For this year’s Bar-A-Thon I have decided to chronicle my ongoing battle with Thyroid and decided to call it ThyroScare. I guess you could call it a marathon of sorts to overcome this disease. This post is dedicated to all the specialist that I ended up meeting in due course.
Read the second post in this series here
After the call to the cardiologist, I was told to start Eltroxin 25 mg as my TSH was 238 (normal range is 0.4-5.0). Also was started on a diuretic to allow the water to be flushed out and told to make an appointment with him as there was water around my heart. Ok my heart plummeted to hear that but she assured me all was well.
Leviothyroxine (Eltroxin) is the drug used to treat under active thyroid gland and it basically helps in producing more T4 which in turn helps to make T3 – both are thyroid hormones. As soon as the T4 levels reach normality with it, TSH levels come down.
World over the doctors prescribe Eltroxin in multiples of 25 mg and slowly increase the dosage till a normalcy is achieved in the TSH levels. The flip side of this drug is the weight gain which begins simultaneously.
There is a disagreement between several experts over this being the best drug to prescribe as in some cases T4 doesn’t convert to T3; instead it turns into RT3 or reverse T3 which leads to several other complications.
In fact thyroid disorders seem to be the least researched, leading to several medical arguments.
There are now specialists who prescribe NDT or natural desiccated thyroid which is made from the thyroid glands of a pig. This contains all of the thyroid hormones – T4, T3, T2 and T1. Mainstream doctors havent started to deal with this drug due to lack of research but world over several people who have begun this therapy, are claiming to be doing better than with Eltroxin.
The third “specialist” – The cardiologist!
Four days later, I went in for an Echogram that confirmed I had Pericardial effusion or water around the heart. Doc confirmed it was a lot of water and he prescribed meds for 3 months. After which if the water didn’t go down, they would need to aspirate it with a needle or surgery if that also doesn’t help.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
The fourth “specialist” – The Gastro!
He also recommended I see a Gastro specialist as the bloating was most unusual. I promptly went to see him but he gave me a clean bill of gastro health after a round of tests and referred me onto an Auto immune specialist.
The fifth “specialist” – The Auto-immunologist!
The Auto immune doc put me on folic acid as he saw a deficiency from some tests he prescribed and referred me to a hematologist as my low levels of haemoglobin perplexed him. I assured him I was anemic since childhood and a level of 9 was way beyond expectations.
The sixth “specialist” – The Hematologist!
Off I went to see the blood doctor who turned out to be this really jovial guy with ample time on his hands. Hearing my entire case, he called over his colleague and they both got into research mode as they declared me to be “most interesting”. I am glad to amuse you both docs.
Some more blood tests later, they found out the cause for my low haemoglobin which had been also the cause of my enlarged spleen all my life and prescribed a supplement for it.
Ummmm can we get back to the thyroid now please.
Oh that – yeah go see an Endocrinologist.
Two months of half a dozen specialist and over 30,000 spent in tests, I had had it! I was exhausted running around on my own and decided to meet and talk to others who have this disease and what they have to say. To my astonishment, I found over a dozen in my close circle of friends and family – all of whom were perplexed by mine as they had never ever heard of 238 types of level. Normally it shot up to 9 or so and were declared to be thyroid patients.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
You may well be wondering why the hell didnt I just go to the Endocrinologist? I did try to find one and came to realise that most of them specialise in Diabetes and PCOD – both streams provide a lucrative income. My search for a reliable specialist in the field of Thyroid, especially hypothyroidism continues and I would love to hear from you if you are referring to one.
Gosh! That would have been so scary. At hospitals, I always wonder if the doctors are treating us or finding a way to make money. I get nervous and anxious in hospitals. You did all this alone and faced it bravely, Shalini! Hope these numbers come to the normal range soon.
Thanks Parul. Yes hospital s are nerve wrecking to say the least. I have finally got some issues under control and coping with the rest. Will soon get to feel all well soonest.
Glad to hear that!
