David,

Oh how I wish I was a doctor sometimes!  Treatment plans are so dependent on
each individual doctor.  You may not want to give up searching in your own
country yet.  Where are you, by the way?

Is there a major medical school close by?  If so, try to get in to see the
HEAD of Endocrinology.  Have them test your wife for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
(a simple blood test) in addition to doing a full thyroid panel.  If she has
it, there are many doctors who may agree to a mild dose of treatment to see
if it helps, even though she is within "normal" limits THS-wise.  Clearly
anti-thyroid antibodies would indicated that she has an autoimmune disease
which could be causing her symptoms.  Any doctor with common sense can figure
that out.  What are her current symptoms?

I'm so sorry that you're going through such trials.  Be persistent.  It will
eventually pay off.  Learn as much as you can and present as clearly as
possible the chronology of events to your new doctor.  Write it down and hand
it to him/her and then discuss it with him/her in detail.

If a new doctor does not spend an extended amount of time with you on the
first visit, taking history and getting details, you should be concerned.
 There are as many mediocre doctors out there as there are good ones.  Find
the best, most highly respected doctor in the community.

Feel free to e-mail me directly if you wish.  However, I may be a little out
of pocket for the next few days as my father has taken ill quite
unexpectedly.  They think it might be cancer of the pancreas.  He goes in for
surgery on Monday, and the chances of him surviving are not encouraging.  I'm
still a little shocked at the whole thing.  I love my dad so much.  It's
really hard.

I will be praying for you and your wife.

Best,

Cherise