Guest guest Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 > > Hi everyone. I stumbled across this group after seeing a link to the > TPA website in a BBC article, and I'm hoping someone may be able to > help or advise me. Welcome Colanne. I'm not one of the resident experts - there are plenty of people here far more informed than I am - but they seem to be taking their time saying hello, and I wouldn't want you to think you weren't welcome. There is a huge amount of info on the web; here are some good places to start: http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ http://drrind.com/metabolic.asp Particularly this one: http://drrind.com/tempgraph.asp Plotting your temperatures in this way is hugely useful in working out whether you have thyroid or adrenal issues or both. Obviously you have Hashi's, but you do need to know if you have adrenal issues as it is a major spanner in the works. Can you get your most recent bloodwork results please and post them here? As for Dr Peatfield, I'll be seeing him myself next Tuesday & will be better able to to answer your question about him after that :-) But based on my one telephone conversation with him, I can understand why everyone raves about him. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 HI Barbara - and welcome to our happy little band of Thyroidians. I hope you get all the help and support you need here.> I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in 1995, aged 22. Since then I have> been on 150mg of levothyroxine every day. When did you last have a full thyroid function test. If a long time ago, please ask your GP to test your TSH, Free T4, Free T3 and your ferritin level (stored iron). When you get the results, post them here, together with the reference range for each one (each laboratory have their own range) and we can try to find out what the problem is. If you have had a recent test, get the results from your doctor and post them. We suggest getting your ferritin tested because many hypothyroids have low stored iron, and this stops the thyroxine from working. If yours is low, your GP will give you some form of elemental iron. You should never take iron or calcium at the same time as your thyroxine, always take it at least 3/4 hours away. However I am still feeling> fatigued; my face is still puffed up; I get pains in my legs and> tingling in my feet; and I get everything going round the office> (TWICE!) and have been unwell since the beginning of December alone> with various coughs, colds, sniffles, flu and gastric problems. It> seems my immune system just isn't there. It might be that you are not converting the inactive hormone Thyroxine (T4) into the active hormone triiodothyronine (T3). T3 is needed by every cell in your body to make it function. Your blood test should show whether this is happening or not. Another problem could be that you have low adrenal reserve. Go to the end of this message and click on FILES, or on the Home Page of the forum website, click FILES on the Menu. Scroll down until you see 2Adrenal Questionnaire" and answer those qquestions and see how you score. While you are there, you can look also at the "Candida Questionnaire" and answer the questions there too. These are 2 conditions that (if you suffer from them) will stop your thyroxine working, and once treated, you should feel much better. With a low metabolism, you are prone to pick up everything going and they can take a long time to go away, but over the past month or so, there have been some particularly nasty viruses around, and they have been very long lasting.> > To top it all I have absolutely zero faith in my GP after she reduced> my thyroid medications and refused my B12 injections (I have also been> diagnosed with pernicious anaemia) on the basis that my blood results> were "high" (she also did this via the receptionist, over the phone,> and then refused to speak to me about it! I had to contact the locum> doctor at the practice and literally beg for a referral to an> endochrinologist, who tested for 's, said I was OK, and sent me> packing). Ah ha! - here we have a clue. Your GP reducing your dose because your tests showed too high would sound to me as if you are NOT converting the T4 into T3. Because the Thyroxine isn't converting and floats around in yhour blood, it has nowhere to go and your blood can become 'toxic' for want of a better word. If your local laboratory refuse to test your Free T4 and Free T3, you can get these tests done privately for £17 each through NPTech Services. Again, go back to our FILES and look up NPTech Services to find all the tests they do, the prices they charge and where you can get your blood drawn. I am amazed at your GP's behaviour. I would write a letter to your GP asking her to explain in writing exactly why she has reduced your thyrooxine and why she stopped your B12 when you have been diagnosed as having pernicious anaemia. If you read the article yesterday in the Daily Mail, you will see the tremendous controversy there is in getting a diagnosis and proper treatment within the NHS because doctors are being given wrong information and looked over by the BTA who are enough to tgerrify anybody into submission and toe their party line. If doctors are seen to go outside the BTA protocol, they are hauled before the GMC with the possibility of losing their registration and livlihood. Nevertheless, your doctor should give you (preferably in writing) a thorough explanation of her reason (scientific if necessary) for what she has done. Send a copy of the letter to your practice manager. If you receive an unsatisfactory response, you can then report this to your PCT and say you wish to see another doctor in your area. What test did the endocrinologist do for 's. Sadly, the NHS have no knowledge of a thyroiod/adrenal connection apart from 's Disease or Cushing's syndrome, and any shades of grey between normal adrenals and severely compromised ones. You can get a 24 hour salivary profile done through NPTech Services which will show exactly where your cortisol and DHEA lie. This tests your adrenal output at 8.00a.m. 12.00Noon, 4.00p.m. and at midnight. It is VERY important to be tested at these specific times. One test during any time of the day is not giving a true reading of what is happening.