hillsgal Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 A friend of mine is moving to Sheffield soon and as she suffers from a thyroid disorder she wants to register with a GP surgery where someone is fairly knowledgeable about this. Obviously GPs can't be specialists in everything, and I know she's had issues before with GPs dismissing her symptoms and not wanting to do tests or give treatment, so she wants to try and avoid this happening again. I have no idea who to recommend, so if anyone who has endocrine/thyroid problems knows of a good GP in the Hillsborough area, that'd be really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bludragonfly Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I don't know any GPs in that area but I am interested to know who people suggest. I'm hypothyroid and all I get from the GP is an annual blood test and tablets so interested to know if there is more they could do for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsgal Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I don't know that she's expecting any more than that, her symptoms are stable at the moment (she's also hypothyroid) but I think it's more that she wants someone who knows what they're doing if she does start having problems again. It took her several years to get a diagnosis in the first place (she ended up going private) as all the GPs she saw just fobbed her off with talk of her symptoms being due to depression (she wasn't depressed), her age (she was 37!!) or having a small child to look after, so I think she wants to make sure she has a GP who'll actually listen to her and take her seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveelf Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi I am at Walkley medical centre in S6 and have a very understanding GP regarding my Hypothyroid problem. When I moved to Sheffield from Essex I was really worried that I would be taken off my T3 medication (Liothyronine) due to the cost.. It is about £2.30 for GPs to give levothyroxine, but as I could not convert T4 got put on T3 instead which is about £200 for a months supply, much more expensive for the GPs to prescribe (makes no difference to me as all thyroid patients get free prescriptions) but very expensive for the surgery. However he was fine with it as my endocrinologist diagnosed the need for this as I was very ill, and not getting any better on Levothyroxine, until I was diagnosed with ME. Sometimes getting a good endocrinologist is preferable as they can override the GP in most cases. Have a look on http://www.thyroiddisease.org.uk there is a great forum where people post about GPs, and Endocrinologists nationwide and is useful to get this kind of help and information on who is sympathetic. Sadly I no longer see my endo as it is too far to travel, but my GP manages my condition well with regular blood tests, checks and assessments. I did have to fight to see my original endo though, as like your friend I was in my mid thirties and just not functioning. It was worth the fight to get the right treatment. It took letters and several visits to my GP until I begged for proper help. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccapacca Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hypothyroidism is fairly standard for the average GP and most will have hundreds on their books. An endocrinologist is unlikely to have anything to add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsgal Posted July 15, 2012 Author Share Posted July 15, 2012 (edited) Hypothyroidism is fairly standard for the average GP and most will have hundreds on their books. An endocrinologist is unlikely to have anything to add. It's amazing that so many of them are unable to recognise it then, if it's so standard, and leave people with hypothyroidism untreated for years by misdiagnosing them. It's a bit of a bugbear of mine, as well as my friend I have several people in my family who have hypothyroidism and they were all fobbed off for years with talk of depression, ME, their age, etc etc and had to fight for a correct diagnosis because their GP wouldn't consider hypothyroidism as a possible cause of their symptoms. My mum had to go private to get the tests done because even though she specifically asked about having a thyroid function test, given that hypothyroidism seems to run in our family, one GP basically implied she was a bored housewife and should get some hobbies (!) and when she saw a different GP he said it was her age and she should expect to be slowing down and feeling more tired so refused to send her for tests. She was 39 at the time, so hardly past it... Loveelf - thanks for the recommendations, I'll pass them on to my friend. Edited July 15, 2012 by hillsgal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveelf Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 maccapacca Re: GP in S6 - good with endocrinology/thyroid disorders Hypothyroidism is fairly standard for the average GP and most will have hundreds on their books. An endocrinologist is unlikely to have anything to add. maccapacca.. I am sorry may have to disagree with you there, a GP gets on average 7 hours of thyroid training whereas an endocrinoligist specialises in all aspects of hormone and endocrine disorders such as diabetes, pituary, and thyroid disorders as their life times work. For example my GP did not even know about T3 medication having been told that the standard treatment for hypothyroidism was levothyroxine (T4). the endocrinologist had a variety of other tests and treatments to offer, in particular as many endocrine disorders often overlap as the endocrine system is complex. Hypothyroidism is a very serious condition which is why patients (who have the condition for life) deserve the best care and treatment possible. I had to stop work when very ill, so my arguement to my GP was that is made economic sense to provide correct diagnosis and treatment so I can go back to work. Too many people are left to suffer, often for years while being told they are depressed (a major factor of underactivie thyroid is that you body slows down in making hormones, of course depression will occur) So if you have a friend or family who is suffering be patient and understanding! support them to fight for the right treatment! Help is out there, just not always with a GP unless you are very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccapacca Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 maccapacca Re: GP in S6 - good with endocrinology/thyroid disorders Hypothyroidism is fairly standard for the average GP and most will have hundreds on their books. An endocrinologist is unlikely to have anything to add. maccapacca.. I am sorry may have to disagree with you there, a GP gets on average 7 hours of thyroid training whereas an endocrinoligist specialises in all aspects of hormone and endocrine disorders such as diabetes, pituary, and thyroid disorders as their life times work. For example my GP did not even know about T3 medication having been told that the standard treatment for hypothyroidism was levothyroxine (T4). the endocrinologist had a variety of other tests and treatments to offer, in particular as many endocrine disorders often overlap as the endocrine system is complex. Hypothyroidism is a very serious condition which is why patients (who have the condition for life) deserve the best care and treatment possible. I had to stop work when very ill, so my arguement to my GP was that is made economic sense to provide correct diagnosis and treatment so I can go back to work. Too many people are left to suffer, often for years while being told they are depressed (a major factor of underactivie thyroid is that you body slows down in making hormones, of course depression will occur) So if you have a friend or family who is suffering be patient and understanding! support them to fight for the right treatment! Help is out there, just not always with a GP unless you are very lucky. The standard treatment for hypothyroidism is definitely T4 and most GPs are perfectly capable of treating it. Thankyou for describing what an endocrinologist does as it illustrates my point that they don't spend their time treating a disorder (hypothyroidism) which could be adequately managed by even the most half decent practice nurse. If you can find a GP who can't manage the majority of hypothyroids then i don't think i'd want him managing much else. I'm sorry you appear to have had bad experiences with your early diagnosis and management and it maybe that you have a variant of this disorder that maybe best managed within secondary care. However, if all hypothyroids were managed by endocrinologists then hospitals would be teaming with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivelin6 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Tramways Medical Centre in Hillsborough have been very good with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bludragonfly Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I was told that I needed to have a Free T3 blood test - GP and Endocrinologist requested it but the labs refused to test the blood for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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