# Strange doctor?



## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

So I saw the new doctor that was recommended on an About.com article today...and it was really really odd.

He is a ENT, yet when I went in he asked me literally hundreds of questions about everything from my hobbies to why I have PTSD. He then went on to try and blame all my thyroid symptoms on side effects of my anxiety meds...even though my thy symptoms have been around 2 years and I have only been on the meds 5 months. This was all before he even looked at the labs my doctor had faxed over. He flat out called me obese (I hate BMI seriously -_-) and tried to diagnose me with sleep apnea because I am fatigued. He also told me my 1200 calorie diet was "too many calories" and I needed to be eating only 1000 calories split up over 6 meals (so essentially a cube of cheese and a sprig of parsley). Also apparently going to the gym 3 times a week is not enough, he wants me to go 6 days a week. Also I need to get up and go for a walk every hour (so freaking odd!).

Finally he looked at my lab results and I was finally able to find out what my most recent (June) TSH came back as that my doctor had labelled 'normal'. It was 2.86. I kid you not, right under the cut off of 3.0 and my doctor had decided it was good enough and to keep me on 25mcg Synthroid. Thank God after playing dietitian the ENT told me he wants to see me in the low normal not the high normal so he will be starting me on Armour after my labs taken today come back.

So, overall I am a bit weirded out. I mean he will treat my thyroid but if I have to get the nth degree on my entire life and habits each visit...no thanks. Anyone else had a doc like this?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Have you ever had FT-4 and FT-3 run? If so please post those along with ranges.

You cannot treat a thyroid replacement patient on TSH alone as often antibodies are involved.

You have symptoms of being undermedicated.

Find yourself a new doctor.

You can have lab's drawn yourself by going to www.healthcheckusa.com to order the lab sheet. You are looking for the TSH, FT-4 and FT-3 combination which should cost around $86.

Take those results to your new doctor.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

That is odd, indeed...but maybe slightly better than a doctor who spends less than a minute with you and tells you you're fine.

???


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

I'm inclined to prefer a doctor who tells it like it is, in spite of how it upsets me, rather than to say nothing at all.

And yes, 1200 calories is probably too much for someone who needs to lose weight.

I'm not trying to pry and don't want an answer, but what kind of doctor diagnosed the PTSD? I ask because unless the doctor is a psychiatrist, odds are excellent any other type of MD doesn't really understand the diagnositic criteria for PTSD.

Sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear......but there you have it.


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## Jezahb (May 17, 2012)

Well, all the fitness sites and diet sites say 1000 calories at my weight would be a very hard to maintain and borderline unsafe restriction since my resting metabolic rate is around 1800 (meaning when doing nothing at all my body needs at least that much to function). That is not counting the caloric demand my body would have going to the gym. 1200 was originally something I decided on with advice of my GP, so this ENT really had no place offering advice he was not medically qualified to give.

My PTSD was diagnosed by a Psychiatrist, more than one actually.

My FT-4 and FT-3 came back all in the middle-high of the range this most recent time, with a TSH of 3.54 (while on 25mcg Synthroid) so I was slightly under medicated. Hence the change to Armour and change to 30 mg with retest in 4 weeks.

I guess my overall issue was not with how...um, attentive he was to my whole life but more that I kept sending plenty of signal to him that I was uncomfortable with the 3rd degree and just wanted to focus on what I was there for...my thyroid. I mean he pushed an at home sleep apnea test on me essentially telling me until he ruled out my fatigue being caused by that he couldn't treat my symptoms effectively. Very uncomfortable and I left feeling annoyed and quite low in the self esteem category. I am not accustomed to being 'diagnosed' with diseases simply because 99.9 percent of overweight people have them. I also DON'T have, fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, back issues or any other common 'fat' diseases. If I show no symptoms of sleep apnea except fatigue which is already explained by a DIAGNOSED medical condition then I know he thinks I have it because I am overweight. That to me is not medical experience but a bias.


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## desrtbloom (May 23, 2010)

Regardless of whether he is wrong or right about you being obese or whatever, if you do not feel comfortable with him then get a new doctor. We need doctors in our lives that are honest, listen, that we have a good relationship with and feel confident with, not someone that you clearly feel uncomfortable with. You don't need conflict, you need results. Just my two cents worth.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

I am normal weight and work out 4 days a week, yet I have the bloodwork numbers for cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar of someone who does not.

I feel like I am always on the defensive, because you're supposed to be able to fix all of my problems with diet and exercise.

The last time my doc asked me about diet, I shot back with, "do I look like I eat a lot?"

To which he replied, "I know plenty of people your size who eat nothing but junk, so let's be specific".

Thus, a more detailed conversation ensued about exactly what I eat and what I do at the gym. His attitude was, he wanted a baseline of what was really going on, with the codicil that he realized that noone was perfect, and there was room for that.

After all, if you believe Dr. House, all patients lie.

So, I don't think it's strange that he really wanted to know a little more, actually its a little more thorough than most--you can eat nothing but 1000 calories of jelly beans and lift 5 pounds at the gym--the doc won't know unless he asks.



> Well, all the fitness sites and diet sites say 1000 calories at my weight would be a very hard to maintain and borderline unsafe restriction since my resting metabolic rate is around 1800 (meaning when doing nothing at all my body needs at least that much to function). That is not counting the caloric demand my body would have going to the gym. 1200 was originally something I decided on with advice of my GP


Short term, supervised low calories diets (under 1000 calories) can jump start things when you need to loose weight. It is circular to use your current weight for your resting metabolic rate, because all you are going to do is maintain the status quo. That's fine, unless that isn't what you want.



> My FT-4 and FT-3 came back all in the middle-high of the range this most recent time, with a TSH of 3.54 (while on 25mcg Synthroid) so I was slightly under medicated. Hence the change to Armour and change to 30 mg with retest in 4 weeks.


With the frees in the mid-high range, you must be converting--a slight dose increase in Synthroid would probably have done the job. What is the purpose of the Armour?


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Doctors need to deal with the most important things first. And breathing is one of them. I'm sure you know that the inifinite majority of sleep apnea cases are the result of obesity. [ The extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the windpipe. This narrows the inside of the windpipe, which makes it harder to keep open.]

As for blaming all thyroid symptoms on anti-anxiety meds [did he really say that?], it's VERY possible the anti-anxiety drugs contribute to, or are the causal factor of all the symptoms you're experiencing. With many drugs, you go through a honeymoon period, when you have no adverse effects until they drug builds up in your system. This could take months. A number of anti-anxiety drugs cause many of the same symptoms found in thyroid disorders.

TSH of 2.86....I can't imagine any doctor wanting to fool around with dosing at this level.....at least until s/he knows the patient and how the body reacts to changes in meds. It's a slippery slope when a patient is taking anti-anxiety meds and other brains that affect the neurochemistry. No one wants to upset the balance.

I know it was uncomfortable for you, and I know you were there for endocrine issues, but I have to applaud him for being thorough. Too many doctors slough it off.


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