I went in for my office visit with my endocrinologist's physician assistant. My doctor has been out with some surgery, and I needed to get my six months office visit in. I will cut to the chase- it was a big waste of time. I now am reminded of how much I like my endocrinologist, and what a good job that she does. And how she listens to what I have to say. And how we can compromise on a solution ( as in the dose or type of medication,etc) that makes us both happy. This was not the case with her PA. He is a nice enough person, but he did not understand why my doctor is requiring an office visit, ultrasound, and blood work every six months. He did not understand why my doctor likes natural thyroid hormone drugs so much. Or why she prescribes cytomel to those of us who take synthetic T4, but need some T3 ( cytomel) in order to make it through the day. I saw the " dark side" of how thyroid patients are treated. Of course, I have seen and experienced this before. I had to see FOUR different endocrinologists before I could find one that would help me. By then, according to the surgeon who removed by thyroid and two of my parathyroids, I had had thyroid/ parathyroid cancer for several years. Why is it so difficult to get someone to help us??? End of rant. The moral of this story is to be your own best patient advocate. Keep all of your records. Do NOT be afraid to get a second opinion or a new physician, if you are not happy, i.e, feeling well, with the treatment you are receiving.
I suppose that I had gotten comfortable with the great level of care that I have been receiving from my endocrinologist. It is what I expect now- a physician that is knowledgeable, competent, and receptive to my ideas and suggestions. By receptive, I mean that we can discuss my concerns and my doctor will take them seriously. I value her opinions, but at the same time, she values mine. The PA that I saw tried to change the dose of my Levoxyl. I think he could see the fire in my eyes at this point, and decided to leave that for another day. My endocrinologist had already reviewed my blood work results, and had made the necessary dosage changes that were satisfactory to us both. No way was I allowing him to screw things up!
I have a return visit scheduled for six months from now. The receptionist at checkout asked me who I would like to see- the PA or my endocrinologist. Even though I really enjoyed my visit with my daughter and her family, I am planning on seeing my endocrinologist next time, and the next time, and the time after that...
