[Ski]

#1065433

You’ve hit it right on the nose ~ that’s our biggest challenge. How can we serve the patients who don’t know what they have? Or, like you, those who have some idea, but can’t get anyone to listen? We also suffer from the perception some doctors have, that everything on the internet is bad info ~ so they hear us say that we’ve "done some research" and they shut down. And one more issue is that not everyone who has "our" symptoms has Graves’ ~ that’s why it can be so hard to convince a doctor that this is what we’re dealing with. Its symptoms mimic many other conditions, and for some reason there’s an odd hesitation to running one little blood test to see. It’s not even an expensive test! Unfortunately, that’s the rule, in the stories I’ve heard, rather than the exception. Most of us have had at least one "brush off" before someone listens to us, others many MANY more, spanning a great deal of time. It can indeed be incredibly debilitating, when it goes on for a long time.

At any rate ~ we’re glad you found us, and I’m sorry you need to go through this, but you’ve found a good source for info and support. Welcome.

[dixiegirl]

#1018522

Today I was diagnosed with Grave’s diease. It has been a battle to get to this point. For two years now I have been in and out of my doctor’s office with various complaints ranging from three months with no menstral cycles, weight gain(wierd, I know), insomnia, and ending with debilitating fatigue and tremors in my arms and legs. With a stronge family history, I always believed I was hypothyroid and pushed for testing. Regular thyroid levels came back within normal range though, and my doctor was pushing anti-depressants like a drug dealer(which I consistantly refused since I didn’t FEEL depressed). I finally got to the point that I could hardly function. In December my thyroid levels were found to be outside what they consider normal so I went in for a follow up appt. Guess what, The doc. still was pushing the anti-depressants!!! Finally I proposed a deal to her that I would take her meds if she would test my individual thyroid levels. ( At this point I didn’t feel like I had alot to loose by taking her meds. I couldn’t get up the energy to remove myself from the sofa most days.) Low and behold, she called me two days later very apologetic because my levels proved I was actually suffering from hyperthyrodism. She immediately scheduled an ultrasound which showed I had a multinodular goiter(with a suspicious nodule that she wanted to investigate further to rule out cancer). So she scheduled a thyroid uptake scan. Today the results came back with, thankfully, no signs of cancer but confirmed Grave’s diease. Now I am awaiting consults with an endocrinologist and an ENT to discuss the possibility of surgical removal.
I just keep thinking to myself, if I had taken her meds in the beginning and not pushed for the tests I was sure were needed, how bad would this have gotten before someone took notice? The anti-depressants temporarily made me feel better(then much, much worse) so I could have actually falsely been convinced she was right. I wonder how many other people are out there thinking they are just depressed when in all actuallity they are going through the same thing we are. Scary thought.

[mamabear]

#1065434

dixie, You are right!! We must must must always believe our gut. When we do not feel well we know it. We feel crazy or insane when people look at us and say oh you look fine!! Oh how that makes me mad!

It’s like a man going to see his dr. and says he found a lump on his breast and the dr. says oh dont worry about it, you’re a guy! There are so many diseases out there that are left untreated in people because dr’s for some reason aren’t taking us seriously and the ones that do take us seriously are bombarded with patients becasue of idiot dr’s who wont give us teh time of day!

I pm’d you as well.

[dixiegirl]

#1065435

Thank you Ski and Mamabear. Only three more days to go until my endo. consult. Now that I am no longer living under the dark cloud of a possible cancer diagnosis, I find I am oddly focused again. I am finally at a point where I am no longer as angry for being brushed off by my doc. and I am focused on finally getting some solid answers on where to go from here. Even though you know there are countless others like you out there, you sometimes feel so alone in this process.
Thank you once again. It is nice to have others who understand reach out with heartfelt support. I will keep you posted as the process continues ” title=”Smile” />

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