frustrated with doctors-thyroid issues

amy11401

Before getting pregnant my general doctor had been monitoring my thyroid levels.  Prior to becoming pregnant my levels had been normal since going on medicine.  Due to that and the long wait I was not being seen by an endo.   As soon as I found out that I was pregnant I asked my regular doctor to do bloodwork to check my thyroid levels.  They only ran TSH but it was normal.  Since becoming pregnant, the only times my ob check my levels is when I ask them to....I asked more regularly than they would normally do it.  Again she was just testing TSH.  At my last appointment, I asked if any other thyroid tests could be ran because I knew that occasionally my doctor had run a full thyroid panel.  She said that pregnancy alters some tests but she could run a T4 test.  It came back that my T4 level was alittle high.  So my regular doctor referred me to an endo but said that it could take awhile to get an appointment.  I think they felt bad for me because I was pregnant and also they share the same computer system as my others doctors so they could actually see me right away at the endo instead of in 3 months.  Anyway when I went today the endo said that the Total T4 test was what my ob had ran and that it can run high in pregnancy.  She said that they really should have done Free T4 and T3.  I was worried since that was not the tests that my other doctors had run since I was pregnant.  She told me not to worry but she did have me get those tests run.

I feel like I kept asking my doctors to check my thyroid levels but they were not running the correct ones.  They are the professionals not me!  Sorry for the long post.

mommy0411

Have your thyroid levels been normal still? I see an endo regularly because of my Hashimotos disease (autoimmune thyroid disorder) and they only checked my thyroid once a trimester and 3 times in the third tri because my levels started rising and they had to raise my synthroid dose. 

I don't think your thyroid needs to be checked that often as long as they are staying normal. Though it is definitely good you are now seeing an endo. I hope that helps relieve your fears! I just gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy last week! ( my pregnancy was high risk for other reasons)  

5dogs

Most OBs don't check T3/T4, let alone FT3/FT4.... which is why they refer you to an endocrinologist. My OB will only check TSH, my primary will check TSH and T3/T4, everything else has to be run by my endocrinologist.

amy11401

My OB only checked TSH but that has always been normal throughout pregnancy. 

NantucketBride12

I'm new to thyroid issues (well, I've actually had them for years but it wasn't until about two months ago that someone finally looked beyond a basic blood test and I was diagnosed with papillary cancer, had a total thyroidectomy, and was put on medication), but I just wanted to say that I feel your frustration.  It is such a hassle for me to get all the tests run and then I feel like coordinating between the endos and the OBs causes such a nightmare.  

Mostly, I feel like I don't know what's going on right now, which is very stressful.  If you are really concerned, you can order your own blood work at many labs, you just have to pay out of pocket, of course.  I think you just have to insist on what you want.  I don't know what is "standard" since all of this just happened to me, but I do know I'm getting blood drawn every month to watch for fluctuations.

luvboston

I think you need to say something to your PCP and they can whip the others into shape. Thyroid hormone is very important in pg and the least fluctuation can alter things. Everytime they test your thyroid they should be running the full panel.

5dogs

For what it's worth, my TSH almost always looks normal on a the range my primary looks for, even when my FT3/FT4/F3/F4 are completely out of wack. My endo also has a tighter range for my TSH so if my OB ran my levels I always had to remind them that my TSH was where my endo wanted it.

FrenchFry13

That's a very frustrating situation! I have Hashimoto's too, but I'm really freaking bossy apparently.

My OB refused to deal with it, and waved it off when I said another doctor was handling it I was TTC at the time, and my thyroid results had come back ridiculously high (meaning low thyroid). I made a fuss and got a referral from the GP to an endo -- who is supervising my GP from a distance and occasionally meeting with me. He instructed the GP to run the full panel EVERY MONTH because Hashimoto's is hard enough to deal with before the pregnancy hormones make it even crazier.

This is what I learned: If you have been dealing with thyroid issues for a while, you KNOW when your thyroid is off. It is your body -- insist on getting the tests that you need. Having an endo run everything should make the process a lot smoother.

 

Good luck!