[aimdre]

#1060391

I’m a newbie. Diagnosed (finally) with Graves in late February. I’m wondering if anyone in San Diego has an Endo that they love working with. I have Sharp Health Plan insurance and so far I’ve noticed that most of the Endos in my group are very experienced with diabetes but not so much when it comes to Graves disease. I’m hoping to acheive remission with ATDs and diet/stress reduction and it’s hard to find a doc that will work with you on that. I keep getting told my numbers are “perfect” just because I’m within the “range” but I feel absolutely terrible. Anyone else go through this? Anyone have any good feedback on their Endocrinologists? Thank you!

[Kimberly]

#1182370

Hello and welcome! Hopefully, you will get some responses from those in the San Diego area. You can also check out the “Looking for a Doctor?” thread in the announcements section of the forum.

Hopefully, your doc is testing Free T4 and T3 in addition to TSH. Also, make sure that you are getting hard copies of your labs, so you can look at them for yourself. Some patients find that they feel best at a certain spot in the “normal” range, which is fairly wide. In terms of symptoms, the more specific that you can be with your doctor, the better. For example, “I can’t walk up a flight of stairs without stopping for a rest” is more helpful than “I’m tired”.

Hoping that you will see some relief soon!

[aimdre]

#1182371

Thank you Kimberly! That is good advice and I will be sure to be more specific. Based on my “perfect” labs, Endo put me on birth control pills and told me to up my iron, D and selenium supplements (even though I already take tons, I am still deficient because of the disease causing absorbtion problems). B/C pills seem to have helped somewhat.

I just saw the Ophthalmologist yesterday for an eval (no signs of TED yet, but he wants to do annual monitoring). I asked about options for surgery, etc. when and if it does happen. My cousin has had TED and exophthalmos (pretty sure I’ve spelled that wrong for 7 years so I’m super paranoid about my eyes. The doc actually told me that they only do surgery to save the eye if you are about to go blind and that everything else is cosmetic and not covered. Nice! He even had the nerve to tell me I will probably look like Marty Feldman. Wow. I think I will see a different Ophthalmologist next year…..

I appreciate your reply.

[Kimberly]

#1182372

Hello – Keep in mind that birth control pills will “bind” a certain amount of thyroid hormone that is circulating in the body, thus making it inactive. Hopefully, your doc has follow up testing scheduled within a few weeks of starting the birth control pills to see if your other meds need to be adjusted.

Yes, you *deserve* an ophthalmologist with a better bedside manner – and one who understands that any future surgeries are reconstructive and NOT cosmetic. A good ophthalmologist who is experienced with TED will make sure that these procedures are not coded as cosmetic when the insurance paperwork is filed.

[Teri_Odegaard]

#1182373

Welcome home.

I was diagnosed in 2010. Every now and then my symptoms go ‘out of whack’, meaning they are beyond the day to day stuff. Other than that pretty much feel the same I did when diagnosed. For the past week though my vision is a bit blurry, but could be from reading or crocheting to much.

Glad you’re here.

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