Spoke with my Doctor

ozij wrote:BB, this is for you:

"Health at Every Size" Excerpts from Linda Bacon's book.
Please concentrate on you health and not on you weight. Concentrating on weight, and using it as a reinforcement makes us stop our healthy behavior when long term weight loss fails -- as it does for 95% of the population.

O.

Thank you, O! I've bookmarked that page and will check it out more fully after I get back from the PCP's office (going in for my PFT this morning).

I try to think of weight loss as a health-oriented goal, but I grew up hearing, "Such a pretty face" (like so many others of my generation), so weight was always more a matter of looks than health. It's hard to break old conditioning issues, but your advice is on the money, and I'm working on looking at things the right way. Better health is obviously the most important aspect of doing what I'm doing. Thanks.

Well, I've been to the PCP this morning. Got the results of my recent lab work and had my PFT done. Here's the breakdown:

My Carbon Dioxide result is again 25, so that's good (normal range is 21-31).

I'm proud of myself re: the other numbers I've been concerned about. My Total Cholesterol has dropped from 218 to 211, Triglycerides are down from 173 to 157, and LDL Cholesterol has dropped two points - all since March. Even my Blood Glucose has dropped from 5.8 to 5.5, which makes me really happy, since diabetes is definitely a presence in my family history. I'm doing something right, diet-wise.

I did specifically ask for the Free T3 testing, but I think they only did the usual stuff. Under Thyroid Panel on the report, it says:

Thyroxine (T4) is 12.4 (a little high)
T3 Uptake is 33.6 (normal range)
Free Thyroxine Index is 4.2 (normal range goes to 3.4)
TSH is 2.54 (normal range)
Thyroxine (T4) Free, Direct is 1.7 (normal range)

FWIW, the gal who administered the PFT was pleasantly surprised at my results, considering my smoking history. The doc said I had "mild restriction" prior to a nebulizer treatment, and my results were normal afterwards. He prescribed an Albuterol inhaler for me, although I don't anticipate I'll ever need to use it. I've never felt so out of breath that I thought I'd need any kind of inhaler.

I received five pages of printouts on the PFT and have uploaded them here

BleepingBeauty wrote:I received five pages of printouts on the PFT and have uploaded them here

Oh, fiddle!#%&.

Was that done in a Pulmonary Function Laboratory or the PCP office with a thing about the size of a cigar box?

Muffy

BB WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY WISHES . . .



jAN

Muffy wrote: Oh, fiddle!#%&.

Was that done in a Pulmonary Function Laboratory or the PCP office with a thing about the size of a cigar box?

Muffy

Umm, I'll take Door Number Two, Monty!

(Apparently NOT the Big Deal of the Day...)

SaltLakeJan wrote:BB WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY WISHES . . .

jAN

Thanks, Jan.

BleepingBeauty wrote:Under Thyroid Panel on the report, it says:

Thyroxine (T4) is 12.4 (a little high)
T3 Uptake is 33.6 (normal range)
Free Thyroxine Index is 4.2 (normal range goes to 3.4)
TSH is 2.54 (normal range)
Thyroxine (T4) Free, Direct is 1.7 (normal range)

I won my bet. The T3 Uptake is not your T3 level. It's used to calculate the Free Thyroxine index. The doc also ran direct T4 measures, but no direct T3 level. I find it interesting that your T4 levels are somewhat elevated, but your TSH is, too. There's supposed to be an inverse relationship between the two. Just FYI, one of the group of studies that came out of the NHANES nutrition survey found that generally, in folks without thyroid disorders and without known risk factors for thyroid disorders, the average TSH was about 1.5.

BleepingBeauty wrote:

Muffy wrote: Oh, fiddle!#%&.

Was that done in a Pulmonary Function Laboratory or the PCP office with a thing about the size of a cigar box?

Muffy

Umm, I'll take Door Number Two, Monty!

(Apparently NOT the Big Deal of the Day...)

Right, about 75% of the data is somewhere between inaccurate to frivolous.

Ready to make another new friend?

Muffy

Muffy wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote: (Apparently NOT the Big Deal of the Day...)

Right, about 75% of the data is somewhere between inaccurate to frivolous.

Ready to make another new friend?

Muffy

Awww, Muffintop, yer bummin' me out. I was feeling good about those results (for a minute, anyway).

My PCP probably thinks I've become a hypochondriac, with the tests I've asked for recently. I know the thyroid panel wasn't what I specifically asked for, and now you say the PFT is useless. But it's my b-day, and I'm not in the mood to start bleeping, so can we talk about this more at another time?

For now, I'm willing to let things ride and see how they go. I'm expecting a new data-capable machine (hopefully today, maybe tomorrow or Monday at the latest), so I'm going to focus my energies on a new and (hopefully) improved therapy direction.

You know you have my gratitude for your input, but bear with me for the moment, okay?