> > I am so disillusioned with my doctor and just don't know where to turn> any more. Can anyone help? I have seen information on Dr Peatfield's> clinics. Can anyone recommend his work? There are thousands of thyroid sufferers disillusioned with their NHS endocrinologist or GP. We are trying to rectify this, though it is a long hard slog. Dr Peatfield is both Patron and one of the Medical advisers on this forum. He is a very knowledgeable man and a gentleman to boot. He is retired and no longer practicing as a doctor, so he cannot prescribe medications. However, he does metabolic clinics throughout the UK and can give you a diagnosis and recommend supplements and thyroid hormone replacement if he feels this is what you need. I would highly recommend him - as would all his patients. He has one of the highest reputations of any doctor I know . Don't allow your GP to cause you distress. See what your practice manager has to say, or, more particularly, see how your GP responds when she has read your letter. It is always best to write to your GP under such circumstances because that way, your letter HAS to be placed in your medical records. If your health becomes worse as a result of her reducing your medication and stopping your B12, she will have to explain herself to a hiogher authority. Hope this helps. Luv - Sheila > > Many thanks for any help or advice> > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Hi colane, Welcome to the list. Yes do go see Dr. P . He got me well. I now have a normal quality of life after being 'poorly mum' to my offspring for years. Now I have a bigger motorbike than my daughter! I am so disillusioned with my doctor and just don't know where to turn any more. Can anyone help? I have seen information on Dr Peatfield's clinics. Can anyone recommend his work? Many thanks for any help or advice Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Wow! Thanks so much for your response, Sheila (and thanks to Rosie and for the welcome too). My mind is spinning with all the information you have all given me, I have to say! I will see if I can get a copy of all my test results from my GP. Unfortunately I don't think they'll go back too far as I recently moved from Scotland (with a very large A4 file!) to England (where everything seems to be computerised!) so I'm not sure if all my results made it in the transfer. But I will see what I can find out. Just out of interest - do you just write to your GP and ask for a copy of all your results? Are they duty-bound to provide them for you? I had also never heard anything about the iron issue either - though it's interesting as my mum (who is also Hashi) had major problems with her iron for a long, long time. I think I have a lot of googling to do!! But I really can't thank you all enough. At long last it feels like there might be a chink of light at the end of the tunnel and I don't have to resign myself to always being the " ill " person!!! Thank you !!!! Barbara > > > HI Barbara - and welcome to our happy little band of Thyroidians. I hope > you get all the help and support you need here. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 > I will see if I can get a copy of all my test results from my GP. If you don't have a recent full thyroid panel (as Sheila says, TSH, fT4, fT3) then ask for a new set to be run. There is useful information to be had from them. > Just out of interest - do you just write to your GP and ask for a > copy of all your results? Personally I just go in and ask the receptionist for a copy. I have a bulging box-file :-) And so many of them only make sense with hindsight, so I'm glad I've kept mine. > Are they duty-bound to provide them for > you? Yes they are. If you get any resistance, point out that you are entitled under the Freedom of Information Act... so you could put in a written request under the FOI, or they could be reasonable and just give them to you. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Hi Barbara You only need to send us, say the last couple of thyroid function tests - or the last one. and yes, your doctor does have a duty to send you your blood results if you request them. This is the law. any probls. just shout. Lluv - Sheila Just out of interest - do you just write to your GP and ask for a copyof all your results? Are they duty-bound to provide them for you?I had also never heard anything about the iron issue either - thoughit's interesting as my mum (who is also Hashi) had major problems withher iron for a long, long time.I think I have a lot of googling to do!! But I really can't thank youall enough. At long last it feels like there might be a chink of lightat the end of the tunnel and I don't have to resign myself to alwaysbeing the "ill" person!!!Thank you !!!!Barbara>>> HI Barbara - and welcome to our happy little band of Thyroidians. Ihope> you get all the help and support you need here.> No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.13/1211 - Release Date: 06/01/2008 11:57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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