably would not happen so easily now.
There is a list of good endocrinologists, I believe, at Thyroid UK and you can ask for it. I hope you eventually get what you need to become well. Don’t give up!
Honestly I have reason to think that even this list from Thyroid UK is not necessarily a list of ‘good endocrinologists’. To be fair Thyroid UK themselves do not tout it as a list of good endocrinologists. In my experience, at best, if you are looking for a prescription for T3, that might be OK but there may be other important issues to consider. Your very own symptom picture is important. I supplied my blood tests and medical history. All my own work. Thorough. After no examination and very little discussion, I left with a prescription for T3 (How wonderful, I thought at the time). Also left with an instruction ringing in my ears that in reality was gaslighting, involving me in a number of traumatic visits to A&E that I could have done without. It’s contributed to setting me back another year. Still I guess I have learned a lot as well as having been relieved of some of my riches,
you are absolutely right and my prescription for T3 led me into years of struggling to get the dose right, because the arrogant endocrinologist had no real idea how it should be used. I tried every variation on the T3 scheme, saw the wonderful, Dr Skinner, followed by an endocrinologist in Harley Street ( who also thought he was God) until finally I realised I needed very little to give me the right dose. Nobody ( except Dr. Skinner) had warned me it was such trial and error and maybe others just pop it in their mouths and miracles happen. Not in my case but at last I found the dose that worked for me and now I just have to keep fighting the NHS to keep my prescription.
Hi again. I’ve been doing exactly the same as you and my gp was happy for me to change the doses and keep notes. Unfortunately when he was on holiday another gp who is partner in the practice, picked up my notes and recent bloods and then the course was just about my tsh levels and that’s all that matters to them.
Hi there, all I’m really looking for is someone I actually think knows what they are talking about and are not driven by tsh results alone. Up to now I have had zero confidence and feel like I’m going round in circles. I want someone to truly look at my history, my results and then make me feel they understand me, not someone whose gone into endocrinology as they couldn't do anything else, but wanted to be a consultant. I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere, isn’t there??????🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯. I always go with a file filled with scans, results, profiles etc…..but none are interested. T3 makes me feel better, I just need t find the right combination.
Oooooooh is there a list. That would be fabulous. The interesting thing is with the fantastic help of slow dragon…….drum roll pls……he’s actually not an endocrinologist , he’s a GP. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯. I now have much more to complain about. Why would I be mislead to believing he was. Maybe he thought by sitting in a consultants chair he could play god for the day. Even the letter makes me believe he’s an endocrinologist. Ridiculous .
I wish I could be that bold and articulate. Well done Rowing2. Probably no use to me knowing his name but yes I do wonder why we somehow can’t out these cretins.
Thank you. There was just no way he was going to intimidate and belittle me and then later we find out he was a GP not an endocrinologist. I’m in the north east if that helps.
Ah Rowing2. I am in the North East too. Yes it’s very difficult here. The (most presently renowned) endo runs a tight ship here (if I have not already told you) and everyone just seems to follow his lead. No lack of knowledge acknowledged here. No T3 here. I went outside the area but was not impressed by my treatment there either. I would be interested in who was pretending to be an endo. Well it’s my area and I try to keep abreast of everything/anything affecting this area. PM me if you want.
I have the same with my NHS Endocrinologist consultant - she is awful. The things I am interested in hearing re likelihood of cancer returning weren’t available ie no ultra sound booked, the machine re my thyroglobulin blood test was broken so nothing really to discuss. For a stretched nhs a complete waste of my time but more importantly hers.
She wasn’t interested in anything else - apparently B12 is in range talk to my GP, cholesterol is nothing to do with thyroid as it has been removed and my medication means it mimicks a functioning thyroid, my severe cramps might be due to low calcium so she will come back to me re increasing vitamin D dose. Still waiting.
I am fine and functioning but it is disappointing when the perceived expert isn’t interested! Tempted to have a consultation with a private endo for piece of mind but not sure it would be any better. If anyone can recommend one in London that would be great.
