I had a hugely positive experience with my GP this morning…very unusual for me.
I’ve been having bad asthma flare ups and filled out the online form this morning. Within 30 mins a GP called me to discuss and was very interested in what I had to say. He also offered several options of treatments and as I’m away he was happy to send the prescription to a pharmacy miles away to pick up today!
Whenever I talks about my allergy issues with thyroxine no GP wants to know and I don’t even feel that they believe me tbh. I will wait weeks for an appointment to even discuss it.
Is this a funding thing?
Why are there no other treatment options for hypothyroidism on NHS and why isn’t it dealt with as efficiently as this?
seems like how helpful a gp practice is, is entirely dependant on the health condition!?
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Today seems to have proven it for me. I’ve never had such a great speedy service from my GP, especially never with anything thyroid related! Makes me feel pretty sad tbh!
The main thyroid hormone medicines (levothyroxine and liothyronine) are around seventy years old or so, with desiccated thyroid around sixty years older than that.
Tests have been around for something like fifty years - albeit with many changes to sensitivity, accuracy, cost, etc.
And the mantra of just taking a little white poll every day is etched into brains.
Issues have been ignored, swept under the carpet. Prior to internet days, doctors could genuinely be unaware of many problems. And convince themselves and patients that their treatment is optimal. Though they could also do that out of ignorance or with other motivations.
And thyroid has long been regarded as a solved problem. Hence, little focus in training. And a widespread dismissive attitude.
One of the things that has hit me is the number of people (members and elsewhere) who have had things such as thyroid cancer, Graves for many years, etc., issues which can be tough. Who found their real problems with treatment started after surgery, or whatever.
It almost feels like they are well aware of the issues nowadays but are too scared to poke their heads above the parapet and go against NHS guidelines.
I feel sometimes like it’s far easier for them to just label people with fibromyalgia or CFS because it doesn’t cost money and is a cheap way to get people to go away… it’s sad.
I wonder if perhaps we’ve seen the same one! I feel like many specialist ‘thyroid’ doctors are completely stumped if you don’t respond well to T3 and shrug abnormal test results off too quickly. (In my experience!)
Agree with the other posters. I too have asthma and have always been taken very seriously whenever I've had a flare up. In fairness asthma can kill if left undertreated or undiagnosed. It can become serious very quickly as well.
That said though I do agree with Helvella that thyroid is seen as easy to diagnose and treat ( little white daily pills) and isnt taken all that seriously. Obviously we sufferers know different.
Plus asthma is I believe a highly scoring condition for GP's to diagnose and manage. Hypo on the under hand is not. If your blood tests are in range then any remaining symptoms are psychosomatic, allegedly.
Oh I didn’t know asthma was a ‘high scoring’ condition I imagine that’s why they were keen. My issues are only present in the night at the moment so fully expected them to just add me to the list to be seen in 3 weeks or more!
Funny you mention blood tests. Cos levo makes my thyroid numbers look great but sends my testosterone through the floor and my prolactin through the roof (which obvs then affects other things like dopamine and makes me feel really awful) all normalise when levo is stopped. No one can give me an answer so they just ignore it even though it’s all there in black and white🤦♀️ even my endo was completely puzzled by this and couldn’t give me an answer…
I so desperately wanted levo to be the answer for me and I’d then get to have minimal contact with GP’s and just be able to get on with it but it just hasn’t worked out that way for me very unfortunately!
All sound familiar. I’ve even tried antidepressants for nearly a year before and made no difference…,I’m not even depressed but I guess it’s another easy diagnosis which requires minimal management.
It’s so odd to me that any kind of hormone balance can cause mental health issues but yet that doesn’t seem readily acknowledged by many doctors?
But over or under active thyroid can kill you if left untreated!! Maybe not as quickly as asthma but still life threatening, otherwise why free prescriptions for me for levo prior to retirement!! Had free prescriptions since I was 32!!
I agree. It can completely demolish your quality of life too. Like I can’t tolerate any thyroid meds at the mo and my work/social/personal life are just crumbling more and more each day for the last 2 years and no one wants to listen or even try to help me.
You have to take things into your own hands+wherever possible leave the GP surgery Ur s and even the ignorant endos far behind! What a way to leave - being suspicious of the medical profession who are supposed to do no harm! So at this wonderful season, I send you Christmas greetings, trusting your miracle will be forthcoming in 2025, with a doctor doing the job they're paid to do and enable you to regain your health. Remember, our bodies have inbuilt ability to heal - they just need assistance to promote that healing. Trusting that will be your story in the coming year
I'm not denying thyroid conditions arent serious and should be treated far better than they are, but the undeniable fact remains that on average 3 people a day die from an asthma attack. 1200 people plus a year.
And they are mostly preventable deaths. And asthma can be become threatening within minutes. I've had a couple of emergency admissions due to not being able to breathe and its terrifying, struggling for breath. I find the NHS pretty poor when it comes to non life threatening chronic conditions. And doctors do regard hypo as a minor inconvenience, easily rectified.
