Update & new appointment
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 03-28-2005 - 9:15am |
Hi:
Well, I think I've almost come to the end of the road with my HMO/endo. As I feared, when my recent labs showed TSH=2.9, and I called her to describe symptoms (dry skin/eyes, constipation, inability to lose weight, cold, muscle aches, achey joints, muscle twitches, mood swings, fatigue, hives, itchy skin, etc., etc.,) and how these have been increasing slowly over the year (in cycles, where I have days or even a week of feeling normal every 4-6 weeks), she said "I don't think it's your thyroid."
The "good news" is that she did prescribe me a low-dose of T-3 to take along with my 150mcgs Levothroid (saying "you will probably feel better for 6 months or so, but then you'll come back to where you are now" --- because she feels that the T-3 will only offer some sort of temporary placebo effect). She thinks what my primary issue now is anxiety and depression. I'm not denying that I'm anxious and depressed... I'm just insisting that my thyroid is ALSO not balanced yet. Oh well, at least I got the prescription.
I have wanted to try Synthroid to see if I do better on that, but she claims there's no difference (and even if she did switch me, my HMO would NOT cover it, and it amounts to the difference between $15 and $100 for a 100-day supply). As it happens, the Clomed isn't covered by my HMO either, but I went ahead and filled a 100-day supply for $85.
Anyway, I'm finally at a point where I just want to find a doctor who will understand that my TSH isn't as important as the fact that I still have symptoms. So I made an appointment with a private MD (and holistic practitioner) near me. (Stephen Langer... he's apparantly written a book on Thyroid issues). It's going to cost a lot of money, but it's been a year and I feel like I've given my HMO enough time to help... (I'm not dumping my HMO, by the way, I still need my benefits, but I'm just going outside for this).
Well, hope everyone else is doing well,
Dee.
| Wed, 03-30-2005 - 7:59pm |
