[Anonymous]

#1023572

I was DX. on April 16th,my Dr.put me on Tapazole (generic)Dr.told me that my levels were extremly high! (I had the Iodine uptake). I went back to see him yesterday for a check up on how I was doing. I asked him many questions, one of which was ” should I see an Endocrinologist”? He told me that it was not necessary,that he will be treating me the same way that an Endocrinologist would! My Dr. is an internist (Internal Medicine). Is this the norm? Should I seek out a good Endo?
I would appreciate any feedback or input from anyone!
Thanks
Elizabeth

[Anonymous]

#1086142

Hi Pinklady,

Based on my experience, I would highly reccommend seeing an ENDO. I too was initally diagnosed through bloodwork by an internal medicine doctor but her deepth of knowledge was limited and she appeared uncomfortable with the deepth of some of my questions – which made me extremely uneasy. I have a rather large multinodular goiter with several “cold” nodules. She told me she could not palpate them. The ENDO immediately found them as well as the ENDO who did my biopsy. Again, 2 experienced ENDO’s felt them and based on their experience were able to give me the knowledge to make solid educated treatment decisions. My internal medicince doctor could not even find them (more concerns….) My ENDO knew how stressed I was and arranged my biopsy appt. made all the calls and everything. He seems to really appreciate what I’m going through and encourages me to ask questions. My internal medicine doctor told me she could handle my treatment, but I gotta tell you the truth here…. my little voice kept telling me to try an ENDO and thank GOD I did. My treatment improved dramatically. Maybe your situation isn’t similar to mine, but I wanted to share this with you.

CS

[Anonymous]

#1086143

Elizabeth,
Should you or should you not go to an endo…well, it’s really up to you.

I started with my regular family doctor. He diagnosed me on the first visit and confirmed it with blood work. I saw him all through RAI. He went out of his way to make sure he was getting me the best treatment. He consulted with other doctors, answered my questions, saw me on closely spaced appointments, did constant blood work, researched my case during off hours, and called me at home after RAI to make sure I was doing okay. He was wonderful and a God Send…and rare.

The only reason I switched doctors is because I moved out of state and I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to find a gem of a doctor like mine in a regular office. I tried one family doctor but could tell right off they didn’t care two cents about me, so I went to an endo.

My main complaint about endos is that they are specialty doctors and can sometimes be distant and not very good at lay-speak. Mine is a very good doctor, but I prefer meeting with her nurse practitioner who can speak at my level a little better.

If you feel comfortable with your doctor and feel they are doing their best work for you then why switch? Be sure to educate yourself so you know if your doctor is doing a good job or not–read books and learn about treatment options so that you know the doctor knows what they are doing. Ask questions about how often they treat patients with problems like yours. If they have experience with it and are doing a good job, then stay with them if you feel comfortable. However, if your doctor is not doing their best with you or you feel like they aren’t sure what to do, then by all means switch, and going to an endo with thyroid experience is usually a good choice.

The point is to be comfortable and comforted. That is the most important thing. Find the doctor that can do that for you.

I hope this had helped you some, good luck with everything!
~Joni

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