As my aunt the nurse used to say, “Why do you think they call it ‘practicing’ medicine? Because they didn’t get it right yet.”
By the way, the endocrinologists told me that all of my side effects — the same ones listed on the pharmacy side effects list they give you — have “nothing to do with your medication.”
I’ve been talking to some older chicks at the gym – all with the same problems with their thyroid meds. One gal, about 70 years old, was just prescribed a new Rx because her old one was taken off the market! (Probably didn’t work or didn’t make enough money for the manufacturer.) She’s very worried about the change. Me – doc just upped my dosage and, after a week of the new dosage, I swear I’m having a heart attack, so I’m reducing the dosage myself. I hate the feeling of being on speed. And I’m convinced no one knows anything anyway (except that the environment is poisoning us all). So I have no choice but to take over.
Anything – anything at all – interferes with the thyroid Rx: food, iron, calcium, high fiber, soy, peanuts. You name it, it interferes. You can’t eat, drink, move, or even breathe for 4 hours before or after taking the pill. What kind of shitty product is that, I ask you?
In my case, I think it was my a.m. high fiber drink that was interfering, so I’ve moved the drink to late afternoon (10 hours after the Rx). This will screw up my digestion, but I’ll worry about that once my heart attack symptoms subside. (And just two months ago I was doing great!)
If anyone cared, I’m sure they could fix these meds. But, hey, we’re old and wrinkled and not men, so they do not give a flying eff. OK, enough ranting. If you don’t hear from me again, I’m probably dead. And that really pisses me off, because my daughter just got pregnant – and I so want a grandchild to play with. 🙁
I’m so jealous. I wish I had a grandchild!
When I asked by bad endo (my HMO endo, btw, only one near enough who would treat a thyroid cancer patient) to help me understand what heart palpitations felt like, he couldn’t.
The only place I finally got meaningful descriptions was at the thyca board at Yahoo Health! (A guy described it as having a minnow flopping around in his chest. I’d been saying it felt like a small creature running on a wheel inside my chest, but knew that didn’t quite capture things. I immediately knew the minnow thing was IT. Once again, huge T/U to that guy!) Then I realized I sure did have heart palps. And told bad endo so. Then he finally cut my prescription strength.
He also told me that my general health and well-being was not his responsibility. For that I had to see other doctors. Yet the dermatologist told me my hair loss was probably primarily from my thyroid condition, and so forth. Aaarrrgghhhh!
I am so glad to have found a good endo.
And I’m so glad you’ve found the good GP, Susie. She sounds like a treasure.
One of the biggest problem with Western medicine is the reductionist view or the divide and conquer approach whereas everything is connected in our bodies , and in nature , in general. I suppose this reductive approach is one of the main causes of misdiagnosis.
I like Dr.Andrew Weil’s approach – integrative medicine.
drweil.com