Re: levels results! question

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

, I hope you start to feel better!!!!

That is an excellent idea...may I add on here?

Not only have the list on the fridge and have a family member listed

as the emergency contact (for those of us who live alone or with

roommates). We also need to be carrying this information in our

wallets just in case of an accident while away from home.

I carry a list in my wallet at all times of people to contact in

emergency or in case of death, as well as the mass of meds that the

last doctor had me on...I also carry around the necessary " do not

resuscitate " order signed by my family members and primary care

physician and notarized.

Having been in emergency once too often, I have seen what leaving

out just one med from a list of meds can do to a persons

treatment...the good and bad interaction of emergency treatments

with standard day to day heart meds quite often DO NOT MIX! unless

the emergency personnel already know of the daily meds.

Gossimer

<<snip>>

> You, know..now that we've brought this subject up.. it wouldn't be

a bad

> idea at all for every one of us to sit down and write a letter.

What we

> know is wrong with us (actual diagnosis and symptoms)... the meds

we

> take, how much, when and for what. And a contact person that will

speak

> for our thyroid care. And put that letter where someone in the

house

> knows where it is should you have to head to the hospital. I carry

a list

> in my home made pill boxes, the portable ones that I carry out of

the

> house AND in the main box that stays at home, that lists

everything I

> take, the doses and when I take them, along with my 'in case of

emergency

> contact' person and phone number and a statement that I have had

RAI and

> have ZERO thyroid function.

>

> When I was caregiver for my mom, and later for a family friend, we

had a

> sheet with all this info that was on the front of the fridge...

when the

> ambulance had to come... the guys, after the first time, knew to

grab the

> sheet on the way out the door.. then we'd haul fanny to the

hospital

> right behind them... by the time we could get to see the doc, he'd

> already be actively doing stuff to help because he had a list of

all the

> meds, dosages and times right there and didn't have to wait for us

to get

> there to ask us questions about what did she take last or

anything.... It

> was a GREAT help. I always took those sheets when we went in for

> appointments too.... quick reference for their docs to see what

was going

> on.....

>

> I've carried that on to me, now... so that I have that info on me,

should

> something happen and I'm not able to speak.

>

> Question.. for everyone... would it be of value to you to have an

area in

> the groups file section where you could store your letters?

>

> Also, an offer... Let your family members know of a contact person

here

> in the group, or how to log on to the group, that will be able to

guide

> them as to what is going on with you as far as dosing and

symptoms... to

> help them if something should happen to them and the need to find

out

> what it all means. If this is of interest to any of you.. let me

know...

>

> Topper ()

[Guest guest]

Great plan, Gossimer!

Topper ()

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 22:59:29 -0000 " gossimerwingz "

writes:

> Hi ,

>

> , I hope you start to feel better!!!!

>

> That is an excellent idea...may I add on here?

> Not only have the list on the fridge and have a family member listed

> as the emergency contact (for those of us who live alone or with

> roommates). We also need to be carrying this information in our

> wallets just in case of an accident while away from home.

> I carry a list in my wallet at all times of people to contact in

> emergency or in case of death, as well as the mass of meds that the

> last doctor had me on...I also carry around the necessary " do not

> resuscitate " order signed by my family members and primary care

> physician and notarized.

> Having been in emergency once too often, I have seen what leaving

> out just one med from a list of meds can do to a persons

> treatment...the good and bad interaction of emergency treatments

> with standard day to day heart meds quite often DO NOT MIX! unless

> the emergency personnel already know of the daily meds.

>

> Gossimer

[Guest guest]

I know there have been several times when i should have gone to the hospital but like you said i diddn't feel like it and was very passive (totally unlike me) and i just stayed in bed and my husband should have known to make me go when he couldn't get a blood pressure - i will inform him - my TSH was 72 at the time i'm thinking of. right now i'm very close to bedridden - i sleep 18 hours a day easy unless he wakes me up a lot and can't watch the baby.

i do have a typed sheet like you are talking about with meds - dr's - symptoms etc - i keep it in my suitcase of meds and he knows to grab that -- i believe its a great idea for ppl to have this info. i also tell hubby if i'm feeling a change and what it is and when i've taken something so he can accurately pass on that info to the docs -- even if its middle of the night i wake him to tell him.

visit our website

www.geocities.com/tanyarn96/countryside.html

www.poncetihomes.com

-- Re: levels results! question

ended up with an infection in her legs, starting with lymph edema... another symptom of low thyroid... she was diagnosed with Hashi's, but her doc wasn't treating her.. being rather abusive and insensitive, they fired each other and then she just didn't get to finding a better one. It was while she was in the hospital that they finally acknowledged the Hashi's and put her on Armour...

She's been feeling under the weather the last few days, that's why she's been so quiet... (Right Pard??)

As far as when to go in.... I went in to emergency once. Positive that I was having a heart attack. I'd been off meds for a year, and was just getting on new insurance... the ER guys did the EKG and such.. said that I was just fine. I explained that my new insurance was kicking in and I'd not been able to get in for labs and a prescription.... yada yada yada... they gave me ONE 200 mcg Synthroid, 200 was my last prescribed dose, and told me to take that. When I tried to explain that I can go from nothing to that much all in one shot they more or less told me to shut up and go home..... I got in to the GP shortly after and was given a prescription...

I won't go into that whole story... my point is that ER docs seem to be even less knowledgeable that regular docs when it comes to thyroid care.

