'Three best' questions to ask GP if they ignore you

[Arnie Pye]

I have hypothyroidism which is very well known which has an array of treatment options. But yet every GP I have seen has little or no understanding of how you can still be ill if your TSH is anywhere in range. The nhs rarely tests the actual cruciall hormones of t4 and t3 and nevermind getting your GP to understand what they mean when you present them with private tests because the nhs won't run them. And, only levothyroxine is available as treatment on the nhs unless you won a post code lottery and found an endocrinologist that understands and prescribes t3 as well.

Chances are you had to pay to go private.

So, I have very little confidence that GPs even understand common illnesses

There is another problem with getting treated for hypothyroidism - doctors are often not familiar with all the possible symptoms of which there are many. I remember reading an anecdote on a thyroid forum about a woman who had plantar fasciitis which she blamed on her hypothyroidism. She mentioned it to a doctor who then "almost fell off his chair because he was laughing so hard". (Or something like that.)

I had the same problem - plantar fasciitis (PF) first thing after waking up. I never sought treatment for it from a doctor - it never occurs to me to do that with invisible symptoms. When I got treatment for my hypothyroidism the PF disappeared very quickly without any other treatment. And PF is actually a common symptom mentioned on that thyroid forum.

And hypothyroidism is now mentioned as a differential diagnosis on the wikipedia page for PF, which it certainly wasn't when I first got treated.