Re: Dr. Hartig...in response to an earlier post

[Guest guest]

That would be your EX-endo, right?

Carol

>> I called Dr. Hartig's office the other day to see if they accepted > Cigna PPO (they do) and to see if I could speak with a nurse prior to > my appointment to ask some questions about the doctor's general areas > of practice and testing procedures. The person who answered said that > they don't put prospective patients through to the nurse, that I > needed to make an appointment. I think I'll make the 1-hour drive to > Webster and check things out anyway. I had another appt. with my endo > in The Woodlands this morning and she could not explain why my *magic* > TSH number keeps jumping around on Synthroid, why I feel SO poorly, or > what else might be causing the problem....other than my AM Cortisol > and low ferritin levels (18!) which are "definitely not contributing > factors". If things in Webster don't go well, I'm off to > Lubbock...don't have a choice!> > (Houston)>

[Guest guest]

Most docs will not answer screening questions by phone. The best thing to do is to make the appointment and sit down with the doc. wrote: I called Dr. Hartig's office the other day to see if they accepted Cigna PPO (they do) and to see if I could speak with a nurse prior to my appointment to ask some questions about the doctor's general areas of practice and testing procedures. The person who answered said that they don't put prospective patients through to the nurse, that I needed to make an appointment. I think I'll make the 1-hour drive to Webster and check things out anyway. I had another appt. with my endo in The Woodlands this morning and she could not explain why my *magic* TSH

number keeps jumping around on Synthroid, why I feel SO poorly, or what else might be causing the problem....other than my AM Cortisol and low ferritin levels (18!) which are "definitely not contributing factors". If things in Webster don't go well, I'm off to Lubbock...don't have a choice!(Houston) __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

- before you go to see Dr. Hartig, I would recommend making up

a list of questions to ask her. I know what it's like to not feel

well and get into the doc's office and completely forget what you

were going to ask, and the doc goes off on tangents, or you can't

remember the details 5 minutes after you leave. I still have to take

a typed list of questions with me to my appointments and take good

notes.

I know several of us on this board have ideas about what a good doc

should be willing to do as far as testing and treatment and what kind

of attitudes or philosophies they should have for us to get properly

treated and, hopefully, get well.

If you want, perhaps some of us in the group can help you complile a

list of questions. Then we might be able to get some sort of " apples

to apples " comparison to what we've been through. I'd be glad to

contribute, but I certainly can't remember it all. And there are much

more knowledgable folks than me.

My most heartfelt recommendation to you is that you go with a doc who

understands, is trained in, and is very experienced in the " big

picture, " and that you not be overly swayed by the distance factor. I

know that is heavy on your mind right now, but it is critical that

you think of the long term. It will not matter one whit how

convenient your doc is, if you do not get everything looked at

properly and treated properly. Of course, insurance plays a big part

of the decision process, but even that begins to pale if you don't

get well.

All JMHO - Sara

[Guest guest]

I can tell you most certainly that Vivian Hartig DOES do a.m. cortisol

testing, but I don't know whether she does saliva testing. I know this not

because I'VE been to her, but rather I gave her name to one of my coworkers

and friends, and SHE went to her one time, months ago, brought me back these

test results that she didn't understand. She wrote down all these results

from the phone conversation she had had with the nurse, and among them was

the cortisol test. The problem is that I can only find out about one other

phone conversation that she had with Doc Hartig herself, where Hartig said

that " no wonder you're feeling so terrible and fatigued and bad " , but my

coworker has not made the appointment with her that she was supposed to

make, so part of that is her fault for not following up on her own test

results. She says that she's just now going to make that appointment with

her, but hasn't told me whether she has or not. This is when I'LL find out

whether I want to see her or not. At least we do know that she ran all the

appropriate thyroid tests AND the cortisol on the first visit, and that she

is gradually upping my friend's T4 over a period of months to the 275 that

it's at now. Because it's T4, I'm still going to reserve judgment because

it is my friend who is afraid to make this move to the Armour. I do know

that Vivian Hartig does prescribe Armour, but I think my friend baulked on

that herSELF. This doctor must not care too much about the TSH because I

know that my coworker's TSH was already down to 2 or 3 something BEFORE she

started upping the T4 from the 175 that she was previously on, months ago,

and that the doctor had gone by her low values of not only FREE T4, but also

the FREE T3. She has upped her med something like 2 or 3 times, but by

telephone only. This is all also valuable info for me, as I can't just

afford financially to go jumping around from doc to doc, whether I need it

or not. It all has to do with money and how I can spend it, over the past

several yrs. Good health care is invaluable, but it doesn't come out of

thin air, and these docs don't accept you paying out anything, so that's the

way that is.