Being hypo enough to be totally bedridden is a BAD thing... Did you know that severe hypo, long term, can even put you into a coma? Anyway... The best thing to do, IMHO, if you have to go to the hospital, if you are that bad... try to find someone that is knowledgeable, that can go with you, and can help you with asking questions and listening to the doc... and that can stand up for you if the doc isn't sure of thyroid care and doesn't know what to do and starts to send you home again.... Hypo can make you very passive, can leave you easily confused.. so if the doc isn't well versed in thyroid and doesn't think it's a big deal... you could go home and not get the care that you need.

You, know..now that we've brought this subject up.. it wouldn't be a bad idea at all for every one of us to sit down and write a letter. What we know is wrong with us (actual diagnosis and symptoms)... the meds we take, how much, when and for what. And a contact person that will speak for our thyroid care. And put that letter where someone in the house knows where it is should you have to head to the hospital. I carry a list in my home made pill boxes, the portable ones that I carry out of the house AND in the main box that stays at home, that lists everything I take, the doses and when I take them, along with my 'in case of emergency contact' person and phone number and a statement that I have had RAI and have ZERO thyroid function.

When I was caregiver for my mom, and later for a family friend, we had a sheet with all this info that was on the front of the fridge... when the ambulance had to come... the guys, after the first time, knew to grab the sheet on the way out the door.. then we'd haul fanny to the hospital right behind them... by the time we could get to see the doc, he'd already be actively doing stuff to help because he had a list of all the meds, dosages and times right there and didn't have to wait for us to get there to ask us questions about what did she take last or anything.... It was a GREAT help. I always took those sheets when we went in for appointments too.... quick reference for their docs to see what was going on.....

I've carried that on to me, now... so that I have that info on me, should something happen and I'm not able to speak.

Question.. for everyone... would it be of value to you to have an area in the groups file section where you could store your letters?

Also, an offer... Let your family members know of a contact person here in the group, or how to log on to the group, that will be able to guide them as to what is going on with you as far as dosing and symptoms... to help them if something should happen to them and the need to find out what it all means. If this is of interest to any of you.. let me know...

Topper ()

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:36:05 -0500 (Central Standard Time) "" writes:

topper - you menttioned that wendy was in the hospital b4 for non treatment of hypo related symptoms - this may help some ppl b/c i know myself when my TSH was 72 i barely got out of bed and my husband wasn't able to get a blood pressure reading on me - he said i should probably get up and walk around for circulation but i didn't have the strength to get up and just stayed in bed --- makes me wonder at what point should you go to the hospital and with what symptoms. i was under a doc's care but this is all part of my fluctuation.

visit our website

www.geocities.com/tanyarn96/countryside.html

www.poncetihomes.com

[Guest guest]

Good plan, to have someone aware of what is going on with you.. and bravo to your hubby for caring... Many of us have some family members that don't care... My family falls into that category. They know where my sheets are... but as far as how I'm doing... don't care... Cause there's nothing wrong with me.... the docs just gave me a little pill one day, I didn't even have to be in the hospital.

I just milk it all as an excuse.

Topper ()

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 03:10:57 -0500 (Central Standard Time) "" writes:

I know there have been several times when i should have gone to the hospital but like you said i diddn't feel like it and was very passive (totally unlike me) and i just stayed in bed and my husband should have known to make me go when he couldn't get a blood pressure - i will inform him - my TSH was 72 at the time i'm thinking of. right now i'm very close to bedridden - i sleep 18 hours a day easy unless he wakes me up a lot and can't watch the baby.

i do have a typed sheet like you are talking about with meds - dr's - symptoms etc - i keep it in my suitcase of meds and he knows to grab that -- i believe its a great idea for ppl to have this info. i also tell hubby if i'm feeling a change and what it is and when i've taken something so he can accurately pass on that info to the docs -- even if its middle of the night i wake him to tell him.

visit our website

www.geocities.com/tanyarn96/countryside.html

www.poncetihomes.com

writes:

topper - you menttioned that wendy was in the hospital b4 for non treatment of hypo related symptoms - this may help some ppl b/c i know myself when my TSH was 72 i barely got out of bed and my husband wasn't able to get a blood pressure reading on me - he said i should probably get up and walk around for circulation but i didn't have the strength to get up and just stayed in bed --- makes me wonder at what point should you go to the hospital and with what symptoms. i was under a doc's care but this is all part of my fluctuation.

visit our website

www.geocities.com/tanyarn96/countryside.html

www.poncetihomes.com

[Guest guest]

Pard, I was going by that thought too, that I was not really all that sick, that others were sicker, and then WHAM! I ended up in the hospital twice within two months. Once for 8 days and the second for 10 days.And then,when I was discharged, I was sent home nursing for at least 60 days(but thanks to my getting on Armour- I healed a lot faster and needed them only a month)

It is a living hell when you start doubting yourself, as we have a tendency to do with thyroid disease----But then, with proper treatment and support,etc.... We have a rebirth such as the phoenix does, with us rising from the ashes of thyroid disease.

An extremely proud group co-owner(Feisty aka ThyroFeisty)

Re: levels results! question

Good plan, to have someone aware of what is going on with you.. and bravo to your hubby for caring... Many of us have some family members that don't care... My family falls into that category. They know where my sheets are... but as far as how I'm doing... don't care... Cause there's nothing wrong with me.... the docs just gave me a little pill one day, I didn't even have to be in the hospital.

I just milk it all as an excuse.

Topper ()