One of the major problems that patients experience in receiving better treatment for hypothyroidism is the patronizing attitudes of some doctors. I'm referring to the attitude that implies that patient input should seldom be offered. This despite the fact that without our input as to how well our treatment is working for us and describing any unrelieved symptoms to our doctors, they are lost as to how the treatment may need improved or adjusted. This is difficult for patients to do if their doctor is not willing to listen and to take any symptom-complaints seriously. The doctor-patient relationship should be a partnership of cooperative communication. I actually insist on this with doctors I may visit and if they refuse, I move on to one who sees the importance in this. I do want to add the fact that there are many wonderful doctors out there that do have cooperative relationships with their patients and who do provide them the information they need, to get them by between office visits.
Recently someone in the medical field wrote me in regard to a reply I made to a patient asking for advice on the Thyroid Health forum. I replied to the fellow-patient in regard to low and no-iodine salts and I mentioned that there are both "kosher salt" and "sea salt" brands that contain low or no-iodine but I followed that statement with a warning that the patient should read the ingredients carefully. The thread also made mention several times that the patient should check with their doctor when choosing low iodine products to use. Despite the clear disclaimers this person felt only "kosher salt" should have been mentioned in reference to "low-iodine" diet. I wrote them back pointing out that caution was expressed clearly in the post and I supplied them a link to a kosher salt made by the Morton company that is iodized, which demonstrates the need for the cautions mentioned in the thread in regard to both types of salt. After being contacted three times by this person, I removed that part of the thread they felt was inappropriate but I actually felt they were not giving the average thyroid patient credit for having the intelligence to be stewards over their own health. We are afteral responsible for the vast majority of time we spend away from our doctors in our every day health practices and doctors should trust us to do so, to a reasonable degree. If you read many of my articles, you'll see that I'm a strong proponent for doctor-backing with everything possible that a patient does in regard to treatment and health practices.
The US-National Institutes of Health has been airing radio commercials expressing the importance in patients being very communicative with their doctors, taking notes with them to office visits etc... This is the type information campaign that is needed! Each January is Thyroid Awareness in the US and that's also the type thing that helps in this area.
My article on Thyroid Awareness Month> Click Here
It is lack of communication from some doctors that has required many thyroid patients to search and research on their own in regard to both their disease and their treatment. They are not doing this to bypass their doctor, they are doing so because the non-communication by their doctors has presented the need for them to do so. This scenario is exactly what led me into the need to search and research and in eventually becoming a Thyroid Patient Advocate.
I personally went through four thyroid treating doctors and the fifth one ended up being the one for me. The past ones I visited for treatment of my hypothyroidism, included an Endocrinologist but the one I kept, is an MD, board certified family practitioner. Some doctors have been practicing for decades and have never done anything to update their knowledge despite there being so much progress with thyroid treatments over the past decade. A patient should watch for signs that their doctor is not expressing enough interest in their treatment or that they seem not to be as well-informed on treating hypothyroidism as they should be. This is not arrogance on the part of the patient they simply want to live as well as possible while pursuing their livelihood, family matters and life in general.
I realized sometime ago after reading the testimonies of many other patients that the expertise of doctors treating thyroid is not always in the type doctor they are but has more to do with their experience, compassion for patients and their updated knowledge.
In conclusion here's an interesting quote from a medical research paper on treatment of hypothyroidism, written by a group of endocrinologists and very interesting. It is the type honesty I like seeing from doctors in the field of thyroid treatment research! In my opinion it also points to the importance of a good patient-doctor relationship.
"We tell our patients, "It’s really quite simple, your thyroid is not working (or has been removed or destroyed by our treatment). The tablet contains the natural hormone that your body cannot make. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine." For many of our patients, T4 therapy resolves their symptoms and they are fine. For some, however, this therapy remains unsatisfactory, with the persistence of specific symptoms or a failure to regain a normal sense of well-being." (The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)
Full Research Article Here
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