Tips For Finding A Good Doctor?

[Mother of Jibril]

In August I found out I have autoimmune hypothyroidism. My TSH was 44.3 - way, WAY off the scale. The doctor who found it put me on 100mcg of Synthroid and said to come back in two months.

Two months later (after I'd also been gluten-free for five weeks) I was feeling better... more energy, not losing so much hair, not so constipated. Nice. Unfortunately, the doctor I was seeing left the practice and my file was shuffled off to somebody else. She said to watch out for signs that I'm getting too much thryoid hormone (hyperthyroidism) like sweating... I said "That would really be a switch! I'm cold all the time." To make a long story short, all she wanted to test was my TSH and I didn't know better. My TSH came back at 0.54 (back to normal) and that was that.

Since then I've realized that I still have quite a few symptoms of hypothyroidism. My main complaints are being dry (skin, eyes, mouth, throat) and feeling cold all the time. Ugh. It would be great to get this fixed before winter... I've really suffered through winter the last few years. So... after reading more about thyroid conditions I decided to go back to that practice and ask to have my Free T4/T3 levels checked (and more things like antibodies, ferritin, vitamin D, B-12, etc... if possible). When I called for my appointment I specifically asked if there was anybody at that practice with experience managing thyroid conditions.

The doctor I saw was a complete idiot. He treated me like I was three years old (I'm 32 and have a PhD... I really hate it when people talk down to me). First he said that the T4/T3 testing is "controversial" and that "a lot of people in this town are taking too much thyroid medication." (strike 1) Then he looked at my son ... is this your first child? Forget about the raging case of autoimmune hypothyroidism... the reason you're tired is because you have kids. "You're going to be tired for the next twenty years!" (strike 2) To top it off, when I pointed out that my dad also has hypothyroidism and there are a lot of autoimmune disorders in my family, he said, "Yeah... fatigue is usually part of autoimmune disorders... you just have to learn to live with it." (strike 3) Grrrr.... I pointed out that I'm not trying to be "super-charged," I just want to feel NORMAL. He did agree to test my T4 and T3 levels... but I'm guessing it's not the "free" levels I asked for. At least he was the first person who bothered to touch my neck... "Hmmm, I guess you do have a goiter." Duh. Years and years of damage are not going to be reversed overnight.

Another bad sign... when I went back to have my blood drawn, the nurse had to look up the protocol in a big handbook. Clearly, that practice is not testing T4/T3 very often.

How do I find a decent doctor??? I do have an appointment with a new GP in December who's supposed to be great with infectious diseases. I just hope he doesn't blow me off when I use the word "autoimmune." Or at least he could give me a referral to the only endocrinology practice in town (two very overworked doctors). Does anyone know of a good person in southern Indiana? I'm really trying to be hopeful that hypothyroidism and gluten intolerance are the root cause of my problems. I guess I could always order some tests through the Internet, but it's so expensive and I do have insurance that will pay if I could JUST FIND A COOPERATIVE DOCTOR.

Thanks for letting me rant!

[ShayFL]

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