In a message dated 12/18/2003 8:30:29 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

>
> <<<What exact tests should I ask for (or, maybe demand)
> that would give me a thorough picture of what is going on with me? >>>
>
> What you really need is a doc who will work with you to Diagnose (Find out
> "what's wrong?") your current state. In any Diagnosis, History (What has been
> happening to your patient before she came to the office?) is 85% of the
> answer, and the Exam (How does this person appear to the, hopefully, trained eye?)
> is 10%, and the Labs are only worth about 5%.
>
> Think about it. Would you ask what tests you would ask for or demand to find
> out why you car was not running right? Your health is much more important,
> and the Owner's Manuel is nowhere as good as the one you got with your car. I
> would find a good mechanic who I trusted, and I would look over his shoulder
> while he looked at my car. I would also get lots of other opinions, and then
> decide. Don't trust any Doc (or Mechanic) blindly. Learn as much as your
> health as you can, surf the Net, ask your friends, then decide who you believe.
>
> Don't trust your health to a doc who doesn't seem to care. You wouldn't take
> your Porsche back to a mechanic who charged you a lot of money to mess up
> the timing so bad you couldn't go more than 30 mph (about 50 km/hour) on the
> highway. Why trust your body to someone who seems to be doing the same sort of
> thing to your body? <<<


> <<<Not sure
> how that works....since a blood test/thyroid panel usually is taken out of
> the
> arm.  Has anyone done this, just to have all the results and summaries to
> present your regular Dr., who won't order these? >>>

If you are suggesting that the doc is likely to read lab work that he/she
refused to order, you have a LOT more faith in docs than I do. Too many docs feel
intimidated by smart patients who seem to understand what the doc is doing. (
I call that The Man Thing: a refusal to admit that anyone else in the
universe has brains.) It is really ashamed too, I have learned some of the best
things from patients who have taught me over the years. And worse still, docs who
ignore this valuable information from patients are sometimes costing people
their health and their lives. In Health Care, we are all on the same side, and
should feel like a co-captain with our doctor, not a child who turns over all
autonomy to the doc.

No matter where you go, no one will be as interested and motivated about your
health as you are. So, use that motivation to find someone who works with
you, not against you. And someone willing to learn as well as to teach.

Doc Don


_______________________________________________________________
 If you "Reply" to a message, and *you* fail to erase or delete
  the previous message, *your* message may not be distributed.

Question not answered on Thyroid? Check the Thyroid Archives:
  http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/thyroid.html
 and ask again!
_______________________________________________________________