I agree with you totally but for me these conditions seems To be interlinked somehow? But still nothing is looked at or considered collectively. Each issue is treated as entirely separate and it hinders things so much
Asthma is potentially immediately life threatening and no GP wants to be hauled before the GMC to explain why they didn’t respond to a medical emergency and why one of their patients is now dead. As horrible as thyroid issues are it doesn’t kill within minutes.
A recent visit to A&E I was treated (IMO) by a very intelligent able ‘young’ doctor. Gave me the correct type of discussion around my heart symptoms. Explained why I was getting the pain in great detail (no-one has ever bothered to do that). This answered, anatomically, why it was happening, without any chemistry. The endothelium was unable to go through the ‘normal’ relaxation mode of the heart. Something I have tried to explain to umpteen doctors - that sensation. Similar to the asthmatic who can breathe in but not out.
Research describes this very symptom as in hypothyroidism and it’s effects on the cardio vascular system. I thanked her but made the ‘mistake’ of referring to this association with hypothyroidism. This perfectly intelligent woman could not hide the shutters going down in her eyes. I knew and recognised it immediately.
Hypothyroidism is like some dirty word, something unmentionable. Something almost criminal to mention. As if one lives in a communist or despotic state and big trouble could harm anyone daring to mention it. Freedom of speech? Granted they don’t necessarily have the time but it’s more than that. It’s a complete shut down.
Lack of education and/or ingrained ‘instructions’? Forget hypothyroidism, it’s if no importance whatsoever.
It has a very interesting name NOT! Coronary spasm. Pity they don’t know (or have the confidence) to treat it with thyroid hormones. It’s caused by Low T3.
Interestingly I felt the same vibe when I saw an endocrinologist recently (for female hormone issues) as soon as I mentioned that I feel there’s a connection to thyroid and how I have a severe allergy like reaction to levo…she just didn’t really want to discuss it or acknowledge. I even showed pictures cos I get rashes, facial and eyelid swelling…and for some reason it was put in my notes that I don’t take levo due to ‘hairloss’ !? Like lady if taking levo made me well but completely bald I couldn’t care less!
First of all I feel that doctors are not very well educated in all things thyroid. My experience is that doctors, especially doctors who just rolled off the production line, are under the impression that if the TSH is within interval (or sometimes even way above) the patient is actually fine or has some other health issue. That's what they seem to learn. And the other thing they learn is that Levo fixes everything. I have heard variations of that many, many times from many, many doctors.
Next, the health care system is broken. Doctors have no time (how much do you learn about anybody in 10 minutes?). They can not be thorough. Doctors are also restricted in what they can do (such as testing, prescriptions, referrals etc.). So, in my opinion, in many cases they have to make (more or less) educated guesses. They wing it.
And lastly, doctors are human beings. They err. They get stressed. They pretend. They lie. They are empathetic or not. They form biases. And so on and so on. In short, even though they can act as if they are all-knowing, very superior and special, they really are like any other human being with all the wonderful and terrible traits humanity has to offer. Unfortunately the power and status they have been given for decades, maybe centuries, has gone to their heads in many cases. There is research about how power changes the brain (and not for the better). Power corrupts.
I have probably forgotten other aspects. The situation is complex and multilayered. My wish would be that patients and doctors would not see each other as enemies but band together to fix the system and respect each other as equals in the quest to improve health individually and societally. I fear this will not happen in my lifetime, because another problem I see is that change in the medical system (any change) happens at the speed a mountain is reduced to sand (ah, well, I'm exaggerating just a little bit ).
I think that’s a great idea for patients and doctors to work together on reform but like you I doubt I’ll see it happen. I feel like there’s a lot of disdain for patients, especially those which are perceived as ‘difficult’ cases.
Before my thyroid went wonky I never ever went to the doctor for anything. Now I’m there often trying to work all this out, not cos I fancy a chat or am a hypochondriac (as some drs seem to think!) but because o feel dreadfully unwell and at only 33 things can’t really continue the way they are. (And why should they no matter your age!) Quality of life matters but not the case according to some doctors I’ve seen.
Good point, very well made! It shouldn’t be this way. If you have the energy, maybe send in a complaint and share this with the surgery, see what they say?
I’ve thought about it but tbh I raised an issue with the practice manager earlier this year (very politely!) and feel like I’ve been punished for it ever since
My GP apologised and said the NHS is usually good when it comes to disease. And has clear pathways to cure disease.
But said the NHS isn’is unable to deal with anything relating to wellbeing.
Unfortunately, thyroid seems to be treated as a wellbeing issue. Until very severe and then they can refer to a single treatment option of Levo. End of story.
Now, thyroid has become a contentious issue. Most of us are familiar with the glazing over of the eyes arTistapple described. Everyone ( doctors and us) knows where we stand already. So they have stopped listening. As soon as they hear thyroid, they think’ here we go again’.
It happens a lot to political issues too. No true conversation can be had.
I think the NHS is probably ok in an emergency, heart attack, car accident. But long term chronic conditions they are very poor at treating and managing. And a lot of disease is chronic so it doesnt get cured.
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Thyroid tests 
No thyroid
Thyroid Scan
Different sympathetic GP!
The story so far....
