[Anonymous]

#1128253

Sorry to hear that your insurance will not cover. I was lucky that my ENDO has a Dietician on staff. Look up in your health care provider directory for RD (registered dieticians). If you don’t see any there, call up Endocrinologists in the area. The front office help will usually refer you to names and numbers if you request. Look up names in the yellow pages of RD’s then call and asked them what their experience is with Graves’ patients. I am the first Graves’ patient to seek help with my RD. She gets a lot of Diabetics and people with Eating disorders. I wish she knew more about our disease. I feel like a lot of the time I am telling her what I cannot have (is salt, seaweed, etc.).

If you are paying yourself, no worries, you can go and have a one time consultation and then monitor yourself. My RD gave me great literature, and eating plan and recommended that I keep a food journal.

Good Luck

[Anonymous]

#1128254

How about a naturopathic physician or some kind of alternative medical person? They treat holistically and do nutritional counseling too.

[Anonymous]

#1039683

I am beginning to think that I need a new doctor. As I’ve posted before, I have also had the weight gain rather than a loss. This has been quite distressing for me. I have mentioned this to the doctor, and as others have on the BB have said – -the doc wants to treat 1 thing at a time.

In theory that sounds good, but I know she’ll never address it. Why don’t doctors see the whole person in the exam room as opposed to the 1 item that finally became irritating enough to get them into the office? Sometimes I swear I could go in with an arrow through my head and if I only complained of a sore ankle, she wouldn’t even ask about the arrow.

I have asked to a referral for a nutritionist because I can tell that I’m not going to be able to get past this without assistance. Her response was only to tell me that the insurance wouldn’t pay for it. End of discussion. She never addressed the issues that made me request it – – regardless of the fact that if need be I can/will pay for it myself. (I don’t think I should have to but if I get on my HMO tirade again I may never stop.)

So – I’ve made the nurse request it anyway, but fully expect it to come back rejected. So – I will have to do this on my own. How do I locate a nutritionist that has experience with Graves’ patients? I’ve checked the American Dietetic (spelling?) Association website, but they really don’t give any information on the members. You can do a sort by “specialty” but they all pretty much list all the specialties making it nearly useless.

[Anonymous]

#1128255

Jude,
It is true that you should ask to see a Registered Dietician and not a nutritionist. Your doctor should have suggested this to you as an option. There is a difference between the two. Dieticians are licensed care providers and most insurance companies, even HMO’s, will cover their fees if your doctor refers you to one.
This whole weight thing is very frustrating, I agree. You do have to make your doctor treat the whole you, or find a new doctor who will treat the whole you. This is easier said than done, however, especially if you are on an HMO with limited choices of doctors. So good luck to you in your efforts to get your doctor to notice that you are a whole person and not just a thyroid.
Kay

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