[WWWI2]

#1059618

I have an appointment scheduled for January 15th. On the last visit (my first with this doc), he told me to get labs 19th of December after starting me on 50mg of Levoxothryoid (in addition to 15 mg Methimazol) to balance things out as I’d gone hypo in Mid November. I did that. Apparently they were going to wait until January 15th’s appointment to give me the results, despite the fact that they knew December 20’th that I was still hypo.

When I called the office end of December, I asked for my numbers and was also told to up the Levo to 75 mg, but was also told it was important that I keep the appointment on January 15. I asked, since I was still hypo if I should get labs before the Jan 15 appointment and was told that they were not necessary.

I’m an independant contractor and am paid only when i work. Between the coinsurance and the time lost, it will cost me around $400 to see this doctor on Jan 15,. He already has my latest labs, I’ve already know been told to up the dose to 75 mg over the phone and he will have no further labs by Jan 15th. I explained this all to the nurse and asked if it was possible to reschedule the appointment for a time when I will have labs.

She responded that because I have Graves’ I need to be monitored. If I were more stable then we could push the appointments out further. The thing is, there is no reason for this doctor to see me without current labs. There is nothing he can tell me on Jan 15th that would make me more stable without seeing current labs.

The fact that he never planned to call me with my labs on Dec 19th, but make me wait a month until Jan 15th to tell me I’m still hypo, and now doesn’t want to do labs before the Jan 15th appointment and that I’m still hypo indicates that he apparently sees no urgency to getting me stable, the nurses comments were untrue and this appointment is simply financial.

Am I wrong to feel so increadibly frustrated?

[snelsen]

#1176202

No. Not at all!
Seems he is treating you already without seeing you, and you have reported how you feel, and he responded by increasing the med.
Because is such a financial hit for you, too, I suggest calling the office, simply saying you have to reschedule the 1/15 appointment, Get the labs BEFORE the appointment. Any possibility of this option?
Shirley

[WWWI2]

#1176203

I think what I said might have caused a bit of confusion. I originally saw him in November with my most recent labs which said I’d gone hypo on the methimazol. As a result he added back Levoxythroid to increase my T4.

The next blood test I had was December 19 which showed me still hypo. I won’t see him again until Jan 15th. But when i called to get my Dec results they told me to increase the levothryoid because I was still hypo. They told me that I still needed to see the doc in a month (Jan 15th) but between now and then I don’t need another lab test.

My question is how is he going to know what my levels are and whether I’m still hypo or not without another lab test? What am I going to this appointment for? And no they have turned down my request for a lab test for this appointment January 15 but told me that in order to monitor me I need to go to this appointment. The worst part is it appears that they intended to hold my Dec 19th hypo results until the appointment on Jan 15. but I pushed them to tell me. There is something very wrong with this picture.

Going forward, I’m going to try and get this worked out better, but I just have this feeling that I’m going to go to the appointment and he’s going to tell me what I already know and then have me schedule another appointment soon after, one where I have labs for him.

Basically i think I can just kiss that $400 good bye. sigh…

[Bobbi]

#1176204

One thing to try to be objective about is “who dropped the ball.” You did not get a call about those lab results, yes. But it may not have been the doctor’s fault. You are basing at least some of your opinions on guesswork. (“He never planned to call me….” apparently sees no sense of urgency…” “etc., etc.) You do not know any of this. It SEEMS that way, yes. But unless you have talked with the doctor, you do not know who goofed about not calling you. I have a very good endo — a caring doctor. Her current staff is horrid. They don’t call back, etc. or get me lab results in a timely fashion even when I know the doctor has instructed them to do so. They forget, get distracted, whatever. I had to get my most recent lab results (which were fine, but I’d asked for them) until another doctor called for the results. I will tell the doctor when next I see her. She deserves to know the chapter and verse. And, she is ultimately responsible for her staff. But it is not her fault if they mess up and she does not know about it. It is only her fault if they mess up and she DOES know about it.

I would recommend going to the appointment and talking with the doctor, calmly, about your frustrations, your financial situation, and how best to coordinate tests and appointments with him. Only then will you be sure that your doctor is the individual responsible for the snafus and inconveniences to you.

[WWWI2]

#1176205

Bobbie,

You could be entirely right. I’ve had some really bad experiences with a few doctors over the past few years and now I simply assume the worst. I’m exceedingly leary of any misteps as in the past I got hurt (lost a gallbladder unnecessarily, misdiagnosis resulting in inappropriate medication management that landed me with a chronic IBD as a result of a drug I should have never been prescribed, to name just two of many.)

I want to have some confidence in this doctor as he appears to know significantly more about Graves’ than my previous endo. But as soon as stupid stuff happens, like this, it makes me exceedingly anxious of what looms on the horizon. I’m simply scared of getting hurt again. I’m angry that after having other diseases I’ve had to learn to contend with, I now have one more where I’m dependant on doctors for my well being.

I’m also having a sucky month with family crisis and holidays that couldn’t have gone worse and I simply don’t feel well. So when I feel, once again, that I’m in a postition where I lack control, am dependant and feel as if I could not only get taken advantage of but it could be detrimental to my health, I just want to scream.

But I have taken your words to heart. I don’t love paying what it’s going to cost, but truth is as costly as it is, that’s really only a small part of what’s going on here. I will try to arrange things better and let them know the financial impact. I will also try very hard not to place the blame for all of my medical woes and incompetent boobheads on this man.