Have you heard of Benenden . I’ve been with them for years, it’s a low payment monthly insurance and they fast track you to see consultants, ops etc. I didn’t use it for this as the appointment was just made, but I’m going to get in touch , I’ll keep you posted. I just need to find a good endocrinologist somewhere if anyone has one they can recommend. that would be amazing.
it depends . I’ve used them once before and so long as the gp agreed , I got to see a consultant privately. My sister has used them a few times. Once she was fast tracked and ended up having surgery all via Benenden.
An absolute disgrace, I’ve given up with them. Just incase you’re interested, I see a thyroid Doctor based in Bristol. Please privately message me if you’d like details.
Sadly some of these people have been elevated to be "gods" for so long they actually believe they are! Mine said at the last visit I had with him after he suggested something else and I said no thank you politely to his suggestion and his further suggestion that" a little bit of it wouldn't be harmful". "Oh that is right you don't take those poisons". His response was fully sarcastic . He was 62 and retiring to the Health Groups Advantage Plan . Selling their Advantage Plan Health Ins. He was expert at manipulating that Physician's Groups 62 + age patients . We need to get back to "Functional Medicine and Wellness" and doctors who practice that way.
That sounds horrible. Had something similar happen to me and it’s very upsetting. I researched for a sympathetic nhs Endo and asked my GP to refer me to him for a second opinion.
He was great and wrote to my GP saying he disagreed with Mr Awful and continues to prescribe.
If you ever do have the misfortune of seeing him again, you could tell him that, if he knew anything about electricity generation, he'd know that they aren't called pylons, but TOWERS. And, obviously, the amount of current is far too much for many domestic appliance - you could also ask him the minimum number of short drain earths to protect against induced voltage that he'd need to apply before working on a tower (if he did want to try to attach a phone). What a prat! BTW the answer is 3
Brilliant 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. I’m seeing him in 3 to 6 months, but I’m not 😃. My complaint will be in next week. We found out he’s not even and endocrinologist , he’s a G.P . Do you know any good endos in our area, your same as me. This buffoon was in bishop, but also works in Darlington.
Bravo you! I have recently had a similar encounter where I was told to stop all meds for 3 months - no explanation. I have ignored this advice and have written a 2 page stinker to consultant, hospital and GP. I was particularly annoyed that endos letter stated that I had been 'extensively investigated' ie my TSH, T4 and T3 had been tested twice, 3 years apart, plus a couple of 10 minute phone 'appointments'. Full stop.
No idea if the letter will do the slightest good, but feel that endos need to be challenged at every opportunity. Their arrogance and their ignorance is really scandalous.
So again, congratulations, Rowing 2. Hope you - and the rest of us - get the care we deserve in the future.
Am I the only one who saw the shortened name and thought Vagina? Sorry!
I have met similar, I think most of us have. They think they know it all but dont know anything about the thyroid. I was watching the bow tie on one of them, waiting for it to start rotating, such was the clown stuff he was coming out with!
Sorry about your bad experience....Now I wonder if it's worth paying £200 to see an Endo...plus I heard here they changed Armour soooo maybe I'm better off on 45 mg Erfa ( I know I can only take a small amount these days) or about 40mg Thyrovanz NZ....Good Luck !
Well, at least you got past your GP. I’m afraid, the god complex they hand out at the Medical School door, never, really wears off. Even the most affable of MD’s retain it within a professional setting. Whilst, it’s understood that medicine is a profession, it’s also clear that some professionals are more engaged than others. In college, most thought they’d be some radical, ground breaking pioneer. Sadly, the only thing they have to show for their studies is the certificate on the wall. The same wall, day after day. No way out.
You can react in two ways: way 1 is to run the clock down to the yacht and house in Provence at 55. I mean, as long as you read the latest protocols and adhere to them, you can’t be wrong. Right? Way 2: accept that you took an oath and ensure that you respect it by continuing to listen to and look at each, individual, patient. Keep up with and challenge new developments in your field.
A profession is a job, first and foremost. Jobs, by and large, are not, how many of us would choose to spend our time. Except, a lucky, vocational, few.
