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Like the other Renee, I also keep a spreadsheet. I also work with natural docs and try to learn what the optimal #'s are (vs. being within range) as lab results can tell you more than just whether you have a disease.
I've also gotten a couple of blood tests on my own, for example, TSH was higher than ideal but in range, (I believe between 1-2 is ideal), so I tested antibodies related to Hashimoto's, and also free t3 and free t4 (still learning about those but info is available on the Stop the Thyroid Madness website).
Before I found STTM blog and book I was a member of another thyroid group and learned so much, more than I could ever learn from MD's and that's an understatement. Most I'd say on both groups I've been involved with did NOT take synthetic thyroid and today my TSH comes in at 1 or under.
I don't keep graphs as I have a good memory and remember where I've BEEN.
I don't keep graphs as I have a good memory and remember where I've BEEN.
Wow, that's awesome. While I have a good memory, I can't remember my 8 sets of labs per year, let alone vitals and stuff.
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Wow, that's awesome. While I have a good memory, I can't remember my 8 sets of labs per year, let alone vitals and stuff.
I only get 1 set of labs per year...so it's very easy. I kept labs from the 90's when I was struggling to get thyroid fixed and why I kept them, I just did and referred back..but threw a stack of labs away recently.
Yup - I have all my lab results back 15 years in a spreadsheet with everything graphed over time and color-coded on whether it is in-range or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike1003
And, this helps you how??
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmLizzie
My doctor has these freaky things she calls records.
Your doctor also has records on every patient in her/his practice. And you & the other 50+ patients they saw this week had a Potassium level within normal limits. You personally; had a Potassium level of 3.8. It doesn't register on their radar whatsoever.
But if you have kept your own records & are familiar with your ongoing status; you may notice that for the last 5 years? Your Potassium will range from 4.8-5.1. Also; within normal limits.
But 3.8 is not normal for you. So now it's on your radar. Next month, your Potassium level is 3.6. Within normal limits. But knowing yourself, you are concerned. Maybe it wasn't a fluke. Your levels have dropped.
Again, at your appointment, Potassium is off the radar. Why wouldn't it be? It's WNL. As were the majority of the other 50+ patients your doctor saw this week.
Whats wrong with keeping a spreadsheet if it helps you familiarize yourself with ... yourself? Would you rather be taken by surprise when your feeling off & you find out your Potassium is now 3.2? It's easier to maintain your health than it is to restore your health.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmLizzie
Or she says "Everything looks great except the D3. It's just barely within normal range but on the low side. Since it's early in the winter, just add a low dose that you can get from the supplement section of the local pharmacy. Make sure it's got calcium in it, either that or chew a TUMS once a day too so the D3 absorbs properly."
.
This is consistent with the context of the OP's post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaminhealth
There is low normal, there is mid normal and high normal...
Did you see the spots you missed? "we are NOT numbers. We are symptoms. doctors tell us we are normal. It's been up to me to make my body feel better"
While the OP is complaining that the doctors only see numbers she is deciding for herself what she thinks the numbers should be, including insisting she was hypothyroid when her thyroid numbers were clearly normal.
Quote:
Twice you missed the OP's point by fixating on who-has-what-authority-with ... "the numbers". And with your impatient replies, you missed the OP's comment about the symptoms. Just like the OP said her doctor fixated on the numbers & invalidated her concerning symptoms & & her as a patient.
OP is convinced she had symptoms due to hypothyroidism when she has told us before that her TSH was normal - even "low normal".
Quote:
Well; that was easy! Why didn't the first doctor do that? A placebo is compromised entirely, by inert or inactive ingredients. If one "works" great ... why not take 2? Or 3?
Wait ... I think I know why:
Most doctors avoid prescribing Armour thyroid because it contains unequal & sometimes variable, levels of T3 & T4. They prefer the regulated dosing of the synthetic thyroid, in order to minimize the chances of fluctuating levels & adverse symptoms.
Meaning; Armour thyroid is not a harmless placebo that lacks therapeutic value. It is not a "sugar pill". Free from adverse symptoms for years; the OP simply responded nicely to the dosage in the Armour thyroid.
It's not without risk, I fully acknowledge that. But when symptoms become unmanageable & your doctor has told you, basically that "Your labs are normal so it's all in your head" (which happens far more to elderly women than to other patients); you have two choices: You give up & start to circle the drain; or you can get up & start over, knowing that it's up to you
It is not necessary for a product to be inert for it to cause a placebo effect. Even placebos used in clinical trials are not always inert. The placebo may contain some of the inactive ingredients of the new product being studied.
"Despite claims of proponents that desiccated thyroid or thyroid extract are superior to thyroxine or combinations of T4 and T3 for most people with hypothyroidism, no controlled clinical trials have been published, and most endocrinologists are concerned that superiority is due to a placebo effect or an effect of overtreatment."
If someone who is not hypothyroid takes thyroid hormones, the medication just suppresses the normally working gland and replaces the hormones it was producing.
Quote:
Given the amount of time a doctor actually spends at the bedside; this is not a comforting thought.
Apparently you did not read my post closely enough. I was discussing physician education. Most clinical knowledge is learned during residency, not medical school.
Residents typically work 80 to 100 hours a week. That includes lots of hours at the bedside.
Wow, that's awesome. While I have a good memory, I can't remember my 8 sets of labs per year, let alone vitals and stuff.
same with me: I guess it isn't something I really think about that much, so I just look back at last years numbers and compare them. Then I listen to what my doctors says, asking questions when I want to know more and take her or his advise.
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