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What your doctor doesn’t know about your thyroid

Posted by Nick in General - (0 Comments)

It’s a sad thing when doctors don’t really listen to their patients’ complaints, but instead decide to make diagnoses based on old, flawed testing procedures. Unfortunately this is a reality for patients (especially women) who suffer from thyroid diseases (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer) and don’t get much sympathy or a very willing ear from their doctors.

There are standard tests for thyroid problems that measure thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and if patients’ test results fall within the normal range, doctors conclude that their patients obviously don’t have a thyroid problem, despite the fact that their hair is thinning, they are inexplicably gaining weight, experience severe headaches and fatigue, and have brittle nails, amongst other symptoms.

There are other tests which measure free T4 and free T3 levels. These tests, combined with the TSH tests will provide doctors with a bigger picture view of what is happening in their patients’ bodies. The fact that the TSH levels are normal does not mean they exist in the patient’s system in adequate amounts; or, if the T4 is normal, it doesn’t mean that it is being adequately converted into T3. The T4 and T3 tests will show where the problems are, even if the TSH levels are normal.

Many patients who have struggled to find well-educated endocrinologists and thyroid doctors reported that they were treated like hypochondriacs; their doctors didn’t hear them out or pay any attention to the symptoms they were experiencing, and merely concluded their diagnoses from the clinical tests. If the tests came back as normal and the patients requested further tests or a second opinion, the doctors came across as supercilious and patronising.

If you are experiencing symptoms that are not congruent with normal thyroid function and your doctor only tests your TSH levels, it’s important that you find a doctor who is more knowledgeable about the technological advancements in hypo/hyperthyroidism testing. It would help if he or she has great bedside manner, as this is a caregiver that you will need to interact with on a long-term basis, so it’s best that you get along and value their opinion.

 

Image courtesy of:  www.fibrocarecenter.com

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What makes a good doctor-patient relationship?

Posted by Nick in General - (0 Comments)

When you’re feeling ill, or if you haven’t been able to relieve yourself for a week, or wonder why it hurts when you breathe, you will need the help of a qualified professional. Most conditions that are more serious than a pesky cold or an ice-cream headache should be treated by your doctor; someone who knows you inside out – literally. This professional relationship of highly intimate proportions should only be exercised behind the closed door of the doctor’s rooms or a surgical curtain, but what makes it so special?

Hippocrates said so
A good doctor-patient relationship is centred on the doctor’s practice of medical ethics and establishing a good rapport with patients. If you know that you can trust your doctor’s confidence as deeply as his expertise, you are more than likely to return to his practice for future consultations.

Shared life philosophies
If your approach to treating your illnesses is to address physical and emotional concerns, drink some tea and have a good rest, yet your doctor’s answer to all itches, scratches and coughs lies in his untidy scrawl on his prescription pad, then it’s unlikely that your doctor-patient relationship will survive. You may not feel comfortable disclosing all of the information required for your doctor to make a thorough diagnosis if you think he’ll just throw another box of pills at your symptoms.

He’s at your bedside
People – especially patients in a state of suffering – want to be treated with care and compassion. It’s preferable that your doctor is reassuring and comforting while honestly and professionally delivering the not so fantastic news about your collapsed lung or kidney stones. If he smacks you upside the head for not taking care of your ruptured appendix, then you can say for sure that he has poor bedside manner.

Essential to good healthcare
The doctor-patient relationship, based on trust, confidence and proof of expertise, is central to effective healthcare and informed treatment. Are you going to return to the doctor who spoke in highfalutin medical jargon and made you feel like an idiot, or the condescending GP who doodled on his medical pad to indicate the position of your genitals? Neither. You want the doctor who listens attentively, meets you on your level, and treats you like an individual.

Image courtesy of:  www.nickdelgado.com

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