Unexpected doctor's office visit........

[Guest guest]

You may recall, that last week at this time I was calling my GP's

office and telling them that the increased dose was sending me right

into hypO land and we had to do something about it quick. I got an

immediate response, through calls from her nurse, and we dropped my

dose of methimazole from 30mg (down from the 40 she had raised it to

and I had already dropped from) to 20mg. I was told to make an

appointment in 2 weeks to see her. Well, I already had an appointment

for a follow-up pap for yesterday so was told to just wait until then

to make any additional appointments.

So, I get to the office armed with all my paperwork that I've copied

about correct testing and how we can NOT use the TSH testing to

determine my dosage. The blood pressure shoots up as soon as I

stepped through that doorway! I'm sure it wasn't that high before I

actually got the outer office door. Probably shot up even more when

they actually called my name and I went back to the exam room. I'm

right! 138/80 - my blood pressure has NEVER been that high even at

the height of the graves. Anyway, I'm sitting there and the door

opens and in she walks holding my file. " How are you feeling? I see

that I sent you right into hypo. Before we go any further, I have to

apologize to you for that. I just got so hung up in wanting to see

that TSH number change......I do apologize. " Huh? Doctors don't say

stuff like this! Right? She went on to say she knows that only I can

really know if the treatment is working and she's glad I called

before I got any worse. By this time, I had to be sitting there with

my mouth hanging open in a state of total shock. Very few times have

I ever had a doctor who admitted they not only made a mistake, but

apologized for it. She asked me if I wanted to go ahead and have my

blood tests done yesterday and also explained why she would rather

wait until next week to have them done so I would have more time on

the lower dosage. But, left it up to me. We talked about the blood

pressure number still beibg so high and I explained that I had kept a

record of mine and brought it with me to show her how screwy the

numbers get when I go into the office She was really pleased to have

them through the period of the hypo mess and asked if she could make

a copy of them for my file. I asked for the FT4, FT3, TSI and TPO

tests and she had no problems with the request. So, I get what I want

and need and she understands why I want these numbers - to track my

process as I work towards remission. She understands that RAI will

never be accepted as a method of treatment and seems to have moved on.

I guess the reason I'm writing all of this, is that I know there are

people out there searching for a good doctor who will work with them

as a teammate in this endeavor and I just wanted to let them know

that the good ones are out there. When you least expect to find one,

there they are willing to work with you in your efforts to heal and

don't feel threatened about having a knowledgeable patient who is

proactive in their treatment. I know that we may have disagreements

in the future, but I'll deal with them if/when they happen. And with

any luck at all my blood pressure might just stay in the normal range

next visit! )

Carolyn B