Dr. Hartig...in response to an earlier post

>I called Dr. Hartig's office the other day to see if they accepted

> Cigna PPO (they do) and to see if I could speak with a nurse prior to

> my appointment to ask some questions about the doctor's general areas

> of practice and testing procedures. The person who answered said that

> they don't put prospective patients through to the nurse, that I

> needed to make an appointment. I think I'll make the 1-hour drive to

> Webster and check things out anyway. I had another appt. with my endo

> in The Woodlands this morning and she could not explain why my *magic*

> TSH number keeps jumping around on Synthroid, why I feel SO poorly, or

> what else might be causing the problem....other than my AM Cortisol

> and low ferritin levels (18!) which are " definitely not contributing

> factors " . If things in Webster don't go well, I'm off to

> Lubbock...don't have a choice!

>

> (Houston)

[Guest guest]

Thanks guys for all your posts...I'm starting to actually feel a

*little* bit hopeful! Trust me, I've got my lists made already.

I've seen way too many doctors lately to just walk in

unarmed...LOL! Unfortunately, none of these quacks listen for more

than a minute or two before flipping thru the lab work and whipping

out their pads and writing me a Rx. I've been given Zoloft (cause

it must be depression), Xanax (cause it must be anxiety) and

Loestrin birth control pills (because it must be female hormone

trouble). I haven't filled ONE of those prescriptions...and most of

the time, I never made a second visit. I've lived in this ol' body

for 40 years now, and have even had a round with a good

psychotherapist...these problems are NOT in my head. I will visit

Dr. Hartig as soon as possible and see what she suggests. I'm

holdin' onto my " Dr. card " until I need it My super

hubby has agreed to take me wherever I need to go to feel better.

The man has the patience of a saint I tell ya, I've been a real

treat these last few years.

The endo this morning told me that my symptoms are not thyroid

related, not adrenal related, and not low ferritin related. She

said that I need to talk to a family practice doctor for any

of " those problems " . She can not explain why my TSH has been

bouncing around since at *least* last April. The docs have just

been switching me from one dosage to the other, gee...it hasn't

worked yet, why are we still trying?! It is unreal that we have to

work this hard just to get decent medical care. She offered today

to switch my medication...to Levoxyl, which she explained was the

same as Synthroid, but might work better. So, since .88 is too

little and .100 is too much...she wrote me a script for .112. *sigh*

Anyway, will take my top-secret ninja notebook with me and will

report back after my visit with Dr. Hartig. Wish me luck To all

of you out there suffering the same misery...I wish you well. For

those of you who have finally found a good doctor...thanks for the

encouragement.

(Houston)

[Guest guest]

Thank you for explaining this. I was under an adrenal " watch " when

I first visited her. She took the endo's concern seriously and monitored

me carefully until the situation stabilized on its own. At some level, I

am bothered that there was not intervention, but the she and the endo

believed that the real problem was with the thyroid. She was not as

aggressive as the endo, but she quickly adapted to his successful

treatment techniques with me. A doctor who is always receptive to change

is a unique fine. A well run office is important to me or I would still

be with the endo.

One of the worst things I hear is when someone goes to her and demands

this or that. I understand that we have been abused by doctors, but it

is not right to abuse a nice doctor in return. Just have a little trust.