Thanks for talking me down

WWWI2

[Bobbi]

#1176206

I do indeed understand, WWW12. My Graves was not diagnosed (even with definitive blood work) by a doctor who considered me prone to anxiety issues, so she didn’t look at it. !! (She admitted it, later.) And, worse, I lost a baby at 5 months gestation by a doctor who refused to consider that the contractions I was experiencing were “working” contractions. So, I do understand. On the other hand, as a kid, I was grounded for doing something I had not done, because my parents listened to someone other than me. It rankled enough that I truly try to put the blame for things squarely on the head of whoever did it.

[Khadijah]

#1176207

With the two doctors I saw none had ever seen me that far out without lab work. That seems like they will see you and then ask you to get labs for the next visit. The visit as you stated lags the results of where you actually are. Not acceptable. Maybe try to explain you may “have misses a previous lab and you need to catch up” so they have the “most recent info to work with” I’d be mad as hell and find another doctor in the meantime if you can? Maybe talk to the doctor directly. Nurses or office people can be notoriously bossy and bitchy without the doctor knowing.

[WWWI2]

#1176208

Bobbi – I can’t imagine there is anything that compares to the loss of a child. I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through.

Truth is I’m just so angry, tired, sad, distressed about so many things that are beyond my control at the moment. It just seems to be coming from all sides and I’m feeling very vulnerable at the moment and there have been and are just so many more hurdles to overcome.

I feel like an open wound with no protection except blindly striking out at any perceived (or real) wrong. I just want to withdraw and lick my wounds, but circumstances disallow it. I have lost my balance and am not quite clear how to get my equilibrium back. I’m sorry to be spewing all of this here. I just want to take my ball and go home. Ya know?

This will pass…just not sure when

Khadija – Sadly this is my new endo lol. I just dumped the last one ( my first endo) for being a boob head (in this case it was both him and his office administration that screwed up). The final straw was that he dropped my methamizol significantly (I don’t blame him for trying that) but then when things went very badly as a result, he told me to see my primary care to address the debilitating pain as a result of the drop, with her and then he would “follow up with me” at the appointment scheduled over a month out. My Primary care doc gave me narcotics and asked ME why I was seeing her and not the endo. This was not a man I wanted to over see my RAI. I cannot say strongly enough how much I hate this whole thing.

[Khadijah]

#1176209

Any chance you can keep looking? There has to be a better doctor! I’m so sorry I know how everything is amplified when you feel crappy. Please don’t give up!

[WWWI2]

#1176210

Khadijah,

I have a list of endos from my primary care. I think right now tho I’m going to see how he responds at our next appointment and see how he intends to proceed. Odds are if you see another post like this one, I’ll be doctor shopping lol.

Thanks for taking the time to respond

WWWI2

[Bobbi]

#1176211

Something that worked well for me, WWW12, when I was in your shoes, was to think about the meaning of the Serenity Prayer. It made me focus on whether or not whatever was happening was anything I could do something about. If it wasn’t, I let it go. So, you cannot take your ball and go home. Sorry. I wish you could. But there may be other things you CAN do to help yourself. Warm baths with scented salts; sitting on a park bench in the sunshine (well, maybe, if you live somewhere warm in winter like I do); listening to your favorite music. Something you feel PAMPERED about.

While we’re in the early stages of Graves/hyperthyroidism our emotions are out-of-whack, and we feel everything more intensely than normal. (Yes, oh, great, one more thing this stupid disease does…..) So feeling overwhelmed, angry, especially feeling tired, all of that is part of the disease process until you get your hormones completely back under control long enough for your body to heal. So, that’s kind of a “this, too, shall pass” type of issue. Hold tightly onto the thought that you WILL get well again.

While in the depths of this disease, when you feel especially low, is there a favorite movie of yours that makes you laugh and laugh? Rent it, or buy it, and play it LOTS. I am particularly fond of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” with Whoopie Goldberg, and I played it so much while I was in the process of recovering that I probably know the dialogue by heart. Laughter makes us feel better, no matter what is going on around us. And in that wee window of laughter-induced “feeling better” I could put things back into perspective — at least temporarily.

It is a hard thing you are going through. And I do hope you are feeling MUCH better soon.

[WWWI2]

#1176212

Bobbi,

Thank u for responding. It was my emotions that were out of whack but it was all of my senses. Went to take a drive with someone and the sun was just way too bright so we decided to avoid driving directly south. Noises were too loud, etc. It’s not helping that things are stressful at work (they call it work for a reason lol), so many egos involved. I find I’m so sensitive to the mood shifts of others.

I called my new doctor’s office and while the original situation hasn’t been resolved, they did tell me to up the beta blocker and thankfully it has helped to turn down my CNS and calm my innards down some.

It’s so funny that you mentioned it because I DID watch Jumping Jack Flash recently. I hadn’t seen it in years. It’s a great escape movie. I loved the movie and I adore Whoopie Goldberg.

Thank you for validating what I’m going thru, I think that is probably one of the best things you could have done. I forget sometimes that there is legitimate reasons why things are so rough right now. And then I feel horrible for not feeling or behaving as I think I should. I’m hopeful that things will improve over time.

Thanks for your kindness

WWWI2

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