If your job is to fix things and the customer repeatedly tells you that the problem, after five or six attempts, still persists, your job isn’t done. Learn how to do it or insist that the water flooding through the bathroom ceiling isn’t there, because you fix leaks and you can’t be wrong. Fix it the same way as you did before (that you know isn’t working) and when the customer says it’s still not working: roll your eyes, ask them what they know about it.
It’s all about the certificate. But…
The key workers in the field, that you might have aspired to leading, back in your idealistic youth, are still researching and publishing their latest findings. If you are repeatedly receiving challenging, customer feed-back, perhaps it’s either time to listen or consider referral elsewhere.
Making someone obese through under or inappropriate treatment, is the equivalent to the architect designing a building with a fire place but no chimney. On first inspection, everything looks fine but in practice, not so good, especially if said designer is then prepared to argue that in their professional opinion, the smoke in the house is not their doing. The smoke however will cause untold damage to life and limb if the client is accepting of the assumed, greater knowledge.
The thyroid may not be “easy” but that’s no excuse. Often it’s undiagnosed until all other options have been exhausted. This surely begs the question, why? Is it because it’s a difficult care path, through which, if guidelines are followed, the destination is almost certain to be challenging and unpleasant for the professionals? Well, if that is the case, it’s because the patient is unwell. Perhaps, more unwell than when being guided onto the path in the first place.
Obviously, in most life situations, a bad idea is still a bad idea, regardless of how many times you say it’s fine.
Your endo is doing a professional “shout”to drown out your concerns. As for your qualifications: you are ill. Barry Durrant-Peatfield sums it up well in his simple, old school advice to Doctors: Mark 1 ear & mark 1 eye.
These are the tools. Not chemistry. Not guidelines.
Like a risk assessment, the certificate should not be issued and filed (or framed), it should be a living document. In the case of medicine, it should be a gateway to continued learning and reappraisal. Not an all empowering, lifelong ticket to do superiority and enhanced income.
All this being said, I feel sympathy for doctors for the reasons above.
I find myself in a similar position to so many in this group. And you.
Whilst this rant contains only opinion and is of no, real use to anyone, I hope we all keep fighting for the right to be looked at and listened to. Keep going and thanks for sharing.
I would love to show him your analogies and tell him he could be re-educated by you on how to make them very thought provoking and meaningful. Please feel free to ‘rant’ at any time you wish. Maybe one day one of us with break through the tough skinned , thoughtless buffoons that most of them are and we may find that ‘one’ who DOES want to try to make a difference. Thank you for responding and sharing. Take care. X
I just wanted to thank every one of you who took the time, effort, care and compassion to share your views, expert advise and a listening ear. I truly and I mean this with all sincerity , have no idea what I’d do without this group. I wish we didn’t need it, but I’m so glad I found you , thank you againxxxxx
Hi everyone. I’m got my report back from Dr. V 🤥. My bloods are in it . They took them that morning . This was when taking 50 mcg levo and still taking 12.5 mcg t3. I’d taken the meds normally the night before and the gap was approx 10 hrs and taken after 9am.
Tsh 0.48, ft3 4.8, ft4 9.0 Oct hospital results
Tsh 0.13,( 0.35-5.5) ft3 5.4,(3.5-6.5) ft4 9.0 (9-23)Sep results when taken correctly
No range was given as I’m obviously too stupid to understand them 🤯🤯. , but I presume it’s the same range as the last ones. I did say to him I wasn’t aware he was taking my bloods, so didn’t dose accordingly and he just looked at me and said ‘and’.
He then continues to write a glowing report of how he reassured me 🙈🙈🙈🙈🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥and told me that because I was on a high dose of t3 (12.5 mcg) which is a direct end product of thyroxine that my tsh is suppressed and that I need to be off the t3 for my pituitary gland to respond naturally , which he says I understood 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴.
He concluded by saying I’m clinically euthyroid.
Dr V…….by name V…….by nature is not only a bully and patronising pillock, he’s also a 🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥.
I’ve also had a lot of trouble getting a repeat scan from my gp for my goitre as it’s over 2yrs and my notes say from precious reference that I need them to check the nodules ( I so love that I can read my own medical notes…..obviously the gps disapprove ). The fact it was difficult initially is because Dr. V . said he couldn’t see it 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯.( must have disappeared then 🤯).
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