Hi, not necessarily...if you've had basic thyroid and adrenal tests done by your reg doc, and it's all normal..but if you are even borderline off, it may be worth it.....

I thought I needed to go so I went, I thought they would run a whole slew of different blood tests and I may find out something else, but I was extremely disappointed to learn all the tests they ran were tests I had done before with my pcp. I just thought there were some other hormone tests I was missing out on, NOPE!

OH and I now have $400 bill for those blood tests since they were repeats and not covered since my primary doc did them. I even brought copies of all my current and past 7yrs blood work to her, she should have said, oh you had all these done a week ago we don't need to retest everything... nope.. i'm upset about it.. didn't learn anything new and now I have a $400 debt I can't pay, which is also keeping me from getting further labs done til I pay off that bill.

Some GP's are better with thyroid then endocrinologists, as they maybe more open to optimisig the dosage. I am finding that some specialists are to narrow minded...

Yea, I wouldn't bother.
Nobody knows how to fix this anyway.

Hey WhiteDolphin so sorry your endo appointment was disappointing and you were left with a big bill.I have been to several endocrinologists over the years and it was a waste of time.I was originally sent as I had low cortisol levels showing in 24hr urine tests.I had 3 separate tests done and each showed the same.My doctor had no explanation and the first endo I saw didn't either and completely negated any relevance as the cotisol in my blood tests were a normal reading.She blamed my cfs on being vegetarian although there were no deficiencies showing to justify that, and also I knew other cfs sufferers who were not vegetarian.She was cold and arrogant and yes very expensive. Later on I went through the public hospital and saw 3 different endos for my 3 free appointments.It was all hopelessly disappointing.Infact the second endo wrote a whole heap of pathology tests to do and didn't even check my files to see that the first guy had already done them all. Anyway all these years later it is fairly common knowledge that low cortisol levels showing in urine tests is a strong indication of adrenal fatigue.I also now believe that saliva tests are valuable where the adrenals are concerned . It's a continuing battle that's for sure.

I see an endocrinologist but only for my diabetes. I'm not sure what else they cover.

First of all, thank all of you for your advice. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to communicate with people who "get it".

Nina: I don't remember what tests my PCPs have done -- I'll have to look thr. my paperwork again.

WhiteDolphin: I'm on medicare (Partial disability), but I'm still on my husband's insurance as a secondary. Right now I don't have to worry about medical bills. I'm actually considering checking into having surgery on my damaged vocal cords. I've been on this insurance for so long that I sometimes take it for granted. I wish we all could have insurance that is as good as mine has been.

With all of the stuff going on with Obamacare, I am so afraid that my husband's insurance co. will drop me. I guess I want to get everything I can done while I still can.

I may be grasping at straws, but I might get a grip on one of those straws one of these days. That straw might be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and that camel's name might just be CFS!

A girl can dream, can't she?