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PDF Printer-friendly version of 2004 Thyroid Disease Report Card
America's Doctors in General
Grade: D
“You’re stressed, depressed, or PMSed.” “What do you expect after menopause? Everyone gets stressed out and gains weight.” “All you need to do is get off the couch, and stop eating so much – then you’ll stop gaining weight!” “Well, you’re 17 and you’re losing a lot of weight so you must be anorexic!” “It’s normal to be exhausted, gain weight and you’re your hair fall out when you hit your 40s…get used to it!” “You must have a lot of stress in your life, that would explain your symptoms.” “You’ve just had a baby, everyone is depressed and exhausted after having a baby.”
These are all actual comments made by doctors to people who were looking for help – and who later ended up getting diagnosed as having thyroid disease by other doctors.
Why is it that when you come in complaining of any one of the most common thyroid symptoms – which include: fatigue, anxiety, depression, unexpected weight changes, fertility problems, or hair loss – you are not automatically given a thyroid test? Given that experts have discovered that we have millions of Americans who are undiagnosed, this should be a no-brainer. And yet, we have doctors who refuse to do thyroid tests because they are containing costs for their HMO, or because it’s not their idea in the first place, or because they are so uninformed about thyroid disease that they think they can rule out a thyroid problem because, as one doctor said, “I can tell you don’t have a problem just by feeling your neck.” Or, as one doctor told a new mother, “You couldn’t have a thyroid problem, because if you did, you wouldn’t have been able to get pregnant.” (This despite the fact that post-partum is one of the most common times to develop a thyroid problem).
Come on doctors. It’s Endocrinology 101. A woman has a 1 in 5 chance of developing a thyroid problem in her lifetime, and post-partum, perimenopause and beyond are the most common times. Men’s risk goes up after the age of 60. Fatigue, weight changes, anxiety, depression, infertility, hair loss – these should all ring BELLS that say “THYROID TEST!”
SO...DO THE TEST!!! And maybe you’ll score better than a sad D on behalf of America’s 27 million thyroid sufferers.
