So for 6 years and three states and countless doctors we have been trying to find the problem with Mrs Cad’s endocrine problems. We have spent thousands of dollars on doctors ranging from GPs to endocrinologists and have asked all of them for help including a full endocrine workup. The take the standard tests and give one of two diagnosis - either “Take the fucking fork out of your mouth” (a sentiment shared by a few on this board who have responded to my past posts) or 'You’re a little low on TH. Take some small doses of levothyroid." and when that did not hel their diagnosis changed to “Take the fucking fork out of your mouth”.
So we scraped together $5000 and sent her to a doctor that would do up a whole endocrine panel like we have been begging for all this time. You know with like T4 and T5 testing. Diagnosis?
So to all of you on the SD who told me her only problem was she had to eat less - go fuck yourself. To all the doctors that took our money and refuse to do the tests we asked for because of course doctors always know more than the patient - I hope you all get some horrible disease like tertiary syphilis or Hansen’s disease and every doctor you see charges you $5000 / visit, ignores you and prescribes you $80/tablet aspirin.
I’m really sorry for the runaround you’ve gotten, but they’re not all horrible, of course. My niece, for one, is a good GP. But there are some lulus out there like the one who was pretty much directly responsible for my sister’s death last year. How does a trained oncologist misdiagnose blood work? How does that same doctor neglect to send someone who is anemic to an infusion center? How does she take someone with a depressed immune system off her anti-virals and then tut-tut when the patient gets a horrendous case of shingles? Fucking cunt should have had her license taken. Instead, my sister was taken and the doctor will retire to her nice life.
And then there’s the doc who missed a diagnosis of mallet finger for my wife last year. Hell, I diagnosed it in the 30 seconds it took me to look on the intertoobs. Instead, she told my wife that it was probably a hairline fracture, even though the radiologist had clearly stated his opinion otherwise. After jerking her around long enough and using the wrong splint for the problem, there was zero chance of treating the fingertip, and in the meantime the muscles in her hand and arm weakened because she was favoring that hand. Now she’s in physical therapy and regaining strength in her hand, but the fingertip will never look or work the same way.
How bout this. If I were as bad as that in doing my job, I would lose my license, lose a malpractice lawsuit and probably never teach again. Oh wait - that (justifiably) happens to teachers all the time. Like Chefguy points out, there’s no reason for doctors to be competent because they get their money and unless it is a HUGE fuckup AND they get caught AND they did something unethical along the way then there is no chance of them losing their license and being forced out of medicine.
No hostility intended toward the OP, but a question. Does the new diagnosis change the treatment? Based on you link, it seems that your wife’s problem is hypothyroidism, and she will be treated with hormones. The link says her condition is the most common type of hypothyroidism. Is this not still just a case of her needing an appropriate dose of levothyroxine? Is a different drug needed? Will the problem with the immunity system be addressed?
I had a thyroid problem years ago, so I had lots of tests and I am basing this reply on what I learned then about thyroid function. (I had a thyroid cyst, not a hormonal insufficiency.)
Okay, Hashimoto’s is a way in which the body’s thyroid hormone levels get low. And the treatment for low thyroid levels, including low thyroid levels caused by Hashimoto’s, is synthetic thyroid hormones, isn’t it? And a malfunctioning thyroid is generally diagnosed by a low level of thyroid hormones, which are then treated by thyroid hormones.
So, now you know what is causing the insufficiency. You feel vindicated. But Hashimoto’s is not rare and the treatment is the same treatment she was already getting. So… why do you feel vindicated? I’m confused.
Also, if her levels of thyroid hormones were just a little low, and she was on a Synthroid or the like to bring them up (and I’m assuming that they did tests to see that the synthetic hormone was bringing the levels up to normal), and she was having weight problems, those weight problems will not go away just because she has this diagnosis. Most of the time, weight problems are only a little bit exacerbated by thyroid issues. It has an impact, but it’s not a super significant one (in my understanding) for the vast, vast majority of people.
I wish your wife well, certainly, but her diagnosis is essentially thyroid insufficiency, which was already treated once to no effect to her weight (if I understand your OP).
“6 years and three states and countless doctors” (including endocrinologists) were not sufficient to diagnose this most common cause of hypothyroidism?
This is the most basic of endocrine work-ups, a T4 and a TSH. Hell, I get these as part of my yearly physical from my GP, and I’ve never had thyroid issues.
mmm
Not to mention that thyroid disease is progressive. What my thyroid hormone profiles were initially and what they were 5+ years later we wildly different.
I am very sorry for the complications on the dx.
But just because they have MD after their name doesn’t mean they are gods. Sure they had a lot a schoolin’, but they ain’t gods. They are people like you and me, and there are errors. We all have a brain. Best we make use of it.
SaintCad, I’m so glad she got a definitive diagnosis, and that she’ll be treated as such, rather than as someone who obviously has no self-control. :rolleyes:
I’ve learned that we have to really be proactive about our health and do a lot of research. Yes, there’s a lot of garbage on the internet, but it’s how I learn what questions to ask. Then of course, there’s Pubmed which presumably isn’t garbage.
Had we gotten the right diagnosis 6 years ago, we would have saved thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis. So if nothing else there’s that.
She only started getting thyroid 3 years ago. Why? It took 3 years to find a doctor to actually run her hormones. Up to then it was, “You have a weight problem. Eat less.”
True the net effect is nothing, but what if it were something that is or could be curable?
I think the main point a lot of you are missing is whether or not it would have made any different, if we had a doctor that actually listened to us 6 years ago we would have gotten the diagnosis. Instead we were refused because they know more than us. Like the doctor that ran some tests and based on the results gave Mrs. Cad some appetite suppressants. Tell me that isn’t malpractice.
My own experience is doctors tend to click into action sooner and more objectively either when the patient is distressed, or when there is a life-threatening factor. A distressed patient is easy; apply the technique all doctors know: Reassure the patient that he/she is receiving expert medical attention. The effect is almost instant.
I haven’t witnessed a doctor who d|cked around while the patient was dying but I heard cases.
Years ago I woke up one morning to discover that I had Bell’s Palsy. I knew what it was because a friend had suffered from it in high school and we had mercilessly mocked him while he drooled while drinking. I checked myself in the mirror and couldn’t close one eye.
When I went to see my doctor he asked me why I was there and I told him, “I have Bell’s Palsy.” His immediate response was to become angry, “Oh really? I’m the doctor. Let’s see what you actually have.”
As others have mentioned, my PCP sends me for a CBC, Chemistry Panel, Thyroid Panel, Hepatitis Panel (my tattoos freak him out) every year. And that’s when I have zero health concerns.
T4 is usually run as a reflex test if the TSH level is higher than normal. It’s not ordered routinely unless the patient already has a thyroid diagnosis of some sort, in my experience. Also, there’s more to diagnosing Hashimotos than those two tests: they have to check for anti-thyroid antibodies, which is a different test that needs to be ordered separately.