Thyroid Hormone Transport | National Academy of Hypothyroidism
This article is quite a technical read. However it does explain why so many people suffer problems. The regular blood tests to test for thyroid malfunction are simply ineffective.
Have picked out some diagrams from the article which sum it up quite well.
I recently went with my boyfriend to his doctors appointment. Im fairly certain he is suffering with Adrenal fatigue.
He has pretty much every symptom going. Like severe lower back pain, insomnia and sleep disturbances, ibs, vertigo,tinnitus, depression, anxiety, stress,rage, short fused, lack of libido, headaches, socially isolated, allergies, memory problems. You name it he has it.
He suffered for years in silence until i discovered my thyroid problem and discovered the connection with Adrenals. I have since connected the dots with him and so we went to docs a few weeks back.
The appointment was difficult and all the doc could see was depression and kept pushing the antidepressants. He's been on them before, they half helped but didn't cure him just took the edge of his anxiety.
He got nowhere but I stepped in and asked for blood tests and said thought he had signs of Adrenal problems. She said his symptoms don't match! I asked what would be symptoms, all she said a fat face!
I decided she was too old school and had limited knowledge. Which i think she then knew and asked me what tests to do! I was unprepared for this i stupidly expected the doctors to know what they were doing. So all i remembered was the cortisol test. Since going i know i should have asked for aldosterone and ACTH aswell.
She has tested for a lot of others including B12, Iron, thyroid and liver.
Anyway the appointment was nothing short of a nightmare!!
I had warned him before about blood test results and that they will only look to see if they're in green. That means they're in range, no further investigation required. Highlighted Red means they're out of range and may need looking into! (Out of range to me means serious illness and don't stop looking until you've found something!)
So I told him you need to ask for ranges. You'll probably be in range but at the low end. I said I won't be able to do it as it's your appointment, it has to come from you.
So we get in there and she seemed to be in a hurry. She just said blood tests are all fine. Brought them up quickly said a couple of names of the tests he had along with "normal". And that was it! They weren't on the screen long enough for me to see any! And all my boyfriend could do was say ok!
To be honest i understand where he's coming from. I've been there myself. I've been under prepared and overwhelmed. I know what it's like to know what you want to say but it just won't come out. To feel like whatever you say is pointless anyway. But because I am a lot better these days I can see clearer. And that's why I went with him because he hasn't got the strength to fight for his health.
Anyway all I did was simply ask her "Is it possible if we could get a print out of his results?" Fair question i thought. Obviously i was wrong. With that she turned at me and said. "What is it exactly you are after? I remember we had a lot of this before!" It felt like I'd just asked to sleep with her husband or something!
I tried to explain i just wanted to know the ranges. She interrupted with "he's in the normal range" . Everytime i got halfway through saying "that's just the reference range" she stopped me in my tracks. I didn't even get to the point of saying he could be low in ranges. She just kept shouting "they're normal" at me. I decided i couldn't communicate with her and shut up. After all it wasn't even my appointment. I could see my boyfriend getting very stressed.
So I half listened whilst they talked anti depressants and counselling. But I was so full of emotion I felt myself welling up! I've always been a bit crier, not cos i want to, but because i can't help it. In fact i hate it. I like to get things on my own merit not because people feel sorry for me!
As much as i faught it, the tears started flowing. But actually this seemed to work in my favour. She saw me and apologised for shouting. I was able to then explain my experiences of 4 years of being put through hell because my results were at the wrong end of ranges and gone undetected. Only now that Im actually on thyroid meds that Im feeling better.
She asked who my doc was and when i said the name of the head doctor she seemed quite surprised and then took me seriously. She even asked to look at my records.
So then we went through a few tests, with ranges. Not all though. So i still don't see the point in having all the tests done, wasting all that money, if they're not going to use them!
I did end up feeling sorry for her. She apologised about 4 times saying it was a bad day. I know it's not her fault, it's the way she is trained to do her job. The whole system needs shaking up. It's sad day when it takes for you to cry to get access to your own medical records! I feel there must be something we can do to make this whole process easier and stop the focus on the range but number within the range?
Anyway to cut a long story short she's actually referred him to an endocrinologist! For anyone that doesn't know that's a specialist in hormones. It's actually quite a result as however much I asked to see one, and even with my female hormones being low they still wouldn't let me.
So we shall wait and see what they have to say. Whether or not they will have better knowledge or understanding, considering they're supposed to be the experts you'd hope so. But unfortunately it's not always been my experience in the past.
Stunning Discoveries Regarding Iron, Obesity, Candida & Thyroid | Weight Loss News
Here's an article I've just found that really makes sense, puts all the pieces of the puzzle together.