BleepingBeauty wrote: My PCP probably thinks I've become a hypochondriac, with the tests I've asked for recently. I know the thyroid panel wasn't what I specifically asked for, and now you say the PFT is useless.

It's a shame that being well informed and proactive is one of the fastest ways to get the typical doctor to think we are loony toon hypochondriacs...cuz I do get the impression that is what some doctors want to think about us...I'm sure labeling us as hypochondriacs is much easier than believing our claims and then having to face a myriad of problems that are not easily or ever explained even by tests.

I want you to know that the official real PFT test at a lab is sort of fun. The one I did had me shut inside of a big box and there were a lot of instructions I had to follow, some of them while "holding my breath"....oh no...can I think and hold my breath at the same time...apparently I can Anyway, the tests were sort of fun so if you ever have to do it again...think of it as going to a pulmonary function theme park.
mar

robertmarilyn wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote: My PCP probably thinks I've become a hypochondriac, with the tests I've asked for recently. I know the thyroid panel wasn't what I specifically asked for, and now you say the PFT is useless.

It's a shame that being well informed and proactive is one of the fastest ways to get the typical doctor to think we are loony toon hypochondriacs...cuz I do get the impression that is what some doctors want to think about us...I'm sure labeling us as hypochondriacs is much easier than believing our claims and then having to face a myriad of problems that are not easily or ever explained even by tests.

It's really unfortunate that so many doctors don't engage us in our own healthcare and frown upon us trying to take an active role. A facet of the God-complex, I imagine.

I want you to know that the official real PFT test at a lab is sort of fun. The one I did had me shut inside of a big box and there were a lot of instructions I had to follow, some of them while "holding my breath"....oh no...can I think and hold my breath at the same time...apparently I can Anyway, the tests were sort of fun so if you ever have to do it again...think of it as going to a pulmonary function theme park.
mar

Cool! If it comes to that, I'll look forward to it.

Thanks, mar.

Happy Birthday, BB!!!!!!!!




Don't read below till you are ready.......I just don't want to forget to write it.

BleepingBeauty wrote:
Thyroxine (T4) is 12.4 (a little high)
T3 Uptake is 33.6 (normal range)
Free Thyroxine Index is 4.2 (normal range goes to 3.4)
TSH is 2.54 (normal range)
Thyroxine (T4) Free, Direct is 1.7 (normal range)

Have fun today, and later when you are up to it, check out more about your thyroid. The Free thyroxine levels are just under the top of the range. My throid expert feels people who are treated with thyroid medication should have a TSH under 1. Your's, at 2.54, are a good indication that your T4 is NOT being changed into T3. T3 levels in the range you need would push that TSH lower. You probably need Cytomel, or something like Armour thyroid. So, when you feel like it, either ask the doc if he is willing to give it a trial, or see if you can get someone else to rx it. There is lots of good documentation that you could give him.

BleepingBeauty wrote:

Muffy wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote: (Apparently NOT the Big Deal of the Day...)

Right, about 75% of the data is somewhere between inaccurate to frivolous.

Ready to make another new friend?

Muffy

Awww, Muffintop, yer bummin' me out. I was feeling good about those results (for a minute, anyway).

Did I say frivolous? I meant phenomenal! Those results are phenomenal!

As a matter of fact, the BBW is wondering what your secret is!





Muffy

Muffy wrote:As a matter of fact, the BBW is wondering what your secret is!

Better Business Wureau?
Bodacious Breathing Whisperers?
Bleeping Beauty Womenfolk?
Better Breathing World?
Barcelona Breathing Watchers?


Okay... Those are my five best guesses.




j/k

riverdreamer wrote: Have fun today, and later when you are up to it, check out more about your thyroid. The Free thyroxine levels are just under the top of the range. My throid expert feels people who are treated with thyroid medication should have a TSH under 1. Your's, at 2.54, are a good indication that your T4 is NOT being changed into T3. T3 levels in the range you need would push that TSH lower. You probably need Cytomel, or something like Armour thyroid. So, when you feel like it, either ask the doc if he is willing to give it a trial, or see if you can get someone else to rx it. There is lots of good documentation that you could give him.

That is what makes me so unhappy with my endo doc and my internal med doc...they don't want to up my thyroid meds unless I venture PAST 3...I know back when it was at .7 I could tell I felt better...but both of those doctors made statements that indicated that I was trying to get them to make me hyperthyroid when I told them I didn't want to let my TSH go above 3. I had no such schemes...what I want is to NOT just hover at the edge of maybe feeling better...I'd like to try keeping my thyroid levels at their optimum level (if possible).

Since then I have also discussed my thyroid situation with the gastro doc and the new sleep doctors. I can tell I'm talking to the wrong folks if I want some help being sure the thyroid situation is taken care of properly. And as you guys know, when you are tired, it is hard to keep after these things. I've been having my husband read all the thyroid info that we are discussing right now and he is going with me to all my doctors appointments...he's going to be my backup in pursuing more complete thyroid tests...it's really nice to have someone there who is on your side
mar