Thanks for the link, but you may want to edit the post so it reads "thyroid madness" rather than "thyroi(s) madnes" and "tyroid"...I thought you were talking about something else entirely! :-)
The problem isn't new, really: people tend to believe that doctors know everything there is to know about disease and people, and the truth is that they don't, and people need to advocate for themselves.
And yes, you're right. I've suffered with some of these symptoms most of my life, and only this year has a blood test shown a very high TSH level.
It pisses me off, makes me want to rant and scream. All of this time struggling to lose a lb, going on 900 calorie diets and exercising myself to death. And I find out that the doctors could have used different tests, or multiple tests? I want them drug through the streets and horsewhipped. Tarred and featherd, and run out of town on a rail.
They're supposed to rule stuff out and go on to other things to test for. Not automatically prescribe anti depressants, ant anxiety, pain meds, cholesterol meds, and all that other crap. They're supposed to find out what is wrong, and try to fix it.
Why do they treat hypothyroidism like a joke? Like it's not a legitimate illness? Like we're crazy and liars to boot? Especially when they have lab tests? What is the deal with it, that they don't want to diagnose hypothyroidism? They'll do just about anything else to avoid it.
Maybe because all these years they've said hypothyroidism isn't common, when it's really widespread. Then they have to ask why. And investigate the chemicals that we've been fed over the years.
I've been put down, and scoffed at, and told to my face I must eat like a pig, that I'm lazy, and I don't exercise enough. That any weight I gain is my fault, and choices I've made, that I am what I eat, that I'm a hypochondriac. And none of that is true. I've been called a liar to my face. Insulted, treated like shit, they've been rude, and insolent, and downright aggressive and mean. They didn't listen to a word I said, or they ignored it.
Some simple blood tests and a small little hormone pill was all it would have taken, and they fuckin' denied me that. They are not doctors. They caused me harm all these years, by denying me the medication I needed.
They wanted instead to make out like I had mental problems and needed anti depressants, and cholesterol lowering drugs, and a psychiatrist.
These people aren't doctors anymore they're employees of the pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. They damn sure don't have the best interest of the patient in mind.
I don't trust a one of them anymore. And that's just a shame that I can't trust people who are supposed to be healing us. Instead all they want to do is medicate symptoms with five or six prescription drugs.
::deep breath:: I have lived with hyperthyroidism since 1997. My first endocrinologist was a chauvinist who tried to insist that my then-husband had to be present when he explained I *absolutely* had to have my thyroid removed. I walked out, went back to my general practitioner (GP) and waited until I moved to a new city to find an endocrinologist and a GP who didn't want to just hand me pills or try to insist I didn't need to test for additional lab values. In the meantime, I did research on the internet and found Mary Shomen's mailing list (this was around 1998/1999, when you were lucky if a page or mailing list existed, much less with *useful* information). http://www.thyroid-info.com is her current site. She was the first to say, "Demand that the doctors listen to your specific body, and not try to fit you into the same puzzle everyone else fits into. You probably do fit into a puzzle somewhere...just not the one the doc thinks." I've had to insist that no, I don't need my thyroid nuked...just my medication adjusted...and that my meds may need further adjusting somewhere down the line. I've enjoyed a few years where I didn't need meds, was able to lose weight, be fit, healthy, etc...only to have life stress me out and I'm back on the meds again, fighting with my doc about getting nuked -- because once that happens, there's no going back from that, and I want to delay that as long as possible.
I worked in continuing medical education for five years, so I know very well that doctors *don't* know everything, including the ones teaching/speaking on the subject. They cited numerous examples of unusual cases...cases that didn't fit the standard profile, or might be misdiagnosed as something else. It's not that they deliberately are trying to do the equivalent of "patting you on the head and making you go away" (although some of that does go on, unfortunately)...sometimes they're just guessing, based on what you've told them. Many people don't see their symptoms as subsets of a whole, and sometimes thyroid problems can masquerade as other things. There's plenty of blame to go around, especially if you see multiple doctors and assume they'll share the information. (They won't...and they can't without permission, at least in the US.)
