People who have been reading my blogs lately, and thank you if this includes you!, may have noticed that I am still searching for an endocrinologist that is a good fit for me. My endocrinologist of over 20 years retired recently, and I have been searching for, to be honest, someone just like her. She was intelligent, kind, sensible, explained the reasons for treatments, and was easy to talk to. She did not sit behind a big desk and lecture on what she was going to do. She sat beside me and we discussed my blood work, and there was a little give and take. She respected my opinion, and while the final decision was hers, she was willing to compromise if I felt strongly about matters concerning my treatment. Is this too much to ask of a physician? I am beginning to think that it might be. Of course, another gold star for her was that while another endocrinologist just dismissed my concerns as " stress", she actually believed me when I told her something was not right. My " near saintly" endocrinologist did a biopsy and found my thyroid cancer. I was already stage three, and had I not found out when I did, things could have been a whole lot worse for me.
What I find works best for me is having my blood work done the week ahead of my office visit. Then, my endocrinologist and I can discuss the results from my blood work and she can make any changes on my dose/treatment based on the blood test results and how I am feeling. This is yet another gold star- that my previous physician made decisions not only on the blood work, but how I was actually feeling. I have often said that thyroid patients are not just a bunch of numbers. It is important to do blood tests, of course, but how we are feeling is very important also.
The endocrinologist that I am seeing now ( for the present time, anyway) called in a lower dose of my thyroid medication. She did not talk to me about lowering the dose, and I was surprised when I picked up my prescription. I did contact her about this, and she provided a reasonable explanation of why she went down on my dose. I would have liked to have had some type of discussion before I found out when I went to pick up my refill. I think most of us do not like to go down on our dosage. It takes a few weeks for our bodies to adjust to a lower dose. If you think about it, unlike those who are hypothyroid and have at least half of their thyroid gland, those of us who do not have a thyroid depend 100% on our thyroid medication to survive. Changes in our dosages really can impact our quality of life- to be dramatic.
So, I have another appointment to see another new endocrinologist next month. This endocrinologist specializes in thyroid cancer treatment. I have read good patient reviews about her, and am hopeful this will be a better choice for me. It is NOT easy to get second, third, fourth, etc. opinions. It is necessary to have a good doctor-patient relationship, however. While I am not actually expecting to find a physician that is exactly like my former endocrinologist, I feel that it is important to see someone who meets my expectations. I know what kind of endocrinologist that I would like, I just have to locate her/him. I feel that I owe it to myself, as well as my family, to find someone who can give me the care that I need to thrive, not just survive.
I will of course write another blog about my experience after my appointment. I am planning on taking a list of questions, and my expectations with me to my appointment. I think that it is important, and really only fair, that the physician knows what I am looking for. Also, hopefully the new endocrinologist will understand that I want to have an active role in my treatment. I am so hoping that this time will be the charm!
