I learnt a new swear word today....

endocrinologist.... easy for you to say!

I have waited more than seven years for this day to arrive.... did it disappoint?.... you know it!

Seriously!.... I think I am in shock!

What am I on about?.... Allow me to explain....

Today I attended my first ever appointment with an endocrinologist at the local hospital. Those of you who follow my musings regularly will realise that travelling the ten miles to the hospital was an achievement in itself!

Despite being a pessimist at heart I left home for the hospital full of optimism as the best case scenario could represent a massive step forward in my quest for a better quality of life. I should have known better!

Everything I have learned about the suffering of other thyroid patients and their experiences with endocrinologists came to fruition in a bizarre, almost comical, caricature. It would have been hilarious if it was not so tragic! I can picture the appointment now, it is still so fresh in my mind, looking down on it as if having an out of body experience!

I have to see the funny side and accept that it is just another hurdle for me to overcome.

I am stunned!

Listed below, using my beloved bullet points, are the results of my appointment;

• He refused to even consider treating me with T3, either synthetic or natural. I even offered to sign a letter of consent so that I, and I alone, would be responsible for the outcome of treatment with T3.
• He was not aware that a pharmaceutical company in the UK even produced synthetic T3 (Goldshield Pharmaceuticals: Liothyronine Sodium BP 20mcg Tablets).
• When I asked about the possibility of natural thyroid treatment I was told this would be a dangerous and unreliable route to take. This is because the pharmaceutical companies who produce it have absolutely no quality control procedures and as a result it contains dangerous impurities and is a unreliable product! I was not aware of this! I am of course being sarcastic! Does it look good on me?
• He did not see any value and was not prepared to undertake the blood tests I requested; Total T4, Total T3, Reverse T3 and T3 Resin Uptake (T7). My doctor told me that I would have to request these "fancy" blood tests when I saw the endocrinologist. So that worked out!
• He reviewed all of my blood test results (2003-2010), including those when diagnosed, and concluded that although my thyroid is not functioning properly, none of them were far enough outside the reference ranges to cause concern. I shit you not! He told me if it was he who saw me in 2003 he would not even have prescribed T4 as my bloods were not far enough out of range! He does however want me to continue with synthetic T4 treatment, keeping my TSH between 1.0 and 2.0! I'm not sure, and I'll have to check my dictionary, but I think this is called a contradiction!
• I've saved the best 'til last. His piece de resistance was to tell me that all of the symptoms I am experiencing have nothing to do with my thyroid or the treatment of my thyroid!!!!

He is going to include in his report to my Doctor that I should go to the gym and exercise more! I have asked him to put in writing the little gems outlined above.... he said it will be in his report and that he'll copy it to me.

Where do I go from here? Seriously, where do I go from here!!??

Who is my Doctor going to believe?.... The endocrinologist?.... Or me?.... There may be trouble ahead....

Every request I made for help today was dismissed out of hand.... I am surprisingly calm about this at the moment.... it has just reinforced my view that it is me against the world.... with the help and support of my secret weapon.... the "Thyroid Patient Community".

If I believe what I have been told today that makes the Patient Advocates I have encountered nothing more than a bunch of deluded narcissists. I respect, trust and believe those same Patient Advocates so it offends me that they have been rubbished today!

My experience with the endocrinologist today contradicts everything I have learned and everything my head and heart is telling me!

The endocrinologist wants to see me again in six months time.... that's something to look forward to!

I really wanted to explore the possibility of supplementing my treatment with synthetic T3 with the blessing of my Doctor, working together as a team, but this now seems increasingly unlikely. Going it alone will be a last resort.... so I have much thinking to do....

Welcome to my world!

Is it any wonder that my glass is always half empty?

Bob says he has had one of his best days ever!!!!

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist....