Last week I released a blog post entitled “Choosing Your Thyroid Healing Healthcare Team”, and one of the healthcare practitioners I spoke about was an endocrinologist. Many people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions end up being referred to an endocrinologist. And while I can’t say that I had a horrible experience with my endocrinologist when I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, over the years I’ve had many patients inform me that they didn’t have a good experience with the one they consulted with.
This is especially true for those people with hyperthyroidism, as many endocrinologists will pressure their hyperthyroid patients to receive radioactive iodine or thyroid surgery. And not surprisingly, most endocrinologists aren’t open to natural treatment methods. Sure, every now and then there will be someone who tells me that their endocrinologist is receptive to them taking a natural treatment approach. But this is rare, as most feel that diet and other lifestyle factors don’t play any role in improving the health of people with these conditions.
I’d love to hear what your experience has been with your endocrinologist. If you had a negative experience please let me know! If you worked with an endocrinologist who was open to you taking a natural treatment approach please let me know! Thank you for sharing your experience with everyone!
Ugh. I’ve seen five of them. They all want to treat my hypothyroidism using TSH and FT4 lab test only and they all say there is nothing to be done about antibodies… “not a problem”. Hate is a strong word, I have zero use for them though.
Even with two nodules and difficulty swallowing, my Rheumatologist wont give me a referral. My GP relies on what my rheumatologist tells her. What can i do? Ugh!
Yes, the general comment has been my experience – excise the gland, replace the hormones…. It’s their standard.
My endo refused to do the lab testing that I ask for. Even though my Insurance will pay for it. I had to go to my general practitioner ( who is from Europe and open to natural therapies)
He will Only test TSH and then his office called and said I was fine. To come back in 6 months to a year. Hello? I felt horrible. Then when I started following you and others that touted natural remedies for symptom relief and remission I asked him about it and he laughed at me! He laughed when I told him I was trying to modify my diet to help with my symptoms. I was so offended. He treated me like a child and said that I knew nothing of ” medical things” Finally I showed him that my antibodies had come down from very high to almost normal and I brought the AIP Clinical study to show him. He still will not do the lab testing that I ask for. He is very arrogant. Unfortunately, he is the only Endo within 100 miles of me that was taking new patients. Whatcha gonna do? Drive 3 hours to a functional Doc and pay lots of money!
I had my TSH, t4 tested, at emergency. The next day I was told by the head of internal medicine that I would have to do radio active iodine as it was the only way.
My first Endo was very thorough and diagnosed me with Graves and put me on 10 mg per day of Methimazole. When my T3 and T4 normalized but not my TSH, she suggested RAI. I said to her, come on, what do your RAI patients tell you? They say they don’t feel normal and that they can’t lose weight. Do I look like that’s what I need? Then she moved from Canada to the States so her replacement was a dummy who had no common sense. She even promoted RAI when all my levels were improving. Then a blessing happened. I worked for a Genetic Metabolic specialist who was often out of town and asked me to monitor his emails. This new Endo had just opened his practice and had sent an email to my boss. So I asked my General Practitioner to refer me to him. I told him right up front that I would not have RAI or surgery so he never pushed it but my TSH remained at 0 for a while after I started seeing him. Then one visit when my TSH had risen dramatically he was scratching his head and I showed him the bottle of Acetyl-L-Carnitine I had added to my meds dose. He was shocked but pleased and started to read up on the literature another Italian Endo had written about this. After I was finished taking meds and I had a bit of a setback with my TSH falling (although not out of range), he told me to just take the supplements, not the meds and I did and everything normalized again. He did warn his residents “Be careful, she’s very knowledgeable”. I don’t think I was very knowledgeable but what I wasn’t was passive around physicians because I worked for them for many years. So I would ask interesting questions or be firm with any decisions I made about what I would and wouldn’t do. I like him and he came around more than most of them do.
I have seen (or at least talked to) 5 different endos, mostly because they were locums for my pregnant endo. All they know to do is suggest RAI or surgery for my hyperthyroidism – amazing, given all the education they have received. My sister has MS and autoimmunity is rampant in my extended family, so I know that my condition is not about my thyroid – it’s about my immune system! So what is the sense in removing my thyroid, without addressing the real cause of my condition (autoimmunity)? I am at a high risk for having more autoimmune diseases. Thank goodness we have wholistic practitioners like Dr. Osansky to point us in the right direction.
