Have appt. w/ endo and my numbers.....

[Guest guest]

Topper and all,

I made an appointment with the endo, but of course he can't see me till April 6th! He's on vacation the week before, so I have to wait. So, I am looking forward to seeing him and getting another opinion, especially from someone who I hope will have some more insight on thyroid issues than the doctors I have previously seen.

Here are my numbers from my last bloodwork: I think these are all within the ok range?

TSH: 1.649

Thyroxine T4: 7.6

T3 uptake: 27

Free Thyroxine Index: 2.1

I actually got these from another post of mine to the group. I am SO mad at myself~ at my appt. with the surgeon in January, I brought all of my copies of my results and left them there. I called them now to ask for copies, and she said that all of my paperwork (17 pages) were scanned into their computer for my file and that they shred the originals! She said she would print them all out for me and mail them to me. I can't believe I did that! Oh well, at least she will send me copies. Or, I guess I could get them from my pcp who I know has them all.

So, I don't have everything in front of me, just these numbers, until she mails them to me. Also, these are from the end of April 2006, so I am definitely due for bloodwork again. I am sure that the endo will have me get all new bloodwork to compare to last year's.

Oh, and I have been on levothyroxine since last June. I started at 100mcg and am still on that now.

any info or opinions are welcomed~ Thanks, Jill

Re: Seeing an Endo???

Jill, I'd go so him... just to be sure, in your own mind, that you are making the best decision for your circumstance.... once the surgery is done it can't be undone... the old adage 'measure twice, cut once' really does fit here....

Do you happen to have copies of any of your labs that you can share with us, including ranges?

I'd very much like to see what your thyroid levels are (Free T4 and Free T3) to see if the dose of Levo they are giving you (you said 100 mcg) is doing the job.... if your TSH is now WAY down and the thyroid levels aren't up, it won't shrink the goiter.... Also, would like to see if they have checked for antibodies..

How long have you been taking the Levo, is that 100 mcg the dose that they first started you on or was it small to start and you work up (over what period of time)?

It may very well be that the nodules you have need to be removed along with the enlarged side... but knowing the cause of them would be a good thing to know before hand.... if they are due to antibodies and that is not addressed you MIGHT (not saying you will, but you might) end up with the same problem on the other side down the road.

Some docs feel that surgery is a quick and easy way out.... sometimes cuz that is their mind set, sometimes cuz they just don't understand thyroid disorders as well as they could.. that's why another opinion, like from that good thyroid endo, I think, would be a wise move....

Keep us posted on how things are going we're here for ya whichever way you end up having to go, you know that, right??

Topper ()

On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 21:22:44 -0500 jbmomto3 <JBMOMTO3 (AT) optonline (DOT) net> writes:

Hi, I have a thyroid goiter with nodules on my right side. I had an ultrasound, then a biopsy, then another ultrasound 6 months later which showed that it has grown and is about 9-10 times larger than my left side. I am taking levothyroxine 100mcg to try and slow it down but it continues to grow. I was scheduled for surgery at the beginning of March which was cancelled, and now I am waiting to hear back from them on the new date which will be at the end of April.

So, now that I have more time to think and worry about it, I am thinking I should see an Endo since I have not seen one yet. I have seen my pcp, a surgeon, and an ent/surgeon regarding this, but never an endo! I just met a coworker who has graves, and after talking with her, I realize that I should probably get an opinion from and endo. I am just wondering why none of my other doctors ever suggested that I see one?

Does everyone with thyroid problems see an endo?? Am I just totally in the dark about this?! I think that I am very comfortable with my pcp; I have been going to him for about 1o years, and I really trust him. I think that since he never mentioned an endo, I haven't really thought about it? I don't know, I think that this postponement in the surgery has me reconsidering my options.

Any suggestions? Am I really wrong in not seeing an endo? My coworker highly recommended hers and I think I will call him on Monday.

Thanks so much~ I'm usually a lurker here, I realize that my thyroid issues are not as serious as many of yours are! But I read all the posts and am thankful that I found this board full of such knowledgable people....

Jill

[Guest guest]

>

> Topper and all,

>

> I made an appointment with the endo, but of course he can't see me

till April 6th! He's on vacation the week before, so I have to

wait. So, I am looking forward to seeing him and getting another

opinion, especially from someone who I hope will have some more

insight on thyroid issues than the doctors I have previously seen.

>

> Here are my numbers from my last bloodwork: I think these are all

within the ok range?

>

> TSH: 1.649

> Thyroxine T4: 7.6

> T3 uptake: 27

> Free Thyroxine Index: 2.1

When you do get the lab copies be sure to include lab ranges.. TSH

tends to be standard but the ranges for the other labs vary..

To give you an idea.. T4 has a range of 0.8-2.2.. or 7-12 or my lab

uses 9-20..so these tests have you either really hyper, in range but

lower end, or really hypo.. depending on the lab ranges.

Kats3boys

[Guest guest]

I'm glad that they will give you copies of that paper work... just heard from a friend here in town that left her's behind... they scanned the info into their system and then shreaded her copies too... she doesn't know if they will give her copies or not, she may end up having to go to her old doc.... sigh....

The endo will most likely run new labs, it's only a couple weeks away, so that's not sooo bad. I'll be looking forward to seeing the numbers, remember to post the labs ranges, too, I think Kat covered that in her response, we need the lab ranges to qualify your levels....

Ideally he'll take

TSH

Free T4

Free T3

and thyroid antibodies...

... and check out your neck and see if the goiter has changed since the last exams, that info should be in your chart for him to do the comparisons....

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:51:27 -0500 jbmomto3 writes:

Topper and all,

I made an appointment with the endo, but of course he can't see me till April 6th! He's on vacation the week before, so I have to wait. So, I am looking forward to seeing him and getting another opinion, especially from someone who I hope will have some more insight on thyroid issues than the doctors I have previously seen.

Here are my numbers from my last bloodwork: I think these are all within the ok range?

TSH: 1.649

Thyroxine T4: 7.6

T3 uptake: 27

Free Thyroxine Index: 2.1

I actually got these from another post of mine to the group. I am SO mad at myself~ at my appt. with the surgeon in January, I brought all of my copies of my results and left them there. I called them now to ask for copies, and she said that all of my paperwork (17 pages) were scanned into their computer for my file and that they shred the originals! She said she would print them all out for me and mail them to me. I can't believe I did that! Oh well, at least she will send me copies. Or, I guess I could get them from my pcp who I know has them all.

So, I don't have everything in front of me, just these numbers, until she mails them to me. Also, these are from the end of April 2006, so I am definitely due for bloodwork again. I am sure that the endo will have me get all new bloodwork to compare to last year's.

Oh, and I have been on levothyroxine since last June. I started at 100mcg and am still on that now.

any info or opinions are welcomed~ Thanks, Jill