Here are my doctor recommendations

[Guest guest]

Hi Chrystal

I'm here in Austin and I've been through your ordeal in the past

looking for a good doctor that knows hormones. The first link you

posted was a major letdown for me. I saw Dr. Simone Scumpia and I

think she is only by TSH. She ran lots of tests but she didn't even

run the FT3, FT4, TPO, etc. I don't see that she is a leading

thyroid doctor at all. She is all Synthroid BTW.

Your second link points to Dr. Manzanero. While I was critically

thinking towards seeing him, the fact that he doesn't accept BC/BS

really deterred me from seeing him. I just figured that he would be

my last option if I have exhausted my priority list of docs.

Two docs I highly recommend that may be on your insurance plan. Dr.

Padma Horvit and Dr. Wiseman. Dr. Horvit was my first endo

late last year and she was the one that found out I had Hashi's. Yes

my TPO test was <20 but she said that since that number existed

(meaning more than 0), it indicates I have antibodies. She ran FT4

and a whole set of other blood tests that you can imagine. Very

thorough. She was a student of Dr. Arem in Baylor. She even

consented to giving me an MRI of my brain (and pituitary) b/c I

thought I had acromegaly. She told me not to mention the

word " acromegaly " to her if my MRI came out normal. Lucky for me, it

was negative. I found out that my face was puffy from thyroid. The

only thing I didn't like about Dr. Horvit is that she is a Synthroid

pusher. I asked about Armour and she said that just b/c it's natural

doesn't mean it's good. If you don't mind Synthroid or some other

synthetic then go for her b/c she really wants to make you feel

well. She is a great doc but I didn't want Synthroid.

After Dr. Horvit, I called a major compounding pharmacy here, I think

on 38th street. The pharmacist recommended Dr. Wiseman, Dr.

Thorson, and Dr. Steve Loeschen. I haven't any idea about the

last two doctors listed b/c the pharmacist had high praises for Dr.

Wiseman and since I saw him on the BC/BS provider directory, I found

no need to research the last two. Run to Dr. Wiseman. He knows

everything about hormones, and the inner workings of everything else

with the body. He doesn't prescribe Synthroid unless you're already

on it and love it. Armour and compounded drugs are his flavors. His

ability to interact with patients, answer their questions, and

educate them are by far the best I've seen in a doc. I know a lot

about thyroid and I was shocked that he could give a dissertation

with much more fervor and knowledge than most endos, despite the fact

that he is a GP. He looks at symptoms more than the labs. He's big

on FT3 and not on TSH. Trust me. I am very happy with him and

worried that if I move out of Austin, I would not know what to do. So

you might try to see Dr. Horvit or Dr. Wiseman first before others.

Hope this helps.

Tina

>

> I'm Chrystal, from Round Rock (Austin suburb). I've been begging

> doctors for years to test my thyroid, but I didn't really

understand

> what I was asking, so of course they all tested TSH and told me I

was

> fine (based on their very broad guidelines). Only recently (June)

> did I throw out the terms T3 & T4 (not knowing what they are...

LOL!)

> and got a hypo diagnosis from my clueless GP who before the test

was

> convinced I was just depressed (uh... no... I'm happy, and

depression

> doesn't cause your hair to fall out!).

>

> I'm in the process of looking for an endo. I'm on the lowest dose

of

> generic Synthroid right now (Rx by GP). I'm going back for a

follow-

> up test in a couple of weeks so he can adjust the dose. I'm

probably

> going to sit back and soak in as much info here as possible for

now.

> I don't understand enough to ask questions yet! HA!

>

> Just out of curiosity though, what are your opinions on

> http://www.austinthyroid.com/ and

> http://austinintegrativemedicine.com/ ? The first is covered by

> health insurance, but the second isn't. I'd like to find a doc

> that covers the whole spectrum... diabetes, metabolic, thyroid,

etc.

> I had gestational diabetes with my son, my twin has type 2, I'm on

> cholesterol meds, I'm overweight, and my father has heart disease

> (he's 53).

>

> - Chrystal

> Round Rock

>