Be Your Own Health Advocate

HEALTH ADVOCATE TIPS

1.  Do your research:  Gather any/all information about the diagnosis, various methods of treatment and the types of treatments your insurance will and will not cover.

2.  Be patient:  It may take many visits with your doctor before you feel comfortable talking about your symptoms and conditions.  Remember, doctors are not always informed on every issue and especially thyroid issues.

3.  Know your treatment options:  This will be a lifelong prescription of possibly T4 and T3 as well as other various protocols.   This will be a complete topic to be discussed in detail later.  

4.  Review and understand your lab tests:  This will be a complete topic to be discussed in detail later. 

5.  Partner with the right practitioner:   Make sure that you are partnering with an informed, proactive health professional. If your practitioner refuses to discuss diagnostic and treatment options, focuses solely on your test results, or doesn’t consider resolving your symptoms a key goal, then it’s time to find another doctor. While endocrinologists are considered specialists in thyroid disease, they are important for hyperthyroidism, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment.  You may find that the diagnosis and treatment of your Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism would be better managed by a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, naturopathic physician, or doctor specializing in hormonal balance.