Graves' Disease Support Group

Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...

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Good Questions to ask New Endo at 1st Appointment?

lusun
lusun
Hi everyone!
Hope you are all having a good Sunday :-)

Due to having a problem with my Endo not monitoring me very often and not knowing how to read my tests correctly, I recently went through the hypER/hypO "yo-yoing". (I wrote a previous post about this experience.)

I'm in the market for a new Endo and I have an appointment with one on Thursday.

I know that several of you have also gone through the ordeal of having to switch Endos and I was hoping for some advice.

My questions:

What are good questions to ask during a first appointment to determine if the Endo will be a good "fit" with someone with GD?

Also, what are other things to look out for during the appointment?

Thanks!
bransnana
bransnana
Please ask if he/she tests the FREE thyroid hormones and doesn't just go by tsh. Make sure they test the frees at EVERY lab you have.Ask how often they'll do labwork, if they say every three months, forget it. That's only works if you're more hypo, even then it's more like 2 months.If you have Graves and you stay on a dose for 3 months that can sink you too low, every 4-6 weeks is more like it. See if you can get what is called a "standing order" meaning you can go get labs when YOU feel the need to. That makes you feel more in control. My first endo,he would make me wait over 2 months to get labwork. I would go to the appointment and not know what my labs said untill he told me. This would make me very anxious. Now, I get the labwork done and in 2 days I get the results. My endo puts "copy to patient" on the order. Then we go from there.
dairytech
dairytech
These are some of the things I would look for.

Labs of TSH FT4 and FT3
Labs every 4 to 6 weeks
Willing to allow you to stay on ATD's and not putting a time limit on it.
Dosing ATD's by your FT4
Prescribing Beta Blockers if your FT3 is to high
Getting antibody tests without argument and understanding the value of them
Knowing that you need to be at mid range with the FTs and adjusting ATD or Beta's accordingly to keep you there.
Willing to listen to you and not write you off with psychological issues.
Looks at his profession as a partner rather than a dictator.

Asking these questions would give you a pretty good idea whether he is a match or not. Big Hugs...Kathy
lusun
lusun
Thank you, bransnana and Kathy! These are excellent lists and very very helpful :-)

Fortunately, I'm in a HMO that automatically e-mails me my labs results within 24 hours, so I won't have a problem getting my results.

My previous endo only tested TSH and FT4. How do I explain that I need FT3 tested as well?

Which antibody tests should be done? I've only had TPO done once when I was diagnosed last summer.

Thanks again!