I still fight with my doctors. I saw one last month for a head cold that was threatening to mutate into something else...and thank God he understood that I knew my body well enough to know it *would* mutate into something nasty and prescribed the right medication for it. If it hadn't been him, I'm not sure the other available doctor at the multi-doctor practice I go to would have been so willing to prescribe the antibiotic I needed. I still periodically check my symptoms against a list of thyroid symptoms, just to make sure I'm on track and not misdiagnosing myself. (Mary has an excellent hypothyroidism checklist here: http://www.thyroid-info.com/chklst.htm.) What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be stuck with doctors you don't think are listening to you, but you do have to be willing to speak up and insist that they see you as an individual.
Although, I started taking iodine and R ALA and licorice root before I ever found any of the helping groups over the last two months months or so. I lost 15 lbs between doctor's visits, and I didn't change anything I was doing. And my TSH was still high.
The doc was going to put me on synthroid, but after reading the nightmares about that stuff, I looked him right in the eye and told him he wasn't pushing that junk on me. I also read there's a class action lawsuit against the synthroid manufacturers for a bunch of different reasons. Then I asked for Armour. LOL, he didn't say ONE word! He just changed the prescription. I think he knew how upset I really was. I was surprised and maybe he thought I couldn't find any, because of the shortage. I went to a compounding pharmacy. There are three in my general area.
I'd been losing gobs of hair, and the bastard told me the visit before to massage my scalp. He brushed off my concerns over dry elephantine scaly flaky skin as needing moisturizing cream!
Oh, and I needed to Exercise to lose weight. I was so disgusted I was ready to make a fool of myself in that place.
He didn't say anything about the muscle and joint pain, or the back pain. Or the foggy brain I was walking around with.
And I'll bet you anything he was going to try and give me an 'antidepressant". If he had tried that I would have given him a piece of my mind. They're not going to TELL me anymore. I am going to TELL them! They work for me not the other way arouind, and if they claim they know more than me, I'm gonna tell em to prove it.
If he knows so much then he should know the high triglycerides should correct itself after I've been taking the thyroid hormone for a while. I'll give it three months and have it retested. I'm not taking that poison. I'll use Garlic and some other natural means if I have to but no more chemicals.
I can't wait to see what he does when I request D3, ferritin, and other level tests.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: January 2nd, 2010 06:26 am (UTC)The problem isn't new, really: people tend to believe that doctors know everything there is to know about disease and people, and the truth is that they don't, and people need to advocate for themselves.
(no subject)
Date: January 2nd, 2010 07:13 am (UTC)LOL, yes I did. *Palm face*
Thank you:)
Okay, fixed now:)
And yes, you're right. I've suffered with some of these symptoms most of my life, and only this year has a blood test shown a very high TSH level.
It pisses me off, makes me want to rant and scream. All of this time struggling to lose a lb, going on 900 calorie diets and exercising myself to death. And I find out that the doctors could have used different tests, or multiple tests? I want them drug through the streets and horsewhipped. Tarred and featherd, and run out of town on a rail.
They're supposed to rule stuff out and go on to other things to test for. Not automatically prescribe anti depressants, ant anxiety, pain meds, cholesterol meds, and all that other crap. They're supposed to find out what is wrong, and try to fix it.
Why do they treat hypothyroidism like a joke? Like it's not a legitimate illness? Like we're crazy and liars to boot? Especially when they have lab tests? What is the deal with it, that they don't want to diagnose hypothyroidism? They'll do just about anything else to avoid it.
Maybe because all these years they've said hypothyroidism isn't common, when it's really widespread. Then they have to ask why. And investigate the chemicals that we've been fed over the years.
