Arghh! Help needed please for a hospital recommendation.

[MincePie]

I have chronic Thyroid problems. I have been under the treatment of my local hospital. But to say they are terrible is an understatement. Couldn't stabilise my medication so put me on a trail, then discharged my without follow-up. Re-referred a year later as trail hadn't worked, lost referral. Seen 6 months later...seen in May, pregnant, needed to be seen in 4 weeks to get meds adjusted. Cancelled appointment till Dec, rang them said are you mad I'm pregnant??? Saw them June, appointment made for Nov 2003 for post baby check, that was cancelled and moved to Jan 2004. GP rang said are you mad? They said opps..changed to Dec...got letter again today...cancelled AGAIN and moved to MAY 2004...that will be 11 months with no appointments.

I'm sick of feeling so freaking ill and them messing me around.

I think I can be asked to be referred somewhere else...is that right?

If so does anyone know where is good for endocrinology in London?

TIA pie

No idea about the answers pie, but bloody hell- change if you can. Hope a different hospital is better.

There's a brick wall I keep in my house for banging my head against when the whole medical system in this country becomes too crap for word. You can borrow it if you want.

Oh yes please jimjams, bet that wall has a good sized dent in it by now.

Just realised I wrote trail not TRIAL...see they need to fix my thyroid!

Go and see Mr John Lynn at the Cromwell Hospital in London - he is one of the world's leading specialists in this area.

pie, I completely agree that you need a new specialist. let me ask my mother who she refers to (she is a gp in south ken). I only know the good paediatric endocrinologists (Stanhope at GOSH, Bridges at C&W). You should be able to get your GP to refer you to whoever you ask him/her to.
Back soon

Oh yes pie - fight this one.... go girl !

sorry pie, she is out and not picking up her mobile. I'll speak to her tomorrow and post her recommendations...

Thanks guys...willow isn't the Cromwell a private hospital? Thanks PPT (

Mince, As I am in the States, I can't answer thisbut thyroid problems are so rough. I have been on synthroid for mine since I was 30.....ahhh...that would be 16 years now...can't believe that! I do know that if the thyroid is not working properly, your Pituitary Gland kicks in and works overtime to compensate. This comes with terrible mood swings, irritablity, loss of hair,etc. I do hope you can see someone soon already!!! Mine is under control with medication and I have blood drawn to check every 6 months to be sure. Hopefully yours can be regulated too and you will feel SO MUCH better. My thyroid function improved at bit during my pregnancy and I have been stabilized since then (9 years) on the same dose. I can't for the life of me think of what a friend of mine has, it is a thyroid condition with an oriental type name and it is near close to impossible to regulate hershopefully that will NOT be the case with you. All the best Mince!

Pie, there is Dr Foster but for the life of me I can't see any mention of endocrinology. I know an excellent specialist up here in Edinburgh who used to be based in London, I'm sure he could recommend someone if you draw a blank, but I won't see him again until I go back to work in the New Year, I'm afraid. Let me know if that would be any good, though.

Hang about, just realised you can search for thyroid problems . Not the same as a personal recommendation, though, I realise.

yup pie cromwell is private. but the dr will almost certainly have an nhs list as well somewhere.
mum says there is a brilliant guy who has recently joined c$w, thyroids his speciality, she has met him and was v impressed and he has been giving nice care to one of her patients. small catch is that she has forgotten his name ("oh now what is it? unusual name. damn, what is it?" "i've got no idea mum, I'm asking you" but will call me with it tonight when she is back home (she is xmas shopping and sounds rather tired!).

Oh, and I'm sorry to keep popping back, but I just realised that the guy willow2 recommended is on there and also works at the Hammersmith, which would be reasonably handy for you (not to mention the big advantage of being free)

Tanum, Hammersmith huh? Ok, that is near enough, cool...but let me know your guys name too PPH. Then I can give my GP a choice between the two iykwim!

Thank you everyone, I knew MN would have the answer

Sunchowder, do you mean Hashmimoto? That IS what I have, but in fact I have a strange variety that only effects 5% of those with Hashimoto. I am on synthetic thyroid, but most of my family also have Hashimoto and are incompatable with synthetic thyroid and can only take animal based thyroxine (my great Aunt died because no doctor would give her animal based and in effect her hypothyroidism went untreated as they synthetic didn't work). So far I have not found one doctor who will consider this for me

Meant to add that I have been have had hypothyroidism for nearly 5 years...so this has been going on for blinking ages. I hate St Marys.

Yes MincePie!! It was Hashimoto I was trying to think of, that one is so very tough to treat. You absolutely want the to have the best of the best doctors to see what they can do for you. My friend suffers from this also Pie, not sure she is one of those 5%, but she has gone round and round with it. I have not spoken with her for quite a while now. If thyroxine will work for you and you can absorb it, I can't understand why they won't prescribe it for you and the story of your Aunt is horrible Pie, so sorry. My Dad passed away in May, but he was a Pharmacist for many years, so I have been exposed to lots of different things that were prescribed for this in the US. I am willing to try anything including Natural therapies, herbs, cranio osteo, massage, anything that can help along with the best of Western Medicine. I hope the Princess can give you a recommendation soon!

I've got Hashimoto's also, but it responds to the synthetic stuff. I can recommend a GP who will listen to you and prescribe the stuff you need, keep an eye on you. She's private, but a wonderful wonderful person. Her name is Dr Sophia Kahlique and she's on, um, Wimpole Street, I think. I'll look up the details and contact her if you want to try it. I can find out prices and all that, too. She's young and definitely listens to patients -- she doesn't pretend she knows everything.

And the London Clinic has this program for people in London who need it.. .. which they don't list on the website. They've got an Endocrinology Centre now. I can check on that also, if you'd like.

I hope you get some help -- I know how it feels when your thyroid's out of whack. Feel free to email me about any of this.

pie, with all due respect to JJ, don't go down the private GP route. There are lots of great ones on the NHS.
Kevin Shotliffe is the guy my mother recommends. Has private list as well as NHS at Chelsea & Westminster, was prev at St Georges. She is very good and instinctive at sussing her fellow professionals out.
Best of luck!

Thanks PPH for getting back to me, I'll go armed with info to my next GP appointment now!

JJ, my gran has an excellent private doctor for her Hashimoto, but having seen the costs of this blood test and that etc I realistically could only scrape together enough for an intial consultation, let alone blood tests, prescription etc. But thank you for the names! I'll send DH for a lotto ticket Glad to hear that yours is ok though, its horrible when your thyroid is out of whack isn't it?

do send him for a lotto ticket anyway - it is £8.5m this wednesday!