Why 3 tests are better than 1
It’s morning and you just can’t seem to get going. When you do get up you can hardly think. Every move seems to be a chore, and multi-tasking means writing down the 3 things you have to do that day.
You look at the list and say, OMG!
Yes, doing the dishes, vacuuming the living room and cooking dinner have just become your Mt. Everest when once it was the equivalent of walking over the highest hill in Miami.
You know something’s not quite right. You feel a bit dizzy but your family doctor can’t find anything wrong, so he orders a thyroid test he calls T3 and T4 just to rule that out. The T3 is normal and the T4 is slightly low, but nothing to worry about.
That’s when he says the “D” word.
You know you’re not depressed. You just know it. But if the doctor says you need 3 kinds of anti-depressants and need to go on a homeland security watchlist, who are you to protest?
WORD: PROTEST!!!!
- It’s your body
- M.D. is not spelled G.O.D.
- Ask for a specialist called an Endocrinologist. S/he may not be God, but S/he’ll run the tests needed to rule out anything going wrong that might be related to your hormone levels.
How do I know so much? I don’t. I’m not God, I just happen to have a body that went through the mill before finding the best endocrinologist EVER. For this round of blood tests, he requested not only the T3, T4 and TSH but also tests for kidney function, liver function, lipids and stuff like glucose, sodium and potassium.
- kidney/liver/anything not related to thyroid was normal
- T3 was normal
- T4 was a little low
- TSH was over 2 times higher than normal (4.500 is the high range of normal. Mine was almost 11)
THE SCIENCEY EXPLANATION:
TSH = Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. It comes from the pituitary gland.
The Thyroid produces T3 and T4
The pituitary gland stimulates the thyroid to release T3 and T4 (it also regulates the ovaries, testicals and adrenals)
But the Hypothalamus releases a hormone that tells the pituitary gland to make the Thyroid produce T3 and T4.
THE NON-SCIENCEY EXPLANATION:
Think of the
- Pituitary gland as “dad”
- Hypothalamus as “mom” &
- Thyroid as the lazy-ass teenager.
Mom: Get out of bed and do the dishes!
Kid: I don’t wanna! (pulls cover over head)
Mom: The dishes aren’t going to do themselves.
Dad: You heard your mother! Move it.
Mom: Don’t just stand there screaming at him, make him get up!
Dad: (Pushes the kid off the bed and onto the floor) How many times do I have to kick start you before you’ll get off your lazy ass and do something!
Kid: (sighs and pulls himself off the floor). All right, but first….
Mom: No but firsts!
Dad: Move, move, move (pushing kid to the sink)
Mom: (takes the kid by the hand, puts the dish in his hand, puts a sponge in the other hand and makes him do each and every dish and then falls into the chair). Why am I so exhausted!
Dad: You think you’re exhausted! I’m the one who got his ass out of bed! He’s through with the dishes. Now it’s time for him to take out the trash.
If someone comes in off the street, Dad looks like a raging maniac, mom looks like she’s just being lazy laying there snoozing in the recliner, and the kid did the dishes.
When you get the 3 tests done for thyroid function, and you have the differences in the 3 tests, your doctor can tell if it’s mom, dad, or the kid that’s the problem.
- TSH: OMG! I’m so d@#%ed overworked I can’t think and I’m tired all the time! Someone PLEASE help me!
- T4: I’m feeling a bit low.
- T3: The dishes are done
Yes…in my case, it’s the kids fault, but…
If all you look at is whether or not the dishes were done, everything looks normal.
Very interesting! Maybe I need to be checked, but without insurance it’s not so easy. I have been so tired and everything in my life has just seemed overwhelming to me. I do have OCD and depression, and I am getting older, but I have felt that something is very off lately. I like how you explain this!
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Thanks.
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Excellent explanation!!! Now how do you get your GP to think beyond the T3 and T4? GP is the guy in charge of where you can go from there. If GP doesn’t refer you, Insurance Will NOT Pay!! Please tell me you know the answer. As your sis-in-law, and sister by friendship, I know how long it took you to get to the tests. So where is the magic wand.
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I thought that the patient still had the right to a second opinion paid for by the insurance company. Did that go out the window with Obamacare?
When I was going through the worst of it with gastroparesis and thyroid problems, I didn’t have insurance. We paid for the specialists, and many charge less when you pay for it yourself because there isn’t the need for an army of billing people to fight with insurance companies.
If your GP is shooting himself in the foot if he’s not referring patients to specialists or doing more than just the T3 and T4.
If your GP is in a place that has an administrator (i.e., he’s not in private practice), writing to the administrator can be helpful. It helps to have the times and dates when you asked your doctor for a referral and he declined. What this does it to take away the excuse that “we didn’t know.”
Any good administrator will know that if you still don’t get a referral and you go into the hospital for a problem that could have been caught early if you’d seen a specialist, they could be in deep doodoo.
If all else fails, change your GP, even if you have to go to another city to do it. Ask friends and family about their GP and if they have specialists they know and trust. Before going to the appointment, list your symptoms so you don’t forget anything.
That’s all I can think of at present.
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Brilliant one again! I have had “thyroid” problems ever since I had my kids and you are exactly right in saying “See an expert.” Thyroid problems can be very misunderstood even by seemingly very competent doctors. Again I love your non-scientific explanation, it’s so perfect! Bravo!
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Reblogged this on Surprising lives and commented:
I have had to pleasure of re-blogging my good friend Floridaborne from Two On A Rant before. This time however, her post is not only brilliantly well written but on a topic that I personally have struggled with for 17 years! Please read it for both enjoyment and important information.
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Thanks for the reblog. 🙂
Finding the right health care advisors takes a lot of trial and error. The bad ones look at your chart and tell you what you’re going to do. The good ones listen and involve you in the process of trying to find solutions. It’s hard to get to the point where you tell a bad one, “Go S@%&w yourself.” But I’ve done just that before (perhaps not in those exact words). 🙂
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I bet you have. LOL
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Great explanation!
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So… are you feeling better?
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Slowly. It takes time for the thyroid levels to build back up again. Thanks for asking.♥
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Glad not all doctors are dog do.
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