[Carito71 July 6, 2012 at 11:26 am Post count: 333]

#1059185

Hello.

I’ll be seeing my new Endo next week. I’m very excited about this.

I feel that with the first Endo visit I had, I might not have asked what I needed to.

What should I ask?

I searched for a post related to this but I did not find one. Maybe I did not search correctly.

Any advice?

Thank you …. I want to be prepared and ready.

Caro

[adenure July 6, 2012 at 12:28 pm Post count: 491]

#1172782

Hi,

Maybe ask him what he suggests as a long term treatment plan. Does he support the long term use of ATD’s, what is his approach there with dosing, how often on blood work, does he take into consideration how you’re feeling as well as the numbers on the lab. “Normal” does have a big range, so that’s a thought. Ask him what his patients tend to do as far as definitive treatments- does he know of any surgeons who do a lot of thyroidectomies in case you decide to go that route- anyone he recommends, works with, refers his patients to (if you’re contemplating that possibility at some point). How does he manage you after surgery or RAI- what would he prescribe, how often are blood tests run- basically establishing that he’s willing to work with you, communicate, monitor your levels every few months while you’re being treated with ATD’s or establishing a Synthroid dose after definitive treatment. My endo. was going to test my levels every 2 months for the 1st year I was on ATD’s if I had stayed that route.

For me, the most important thing is having a doctor who will listen to you and your symptoms, do labs frequently, and communicate with you in a timely manner. Asking how many Graves patients he has would be good too just to see if he is more geared towards Diabetes, other metabolic issues or if he has a basis of Graves Disease patients and experience there.

Alexis

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator July 6, 2012 at 12:31 pm Post count: 4294]

#1172783

Hello – Alexis has given you lots of good “food for thought”.

You might also ask about the process of getting labs done and results reported. As I mentioned in a previous post, the best scenario is if you can get your doctor to give you a lab slip for your *next* set of labs at each appointment. Then you can have bloodwork done in advance of your next appointment. The down side is that this does require separate trips to the lab and to the doctor’s office. However, this allows you to spend your time with the doc actually looking at your labs and being able to ask questions.

Definitely keep us posted!

[Carito71 July 9, 2012 at 11:24 am Post count: 333]

#1172784

Alexis, Kimberly,

You girls are great. I took your questions/advice with me to my new Endo I looked at them in the waiting room and memorized them …

He measured my eyes and my thyroid. He looked at my eye lids and said …. “no lid lag” He looked at my hands to see if I had tremors. I did have a little bit of that. The truth is that I have had it since I was a little girl so to me it is normal.

He wants to keep me on the Methimazole. He ordered labs for today. Gave me a sheet for labs for one month from now and scheduled an appointment for a month from now. Kimberly, I’ll get them done before I go see him so we can talk about them. He also explains about Rx treatment, RAI and surgery. It seems like he is good with all three. He said that with Methimazole he needed to monitor me closely. Wow … I thought. The other Endo told me “take it for 6 weeks, get labs when you stop, I’ll see you 8 weeks after you stop”. I asked his nurse about the Rx and she said “I don’t know anything about that Rx” 😮
But getting back to my experience today. He said to think of questions and ask them when he sees me next month. I thought that was nice of him. He ordered TSH, FT4, ALT (liver) and White Blood Cells. I didn’t ask him why no FT3. I guess that is a good question for when I see him.

He also said, no exercise yet.

I have to report that as of Thursday I feel like the Rx has started to work a little bit. I can more around the house and actually enjoy things a little bit better. I drove again today and that is a big improvement from how I was feeling. Feeling like you are passing out every 2 hours because the heart rate is elevated is not a good thing. My primary Dr. discontinued the Propranolol because I was having to take it 6 times a day 😮 and b/c it kept my heart on a roller coaster … and my emotions as well. She put on Metoprolol instead, which keeps my heart constant.

I just hope things keep getting better. I’m scared about how I will feel when the #s start to drop. Would hate to get hypo.

Thank you so much for your help.

Caro

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator July 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm Post count: 4294]

#1172785

Wow, that’s great that Endo #2 seemed much more willing to explain the process and answer your questions. For patients with Graves’, our relationship with our provider is a long-term one, so it definitely pays to “shop around”.

Take care!

[LaurelM July 9, 2012 at 3:15 pm Post count: 216]

#1172786

Glad to see the visit with the new endo went well!

[Carito71 July 9, 2012 at 5:26 pm Post count: 333]

#1172787

Thank you LauerlM!

[Carito71 July 9, 2012 at 5:28 pm Post count: 333]

#1172788

You sure are right Kimberly. We are all different and what works for somebody might not work for somebody else. Maybe the 1st Dr. is good in another Endo area … who knows. I’m glad I’m I changed Drs. and that I’m now seeing one that will work better with me.

[naumanb July 9, 2012 at 6:01 pm Post count: 22]

#1172789

I am glad it went well Hopefully that continues! I wish I could see my endo after every blood test but he is impossible to get an appointment with so I have to wait for the 6 month mark. Glad to see you liked your new endo!

[Carito71 July 10, 2012 at 12:26 pm Post count: 333]

#1172790

Hello Bri,

Waiting 6 months would be frustrating for me right now since my #s are still high. Maybe he’ll make changes later on when things are more under control. You do get labs often, right? And the nurse calls you back? Is good to get your liver and white blood cells checked since those are two things that can change with the medications we take. Thank you!!

How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?

Caro

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