This is a good woman, a good doctor if you give her a chance. Just my

opinion.

wrote:

>

>

> I can tell you most certainly that Vivian Hartig DOES do a.m. cortisol

> testing, but I don't know whether she does saliva testing. I know this not

> because I'VE been to her, but rather I gave her name to one of my coworkers

> and friends, and SHE went to her one time, months ago, brought me back these

> test results that she didn't understand. She wrote down all these results

> from the phone conversation she had had with the nurse, and among them was

> the cortisol test. The problem is that I can only find out about one other

> phone conversation that she had with Doc Hartig herself, where Hartig said

> that " no wonder you're feeling so terrible and fatigued and bad " , but my

> coworker has not made the appointment with her that she was supposed to

> make, so part of that is her fault for not following up on her own test

> results. She says that she's just now going to make that appointment with

> her, but hasn't told me whether she has or not. This is when I'LL find out

> whether I want to see her or not. At least we do know that she ran all the

> appropriate thyroid tests AND the cortisol on the first visit, and that she

> is gradually upping my friend's T4 over a period of months to the 275 that

> it's at now. Because it's T4, I'm still going to reserve judgment because

> it is my friend who is afraid to make this move to the Armour. I do know

> that Vivian Hartig does prescribe Armour, but I think my friend baulked on

> that herSELF. This doctor must not care too much about the TSH because I

> know that my coworker's TSH was already down to 2 or 3 something BEFORE she

> started upping the T4 from the 175 that she was previously on, months ago,

> and that the doctor had gone by her low values of not only FREE T4, but also

> the FREE T3. She has upped her med something like 2 or 3 times, but by

> telephone only. This is all also valuable info for me, as I can't just

> afford financially to go jumping around from doc to doc, whether I need it

> or not. It all has to do with money and how I can spend it, over the past

> several yrs. Good health care is invaluable, but it doesn't come out of

> thin air, and these docs don't accept you paying out anything, so that's the

> way that is.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I had a great endo. He read my problems before I knew them. No doctor is

perfect. Dr H did not see my problems at first as well as my endo. But

she was available. He was not.There is no perfect solution.

wrote:

> Thanks guys for all your posts...I'm starting to actually feel a

> *little* bit hopeful!

[Guest guest]

You've got a great attitude, a great DH, and you sound prepared. I

wish you good luck and success in finding the answers so you can

start to feel better! - Sara

>

> Thanks guys for all your posts...I'm starting to actually feel a

> *little* bit hopeful! Trust me, I've got my lists made already.

> I've seen way too many doctors lately to just walk in

> unarmed...LOL!

My super

> hubby has agreed to take me wherever I need to go to feel better.

> The man has the patience of a saint I tell ya, I've been a real

> treat these last few years.

>

> Anyway, will take my top-secret ninja notebook with me and will

> report back after my visit with Dr. Hartig. Wish me luck To

all

> of you out there suffering the same misery...I wish you well. For

> those of you who have finally found a good doctor...thanks for the

> encouragement.

>

> (Houston)

>

[Guest guest]

Is it her who has only been in business for around 6 yrs or so? I think it

was my daughter (another Hashimoto's gal) who told me this, but I can't

remember how she found out, duh? Really, the truth is that I probably have

BEEN low adrenal for several yrs, so, yes, I would be expecting intervention

right away, not the wait and see approach. I've BEEN waiting and treating,

and I'm now 55 yrs old, I can't afford to wait any more, lol. I think that

when whatever is discovered (including possible nodules), it's all going to

need quite aggressive treatment. Thanks for the info.

Re: Dr. Hartig...in response to an earlier

post

> Thank you for explaining this. I was under an adrenal " watch " when

> I first visited her. She took the endo's concern seriously and monitored

> me carefully until the situation stabilized on its own. At some level, I

> am bothered that there was not intervention, but the she and the endo

> believed that the real problem was with the thyroid. She was not as

> aggressive as the endo, but she quickly adapted to his successful

> treatment techniques with me. A doctor who is always receptive to change

> is a unique fine. A well run office is important to me or I would still

> be with the endo.

>

> One of the worst things I hear is when someone goes to her and demands

> this or that. I understand that we have been abused by doctors, but it

> is not right to abuse a nice doctor in return. Just have a little trust.

> This is a good woman, a good doctor if you give her a chance. Just my

> opinion.