Guest guest Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 > Does anyone have any advice on where she should start with doctors to > get this problem resolved once and for all? She doesn't have insurance > anymore so I was thinking maybe she should start with a homeopath or > Naturopath? Any help would be wonderful. She is at her wits end! > > Debbie > Start with a phone interview with the dr. And you ask things like " how do you judge hypothyoidism " and if they say stuff such as " I use a blood test....I use blood and temp readings....I use only temp " will tell you how likely they are to listen to the body. The next question would be " do you screen for adrenal fatigue " " how do you screen " (should say 24hr saliva) " how do you treat, do you cortef/hydrocortisone for anything past stage 4 or 5 " (since your sister has probably been on anti-deps for years and HypoT, her adreals could be weak and they need to be checked out before starting thyroid meds) And the next question should be about thyroid medication. " what medications do you use to treat patients? " hopefully they will say things like Amour/Nature-Throid/Cytomel....it's important they also understand the use of Cytomel if your Sis-in-law has adrenal issues... The final question has to do with the dr's rate. " what is your rate? " Run if they charge over $300-ish for the intake and mention things like " a personalized supplement program " I have a $250 personal limit for intakes--the most I like to pay would be $150 for intakes, and the regular session should be around $100ish or less. If they gave great responses to the above questions and you can afford their prices, go for it. Or show hesitation and let them know what you can afford. I've found no correlation between the quality of dr. and their prices. Ask how do patients keep in contact with them..phone, cell phone, email. Email is handy, some dr's charge to resopnd. Cell phones are good too for emergencies--but it is likely that you may know more than your doc or get better answers from this group. Tasia I've had better luck with ND's and found these questions give me a sense of their orientation. The book that really helped me out in the beginning is Dr. Mark Starr's book-lots of symptoms explained in there. Also, share this with your sister-in-law...one of the classic signs of a HypoT patient is one that has tried every single anti-depressant out there and it doesn't make a difference. I am one of those types. Spent years really depressed, an MD would " screen " me for thyorid, and then try a new anti-depressant. The only SSRI I was never on was Prozac. For 5 years I put up with side effects for nothing. I wasn't dopamine/celexa deficient, I was thyroid deficient! When I began my thyroid medication Feb 07, it was the only medication that worked for my brain. I got out of bed in the mornings, I had desire to leave the house, and comprehension was clearer. Thyroid depression is heavy, thick, and oppressive. Quite noting like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Tasia, Thank you for the response. I am sending her a copy and hopefully she will be open to trying it. I know she is very unhappy and would like to get better but just doesn't know where to turn. I think it is helpful for her to hear that other people have been through the same thing. Thanks again. Debbie > > > > Does anyone have any advice on where she should start with doctors to > > get this problem resolved once and for all? She doesn't have insurance > > anymore so I was thinking maybe she should start with a homeopath or > > Naturopath? Any help would be wonderful. She is at her wits end! > > > > Debbie > > > Start with a phone interview with the dr. And you ask things like " how > do you judge hypothyoidism " and if they say stuff such as " I use a > blood test....I use blood and temp readings....I use only temp " will > tell you how likely they are to listen to the body. > > The next question would be " do you screen for adrenal fatigue " " how do > you screen " (should say 24hr saliva) " how do you treat, do you > cortef/hydrocortisone for anything past stage 4 or 5 " (since your > sister has probably been on anti-deps for years and HypoT, her adreals > could be weak and they need to be checked out before starting thyroid > meds) > > And the next question should be about thyroid medication. " what > medications do you use to treat patients? " hopefully they will say > things like Amour/Nature-Throid/Cytomel....it's important they also > understand the use of Cytomel if your Sis-in-law has adrenal issues... > > The final question has to do with the dr's rate. " what is your rate? " > Run if they charge over $300-ish for the intake and mention things > like " a personalized supplement program " I have a $250 personal limit > for intakes--the most I like to pay would be $150 for intakes, and the > regular session should be around $100ish or less. If they gave great > responses to the above questions and you can afford their prices, go > for it. Or show hesitation and let them know what you can afford. > I've found no correlation between the quality of dr. and their prices. > Ask how do patients keep in contact with them..phone, cell phone, > email. Email is handy, some dr's charge to resopnd. Cell phones are > good too for emergencies--but it is likely that you may know more than > your doc or get better answers from this group. > > > Tasia > > I've had better luck with ND's and found these questions give me a > sense of their orientation. > > The book that really helped me out in the beginning is Dr. Mark > Starr's book-lots of symptoms explained in there. > > Also, share this with your sister-in-law...one of the classic signs of > a HypoT patient is one that has tried every single anti-depressant out > there and it doesn't make a difference. I am one of those types. > Spent years really depressed, an MD would " screen " me for thyorid, and > then try a new anti-depressant. The only SSRI I was never on was > Prozac. For 5 years I put up with side effects for nothing. I wasn't > dopamine/celexa deficient, I was thyroid deficient! > > When I began my thyroid medication Feb 07, it was the only medication > that worked for my brain. I got out of bed in the mornings, I had > desire to leave the house, and comprehension was clearer. Thyroid > depression is heavy, thick, and oppressive. Quite noting like it. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Refer her to the stopthethyroidmadness.com site. There is a lot on mental illness in the forum archives, too. K > > I have a sister-in-law who suffers from clinical depression and has for > years even when " properly medicated " for it. In fact, ir runs in her > family. She has also been tested for thyroid levels in the past and > found to be low but the doctors said " not low enough to treat. " After > learning so much in my journey to health with thyroid and adrenal > issues, I wonder if this coulnd't be a huge part of her problem? Her > Mom has issues with T1 and T2 and takes something for it. I am not > familiar with these hormones. > > Does anyone have any advice on where she should start with doctors to > get this problem resolved once and for all? She doesn't have insurance > anymore so I was thinking maybe she should start with a homeopath or > Naturopath? Any help would be wonderful. She is at her wits end! > > Debbie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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