Pre-Endocrine Appointment

I am on week 3 of post-op. Tomorrow is my appointment with the Endocrine doctor.

A member of a Thyroidectomy group suggested having the blood work completed in advance of the appointment. I contacted my Endocrine doctor to request the lab order and she thought it would a good idea. Which is odd. I imagine they get new thyroid patients all the time. Why isn't this routine? I am starting to believe that my health (success or failure) will be in my hands.

Unfortunately, the blood test is supposed to be a fasting test and I forgot to fast. I had coffee and some yogurt before the test. I hope that doesn't mess the test results up too badly! Also, I was disappointed that only free T4 was tested and not T4, T3, Free T3, etc. Here are the results:

TSH           2.34      range .027-4.20
T4 Free      1.8        range 0.9-1.7
Intact Pth   22.9      range 15-65
Calcium     10.1      range 8.6-10.2

I'm not sure what questions to go with. Usually I have a long list. This is all I have so far:

MEDS

At what point do we cut back on calcium

Move my scripts from hospital to My pharmacy

How do I assure I get the same manufacturer for thyroid meds.

All the vitamins I take OK?

What are the different kinds of thyroid replacement medicines?

How to request prescription refills

How will this impact my depression & depression meds?

Long term effects of Thyroid Replacement medicines?

RAI (Radioactive Iodine Threatment)

Will I need it?

Where will I stay?

Can I have electronics during that time

Will Rai give you cancer

Will Rai give other people cancer? Why?

BLOOD WORK

Stop the calcium blood work?

When will the parathyroids kick in

Will my calcium sky rocket when it kicks in

How often will I have blood work.

What will the blood work check for? Can I get everything checked?

Damage from thyroid levels being too high or too low? Long term or short term?

If I feel great but my levels are off, is that OK?

TEST RESULTS

What is the optimal range within the acceptable range?

What symptoms should I watch for that would tell me I need a medicine adjustment

What does the Intact Pth test tell us?

CANCER

What stage am I

Can thyroid cells regrow?

RECURRENCE

What are the chances it will recur

What are the symptoms of recurrence?

In what body parts do recurrences appear?

Is there anything that can be done to reduce the chance of recurrence?

What is treatment like for recurrence?

WEIGHT LOSS

Weight loss/gain is important to me

If weight loss different for me now than before?

Diabetes Type 2 concerns?

Anything to watch out for with exercise?

Do I have to be careful about eating too much calcium unexpectantly?

NEXT STEPS

How often will I see you?

What role does my primary physician play?

Follow up activities and timelines: rai & body scans

GENERAL

Where do I call if I have a serious problem

How has thyroid treatment changed in the recent years?

Alcohol consumption?

Books or websites to learn more?

I'll blog tomorrow some of the answers I get.

Key Words: Thyroid cancer endocrinologist thyroidectomy