I originally had hypothyroid for years and was treated with Synthroid at a women’s clinic, but then my numbers changed and they didn’t know what to do, so I went off all medication. Months later I became aware of my increased heart rate because of my Fitbit. My heart rate went way high when walking and was 100 bpm when I was trying to sleep. I went to an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with Grave’s Disease, and he told me I had 3 options: radioactive iodine, surgery, or Methimazole, which he said was ineffective for the majority of people taking it. I asked him what he would do if he was in my situation. He replied, “One day I’d tell you one thing, but another day I’d tell you something else.” Not inspiring confidence, I found another Endocrinologist who put me on Methimazole, and after 6 months I went into remission. That was 4 years ago. I saw him last month and he said he had put in a standing order for blood work if I noticed my heart rate going back up this year. I asked if he would ever test for Reverse T3, and he told me that was just ridiculous, and it wouldn’t tell me anything.
I have seen two endocrinologists for Graves, both of whom completely ignored my symptoms and concerns and just pushed for radioiodine. I was having problems with my eyes at the beginning but one informed my GP that I had no thyroid eye symptoms, despite what I had said. I have now been handed back to my GP for monitoring because I refused radioiodine and surgery as the specialist has nothing else to offer in terms of treatment. It is a shame that there is such little scope for help. Healthcare here in England is different to the US but we still seem to have the same lack of imagination.
Frustrated is more like it.
My first “referred” endocrinologist was mild mannered, and easy to get along with.
However, he refused to even entertain, Cytomel to anyone because he did not want to justify prescribing it, via paperwork to insurance.
I never felt that much better on the SYnthroid he did prescribe.
I stayed fat, tired, dry-skin, puffy nface, NAPS.
I finally went to a woman, who ended up to be condesending and rude. She canceled my 2nd appointment as I was walking out the door.
She was a student of the endocrinologist I have now.
He saw my number were “low” for years and realized I was NOT being treated well by anyone.
He prescribed the Liothyrine .5mcg and I felt the best in 8 years!
However, he is not keeping up with my bloodwork and for some reason, my LdL and Glucose have doubled. (Primary care doctor physical revealed this)
He only asked to see the TSH levels NOT the other bloodwork.
I read Liothyrine can effect those levels and cause sweating, shaking, headaches, and sleeplessness. I have all of that now and NOBODY is responding to my 0.11 TSH.
I ended up cutting the Liothyrine in half and it ended the “bad” symptoms.
This is so out of character from him, but he is in his 80’s now.
I would think he would want to monitor my glucose & LdL since he brought it up as being a “side effect” of the Liothyrine.
I started waking up soaking wet, coupled with an awful headache and shaking and nobody is responding….yes, I’m angry and I’m not happy with the dodging of what’s happening to me.
It seems pretty reckless to leave a person in this state of Hashimoto’s.
Healthcare is crapolla these days.
Glad we have lovely Dr. Eric on our sides~
I wouldn’t say I hated my endocrinologist, but she was dismissive about using natural treatment protocols. She diagnosed me quickly and put me on methimazole for Graves Disease and my symptoms improved at least. I also worked with a natural health counselor-type who referred me to some books and I followed her advice, the books’ advice, and kept seeing the endocrinologist. Ultimately, after 2+ years my antibodies dropped 95% and I slowly weaned myself off methimazole. My endocrinologist did not want to get labs done for the antibodies that final appointment! She said they would always be elevated and that I’d have to take definitive measures, ie removal of thyroid, eventually! That was several years ago and, other having some issues getting my ferritin levels to optimal levels, everything looks pretty good and I’m still in remission.
may I know how long did it take for your high antibodies to come down to normal?
I have so far only seen one endocrinologist. She only test TSH and T4, along with antibodies. She looks at nothing else. She has decided that I have thyroiditis hyperthyroidism. Even though my numbers have been changing on their own. She wants to put me on a high dose of methamizolre and get me to hypothyroidism and then treat. I am not okay with this. I am going ahead and doing the uptake scan through her to have that done, and then I am continuing to look.