Hi Laura,

  I have been reading everyone's email and find
it quite interesting.  I believe that
the right kind of doctor is one that works with
you. We are adults and need to take charge of our
lives .. which means in essence becoming aware of
all the factors that effect our well being.
 You need to have a good relationship with your
doctor and work towards the answer that is correct
for you as a individual.
  I can use myself as an example. I have high
cholesterol level of 555 and have been taking
mevacor. Recently I was diagnosed with low thyroid.
After discussing everything with my doctor we
worked out a plan that would work for me. Which
is to take the synthroid .1 in the morning and
zocor 40mg in the evening. Also she suggested that I
take vitamins:  400units of vitamin E and 500mg
of vitamin C daily. Then  get re-tested in 6
weeks., discuss the results and modify my
medication. She said the normal dose of synthroid is
.1 to .112 that .2 was on teh high end.
 Once the thyroid levels are under control
then go see a cardiologist and get stress tests done.
 We also discussed this issue of what is normal and
whether I should see a specialist. She said that
they normally send hypers to see an endocrinologist
and for my case the thyroid is being over-worked and
is enlarged, the swelling will go down once the
synthroid medication kicks in. After that I will have a ct scan
done to make sure the thyroid is ok. If needed they
will test the antibodies to make sure nothing is
going on there.

 Please note that each lab has its own range,
depending on how the tests are performed. Here
are the numbers from my lab.


TSH  0.47 - 6.90 (within range) mine is 14.62

 Although my doctor was not as concerned about the
low thyroid as I was which I did not understand.
She said that there is alot of controversy regarding
test levels, once she realized how concerned I was
about it we were able to dicuss this and work towards
an answer. She did not believe that the thyroid was a catch
all for all our ills.. but it does play a role. She also
said that sometimes we need to push ourselves. I tended to
agree.. it's easy to say oh I feel this way because of
my thyroid..etc.. and to give up .. we must continue
to fight and work towards a feeling of well being..

Anyway.. I've said enough.. hope this helps

 From: Laura Mitchell <[log in to unmask]
 Subject:      Re: the best kind of doctor
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Status: RO

 Janice L. Hurst wrote:

  Since an endocrinologist is a doctor who specializes in the hormones I would
definitely at least consult with one.

 While I agree with this reasoning ... my experience with the 3
 endocrinologists I have been to is that they tend to have particular
 areas of interest that they consider themselves experts in.  For example,
 gestational diabetes, osteoporosis, fertility.  If the doctors I went to
 didn't have a particular interest in thyroid, they seemed to know less
 than I did.  And I paid for that ignorance.

 Laura Mitchell


-------------------------------------
Name: Laurie Tucker
Software Engineer ICU Build/Release
E-mail: tucker@sybase (Laurie Tucker)
Date: 09/10/97
Time: 12:02:33
Who's on First?
X8620
-------------------------------------