I've been put down, and scoffed at, and told to my face I must eat like a pig, that I'm lazy, and I don't exercise enough. That any weight I gain is my fault, and choices I've made, that I am what I eat, that I'm a hypochondriac. And none of that is true. I've been called a liar to my face. Insulted, treated like shit, they've been rude, and insolent, and downright aggressive and mean. They didn't listen to a word I said, or they ignored it.
Some simple blood tests and a small little hormone pill was all it would have taken, and they fuckin' denied me that. They are not doctors. They caused me harm all these years, by denying me the medication I needed.
They wanted instead to make out like I had mental problems and needed anti depressants, and cholesterol lowering drugs, and a psychiatrist.
These people aren't doctors anymore they're employees of the pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. They damn sure don't have the best interest of the patient in mind.
I don't trust a one of them anymore. And that's just a shame that I can't trust people who are supposed to be healing us. Instead all they want to do is medicate symptoms with five or six prescription drugs.
(no subject)
Date: January 2nd, 2010 07:35 am (UTC)I worked in continuing medical education for five years, so I know very well that doctors *don't* know everything, including the ones teaching/speaking on the subject. They cited numerous examples of unusual cases...cases that didn't fit the standard profile, or might be misdiagnosed as something else. It's not that they deliberately are trying to do the equivalent of "patting you on the head and making you go away" (although some of that does go on, unfortunately)...sometimes they're just guessing, based on what you've told them. Many people don't see their symptoms as subsets of a whole, and sometimes thyroid problems can masquerade as other things. There's plenty of blame to go around, especially if you see multiple doctors and assume they'll share the information. (They won't...and they can't without permission, at least in the US.)
I still fight with my doctors. I saw one last month for a head cold that was threatening to mutate into something else...and thank God he understood that I knew my body well enough to know it *would* mutate into something nasty and prescribed the right medication for it. If it hadn't been him, I'm not sure the other available doctor at the multi-doctor practice I go to would have been so willing to prescribe the antibiotic I needed. I still periodically check my symptoms against a list of thyroid symptoms, just to make sure I'm on track and not misdiagnosing myself. (Mary has an excellent hypothyroidism checklist here: http://www.thyroid-info.com/chklst.htm.) What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be stuck with doctors you don't think are listening to you, but you do have to be willing to speak up and insist that they see you as an individual.
(no subject)
Date: January 2nd, 2010 10:20 am (UTC)Although, I started taking iodine and R ALA and licorice root before I ever found any of the helping groups over the last two months months or so. I lost 15 lbs between doctor's visits, and I didn't change anything I was doing. And my TSH was still high.
The doc was going to put me on synthroid, but after reading the nightmares about that stuff, I looked him right in the eye and told him he wasn't pushing that junk on me. I also read there's a class action lawsuit against the synthroid manufacturers for a bunch of different reasons. Then I asked for Armour. LOL, he didn't say ONE word! He just changed the prescription. I think he knew how upset I really was. I was surprised and maybe he thought I couldn't find any, because of the shortage. I went to a compounding pharmacy. There are three in my general area.
I'd been losing gobs of hair, and the bastard told me the visit before to massage my scalp. He brushed off my concerns over dry elephantine scaly flaky skin as needing moisturizing cream!
Oh, and I needed to Exercise to lose weight. I was so disgusted I was ready to make a fool of myself in that place.
He didn't say anything about the muscle and joint pain, or the back pain. Or the foggy brain I was walking around with.
And I'll bet you anything he was going to try and give me an 'antidepressant". If he had tried that I would have given him a piece of my mind. They're not going to TELL me anymore. I am going to TELL them! They work for me not the other way arouind, and if they claim they know more than me, I'm gonna tell em to prove it.
If he knows so much then he should know the high triglycerides should correct itself after I've been taking the thyroid hormone for a while. I'll give it three months and have it retested. I'm not taking that poison. I'll use Garlic and some other natural means if I have to but no more chemicals.
I can't wait to see what he does when I request D3, ferritin, and other level tests.