Posted by bleauberry on July 16, 2009, at 5:25:47
In reply to Everyone gets their hands on ritalin but me, posted by CaffeinePoet on July 15, 2009, at 21:46:27
Thyroid lab values are not reliable for guiding treatment. The ranges are too broad and vary from lab to lab. We can measure thyroid in the blood but we can't measure how much is actually getting into the receptors where it works. Symptoms are important. The lab values are good reference points but not definitive treatment guidelines. You need a doctor who understands that.
Someone can feel hypothyroid, show symptoms of hypothyroid, appear normal on tests, and live a miserable existence without thyroid meds, and rapidly improve when some brilliant doctor says let's do a trial and see what happens. This is common and has happened with hundreds or thousands of people. But don't go to a specialist. They are not your friends. You need an experienced open minded doctor who cares more about you than numbers on a paper.
You obviously do need a new doctor. All I can suggest is to do the research and choosing yourself. Do not blindly accept whoever your doctor refers you to. Whoever that person is, they are probably one of your worst choices. Find your own doctor. Start today and get it done. It doesn't even have to be a psychiatrict doctor. Regular MDs and Nurse Practioners do this stuff.
I see a Nurse who prescribes anything I want to try. Ritalin, Adderall, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, TCAS, MAOIs, benzos, whatever. Any and all. That's just a Nurse Practioner with a license in psychiatry and naturopathy. My previous GP was open to just about any idea. Anything. Meds or naturals. You gotta do some hunting and asking questions and phone calls and yellow pages and such.
You will likely find this doctor quicker if you focus your search on "Integrative MDS". They are full-fledged MD physicians that have training in medicine,natural, and pioneering approaches. They are much more on top of the whole thyroid, adrenal, and other stuff, than regular MDs, and are usually more open minded.
But if you think you have some kind of ADD, it should not be that hard to find someone to give you Ritalin since that is such a common treatment.
poster:bleauberry
thread:906959
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090709/msgs/907015.html