Re: Hi I have just collected these results from the surgery. Help please

[Guest guest]

I've spent all night worrying about these results, especially the diabetes thing. I keep thinking that my GP is determined to categorise me as diabetic cos it's easier for him than addressing the thyroid issues. As I said in another posting, I am pretty sure that a lot of my problems come from doing too much exercise and using up my T3 too fast so my body then shuts down. My history with this doctor - in another posting - is that over the last seven years he has reduced my dose from 300 thyroxine on which I was happy and stable to 175. As a result my weight has increased and I can't get it off despite eating a really healthy diet, spinning 3 times a week and cycling 50-100 miles every week. I look at pictures of me when I arrived at this doctor's surgery (moved house and had to change doctors) and how I am now and I despair.I've had two experiences recently when the only thing that got me back from feeling really ill was taking an additional 25mcg - which had a miraculous and more or less immediate effect. I am getting really wound up by this. Can anyone help me get a grip on these results and give me some clues about how to tackle my conversation with my doctor.-

[Guest guest]

You must have clicked on send before you had finished as you have left out your test results.

Lilian

I've spent all night worrying about these results, especially the diabetes thing.

[Guest guest]

I've spent

all night worrying about these results, especially the diabetes thing. I keep thinking

that my GP is determined to categorise me as diabetic cos it's easier for him

than addressing the thyroid issues.

You have probably hit the nail on the head because a huge

majority of endocrinologists have diabetes as their specialty. Can you post the

results you are talking about here please - I think you forgot!

I've had

two experiences recently when the only thing that got me back from feeling

really ill was taking an additional 25mcg - which had a miraculous and more or

less immediate effect. I am getting really wound up by this. Can anyone help me

get a grip on these results and give me some clues about how to tackle my

conversation with my doctor.

Write a letter to your GP telling him that you are no longer

going to put up with feeling so bad and that you are now determined to find out

the real cause and that you would welcome him working with you.

First, list all of the symptoms you are suffering right now (check

these against those in our web site www.tpa-uk.org.uk

) and also list the signs you are showing (your doctor should be able to see

these for himself).

Take your basal temperature for 4 or 5 mornings before you get

out of bed and list these too if they are 97.8 degrees F or 36.6 degrees C (or

less).

List the FULL thyroid function tests you wish to be done and

these should include TSH, free T4, free T3 and if you have never been tested

for antibodies, ask for these to be checked to see whether you are suffering from

Hashimoto's disease. Tell your GP also whether you have other members of your

family who have a thyroid or autoimmune disease because this runs down the

family line and you could be susceptible to other organ specific antibodies.

Ask also for blood tests to be carried out for specific vitamins

and minerals to see whether any of them are low in the reference range - these

are ferritin, vitamin b12, vitamin D3, magnesium, folate, copper and zinc. If

any of these are low, the thyroid hormone you are taking will be unable to be

properly utilised at the cellular level until whatever is low has been

supplemented. (Go to our FILES section which is accessible form the Home

Page Menu) and open the HYPOTHYROIDISM folder and scroll right down to the

bottom and click on 'Vitamins and Supplements. and copy out the article on low

levels of vitamins and supplements with some of the references to the

science/studied done to show the connection between these and hypothyroidism)

and enclose that document with your letter.

Ask for a referral to an endocrinologist, preferably of your

choice. I will send you a list of doctors as recommended by our members. Tell

your GP you would like a second opinion because you feel the mainly INACTIVE

thyroid hormone T4 might not be converting to the ACTIVE thyroid hormone T3,

and you can tell him that you are aware there are an estimated 250,000 citizens

in the UK alone who are not doing well on T4 and who need T3. This is why you

need a referral to an endocrinologist who has a specialty in thyroid disease.

Next, ask for your letter of requests to be placed into your

medical notes and remember to keep a copy for yourself.

Hope this helps.

Luv - Sheila

-

[Guest guest]

I am sorry - I posted the results yesterday under another heading and thenchanged the heading when I didn't get a reply – which has probably causedchaos. So sorry.The results shown here camethanks to your excellent advice Sheila. I wrote as you suggested and requestedall the tests you recommend and thought he had agreed... it's only when Ipicked them up that I realised… Anyway, this is what I posted: <I have just collected these results from the surgery. Icouldn't get any comparison results as the receptionist can't access furtherback than 3 months. Annoyed that despite requesting it, T3 not checked. Also annoyed that Doctor wants me to repeat glucose as he thoughtit was a fasting result - it wasn't, he hadn't asked meto fast. I had eaten breakfast less than an hour before the test so the resultsseem within normal range to me. I have a phone call booked with him on Friday at 2 so wouldappreciate any thoughts on what's here to arm myself for this conversation. Results:Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3= 24.5 ug/L Serum vitamin levels < 4 ug/L. Original result: 25-OH-VITD2 Serum folate= 11.5 ug/L Serum ferritin= 192 ug/L Serum vitamin B12 =467 ng/L Serum Free T4 24= 24pmol Serum TSH level = 0.53 mu/L Serum magnesium level = 0.8mmol Blood glucose = 6.5 mmo/L (NOT FASTING)>

[Guest guest]

We need the reference range for each of the tests done to enable

us to interpret them properly. We need to know whether y our results are at the

bottom, the middle or the top of the range. Sorry, I should have asked you to

remember to post these as well.

Luv - Sheila

Results:

Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin

D3= 24.5 ug/L

Serum

vitamin levels < 4 ug/L. Original result: 25-OH-VITD2

Serum

folate= 11.5 ug/L

Serum

ferritin= 192 ug/L

Serum

vitamin B12 =467 ng/L

Serum

Free T4 24= 24pmol

Serum

TSH level = 0.53 mu/L

Serum

magnesium level = 0.8mmol

Blood

glucose = 6.5 mmo/L (NOT FASTING)>