Thyroid disorders are very common and as you said, many of my friends suffer from either hypo or hyper. Must have been a tough time for you. Hope it all gets better soon.
Yeah Deepa you are right. This seems to be a damn common problem but there are very few answers to it. Not enough research and cure to it. I am doing much better now – thanks D 🙂
When I read 238 even I was stunned. My level was some 5.68 or something and I was prescribed Eltroxin 25. Really I am stunned. That must have been devastating indeed.
Yeah Jai this did get crazy and I really thought I was losing my mind. Thankfully it’s now on track.
O.o.. That was a difficult journey you went through.. Apart from the physical stress, this kinda delays and roundups adds emotional stress too. Bravo shalz.. Hope the numbers reduce and u find peace.
Thanks Deep – yes this was harrowing and I was at my wits end. Thankfully its all in the past now!
Gosh! You have been through so much! This series is most informative. I hope the ending is a happy one. I hope you are OK now.
Yeah Meena the specialists were scary and unnecessary I feel now. But at that time, I had no option as I was also struggling with it. I am much better and thankful to the almighty for that 🙂
My my my God! Mine shot up to 9 and the family was so scared! Seeing your levels must have been so scary, Shalzy. I cannot imagine facing it alone! Kudos to you and thanks a lot for this series. I am going back to read the previous posts and looking forward to reading the rest.
Oh damn- I hope the levels are down now! Did you figure out why they shot up?
I am just glad to put it past and move on ahead with better health and life 🙂
I hope you do read all of them- Thyroid is beocming increasing common and scary.
Gosh! So many specialists! I can relate to this experience of yours. My father had a stone in the gall bladder which was troublesome but couldnt be found in various tests. Since the pain was there and the doc wasnt able to find the root cause of it, we were made to consult half a dozen specialists with more than a dozen tests and some being repeat tests. It was a harrowing experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience, you are a strong one to do it all on your own. Glad that all’s well now!
Thanks so much Shilpa. Yes it’s frustrating with the medical specialists these days. So much expertise in hand yet the dogmatic approaches continue. Hope your dads health is better.
Really a scare. So many specialists…
Wish you all the very best to win this marathon. May you overcome this disease.
Thanks so much Anita. Things are much in control with it.
Your thyroid saga gets scarier with every read. I hope you are okay.
Thanks Suzy… yes it was a crazy fest there for a while, but things are much under control now.
Oh my God! The line of specialists! And the tests! Hope you are doing alright
Thanks Namy- yup am much better and praying all becomes well again!
Pray that you get well soon and can be taxing with so many docs visit. Hope the tests doesn’t stress you that much and week back was diagnosed with gastric which is common to me. Had four to five pills a day. That was crazy. Take very good care of your health and be back in track.
Thanks buddy. I am much much better. Hope your health is in good shape too. We only have our selves to take care of ourself.
So true Shalz and with the choices we make, need to be more conscious. Yeah, the gastric issue is fine now and need to observe a balanced diet due to cholesterol issue. Fingers crossed.
All the best with that Vishal.
My Mom has had this problem too when it came to finding a doctor for her rheumatoid arthritis. Just having to change RA doctors because they don’t take her seriously or them trying to prescribe her medication that she doesn’t need to take that results in side effects that she’s not too happy about.
But I can imagine that this has been really frustrating for you because it sounds like none of these doctors could help you or kept trying to send you to someone else in the hopes that person could help you. And that’s also scary too since it sounds like thyroid problems are a lot more common, yet barely any doctors know how to treat it.
Oh that’s sad about your mom- I hope she is much better now. It gets so crazy with the doctors when they don’t listen to you or tell you, you are imagining your symptoms.
I was so upset after these doctors that I just quit allopathic treatments and sought alternative help. And I am happy to say, I am so so glad I did that. I will be writing about it next and how it’s helped me out.
She is. I’m not sure if she really likes the RA doctor she has now, but definitely better than her first one.
I’m glad to hear that and can’t wait to hear all about it.
OMG! You visited so many specialist. Its really scary!
Yes Shilpa by the end it got very scary for me!