I had a facevto face appointment with a GP on Monday. This was a new GP so thought I stood a chance if levo increase .
No the case, I asked nicely, I quoted a few things, I asked for a trail on a increase, she wouldn't budge, she quoted that to have to much levo could make me unwell and they have to keep a balance.
She went on about it being physiological .
What she did reluctantly because of my age (64) was to give me a low does of HRT.
I will take the HRT for 3 months and if nothing improves with my health I will go to see a private GP or endocrinologist.
Feel like I'm going mad.
Written by
Dawney63
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Unless she's a psychiatrist and not just a GP she has no business diagnosing any potential mental condition. Funny how they use just symptoms for depression or anxiety but are totally fixated on blood tests for thyroid.
Not a little hypocritical. I kinda wish the thyroid blood tests had never been invented and doctors still went by symptoms. I think there would be far fewer dissatisfied patients.
I totally agree i have been feeling unwell for a few months, all they keep saying is depression which i have had for many years, but i dont feel depressed just emotional and tired, she was the same sick to death of it all this site is great , i have paid in all my working life it annoying that i have to go private i haved checked the prices are so high had enough, i hope you get help h]know how you r feeling, take care
So this clown thinks you need HRT while another, two months ago, advised against it
It's a wonder she didn't throw antidepressants into the misjudged mix!
Frankly they don't know their a*** from their elbow.
Sorry ...but the health service now available to thyroid patients makes no sense and is absolutely not fuelled by intelligence.
I'm inclined to agree with Sparklingsunshine .....blood tests have probably caused more problems than they have solved because medics have no idea which tests are important or how to analyse the results when they do receive them. Look no further than this forum for verification of that!
GP is correct, too much levo can cause problems not least an increased risk of cancer. BUT she clearly has no idea what too much is
23 days ago your Free were -
FT4 17 (12-22) which is 50% though the reference range
FT3 4.2 (3.1-6.8) which is 29.73% ditto
We aim to have both Frees roughly approaching 75%.....your %ages are clearly low, particularly FT3
FT3 is the most important result followed by FT4....if cellular T3 is low ill healh follows
What is clear is that your T4 to T3 conversion is poor (high FT4 compared to low FT3) resulting in low FT3
Have you been advised to optimise vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin to support thyroid function/ conversion
How much levo are you taking?
Did you test ....
at 9am,
24 hours after last levo dose ....
At least an hour away from foods and drinks
After 6 weeks on a consistent dose oflevo
You appear to have room to safely add 25mcg T4 to you dose, so long as correct testing proocol was followed.
I suggest you request a consultation with an endo on the grounds of your continuing poor health, your hypothyroid symptoms and your low Free levels.
If GP refuses, complain to the Practice Manager that your concerns are not being addressed and that you have been given conflicting/ wrong advice re HRT which you doubt you need and that GP is not listening to you as is
I'm actually surprised they gave her HRT, I had a very up herself "I know best" locum doctor lecture me that you cant stay on HRT for ever and have you thought about coming off it. No and I didnt know there was a time limit. Awful woman. I'm 55.
Somebody suggested the other day that I sounded angry in a reply? I was actually just doing a bit of straight talking about the issue under discussion!!
Are we supposed to sound upbeat when the kind of nonsense dished out to patients is so pathetically awful.
I think we can be forgiven for feeling a tad exasperated when we read here, on a daily basis, the amount of suffering "they" cause.
Some of them are so dim that they don't realise that people without medical degrees also have a couple of grey cells to rub together....or maybe they do and it terrifies them.
Yet, they have the last word and are actually a powerful political financial and medical force to attempt to oppose.
I'm 78 so I remember when health care was actually caring!!
It's a glorious day so I'm going out to the garden for a wander before I start ranting further!!
Haha rant away DD, you're always on the nose and very interesting to listen to. Ranting is good for our mental health 🤣. I'm far more ranty now than I was when I was younger. I'm at the time of life where I havent got the patience to put up with BS.
Ooh, but haven’t you heard about the GMC increasingly letting people without medical degrees loose on unsuspecting patients? They call them “Physician Associates” and some of them are even administering anaesthetics and performing surgery!
You and I could be qualified to become endocrinologists very soon! Yayyy! 🥳
The first doctor I approached about hrt two years ago asked me how do you think 50s housewives got on? I said I have a job. Then she said I couldn't have it as I could only have it for 5 years and what would I do then when I really needed it?
Unbelievable. Yes lets go back to the bad old days of leeches and the 4 humours whilst we are at it. I bet they dont tell blokes they can only have Viagara for 5 years.
People in the 50's suffered because there was no alternative. They also died of things we survive today and had shorter lives. Not something to emulate.
Thank you for your reply.I first started HRT at the age of 52 in 2011, ( begging for 3 years to have it) 5 years later 2016, I was told no more HRT, you have had it for 5 so have to stop, I strugged through another 3 years then begged again for HRT, I was told I could try it again, I think I was on it for about a year then my nephew committed suicide, I had already lost my brother (his dad) the year before my world fell apart, I'd forget to order the patches forget to put them on ect ect, then covid happened, my sister became even more unwell, mum was very Ill I was caring for them sister died 2021, mum and partner died 2022, then thyroid issues started.So it was only really this year I started asking about the HRT again, I think its been about 5 years I've not taken it, 3 gps and 6 months later I have my first patch on.
Thank your or your reply.I take a vitamin B complex tablet every other day and a folate tablet the days I don't take a vitamin B tablet , I this on alternative days as my B12 levels were high and I was worried as I red High B12 levels can make you confused.
I use a magnesium spray and take a vitamin D tablet every day.
I follow the recommended proton here as to the blood tests, 9am, no food from night before, no levo that morning.
I take 100 mg of accord levo each morning at 7 am, I don't eat for a hour after taking it, then take other medication about 12 pm.
I am over 70 and have been on HRT for 14 years. I intend to take them with me at my funeral, clutched in my cold dead hands. I read an article about advising older women to come off HRT and take anti-depressants instead. I had no idea anti-depressants contained hormones!
I think the very word"hormones" strikes fear into the heart of every man, including doctors!
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Good new from gp
Pointless GP appointment
