Med Mal or not?

What is the name of your state? Florida

Hello. This is my second post as I cannot locate the original (maybe on the wrong board).

Here is my story.

In May 1995 I went to the primary care complaining of not feeling right and did not know if I had a cold or other. We discussed my family history and I told him that thyroid disorders were rampant in my family. He immediatley ordered a thyroid test through blood work.

When the results came back, he stated that "My TSH level was high, off the scale....but he had never seen this before and did not know what it meant. However, he was sure that through putting me on synthroid he could straighten it out. He would start at a low dosage and monitor my TSH, T3 and T4 levels. Later I was diagnosed as Hyperthyroid and the meds adjusted accordingly. Having been his patient for a long time, I trusted him.

After a couple of years this doctor left the general practice field to move next door to work on skin disorders. The new doctor took over care. I continued getting the blood work done and taking the synthroid at various levels. I had to stop for awhile due to financial reasons and not being able to afford all medications with no insurance. This period lasted maybe a year. I am not sure. I have recently requested all of the test results, notes etc. regarding my thyroid from the doctors office, so I will know more later.

The point is that at time of initial diagnosis regarding the TSH being off, no investigation was done regarding Graves Disease or Hashimoto's Disease, which is what I understand at the root of all thyroid problems. When something is wrong with it, one way or the other, you have one or the other. I found this out days ago after picking up a book at the library!

The new doctor also did not and has not requested further testing to determine Graves or Hashimoto's-has never suggested a specialist or other anything other than staying on the synthroid.

I am now hypothyroid and having one heck of time with life. My memory I cannot trust. I have been early, and late for work due to lack of concentration, writing down the wrong info etc. I have lost a paralegal job due to it also. To date, I have had two black outs while driving (nearly causing accidents), double vision and am sick and tired of being tired!!

What I want to know is, Is these two doctors failures to investigate and/or tell me anything about Graves Disease and Hashimoto's Disease grounds for medical mal practice?

I am extremely disturbed by the information that I have read recently regarding thyroid and how it affects all of your body and mind. Equally disturbed that even changing your diet can help but I was never told!! The entire time both doctors have acted like this is "no big deal" when it certainly is and I am angry.

I would like to hear all feedback as soon as possible. I started school for paralegal in 1997 not knowing my medical condition so severe, now I may never be able to work as a paralegal again and am so depressed over this you cannot imagine. Paralegal is my life and I soon graduate.

Thanks for help.

Laura

[sunfall]

I cannot answer you at all from a legal standpoint, whether this is medical malpractice. What I can do is answer, boot you to the top of the queue, so maybe someone else will see you, and ask a couple of questions.

First, have you, self-referred, or by insisting on a referral, gotten yourself to an endocrinologist yet? That will tell you not only a good deal more about your condition, but it may also offer better avenues for treatment, as well as giving you a better feel for whether your condition should reasonably have been picked up.

Also, I am not a doctor, but have worked as a transcriptionist and in other office-related capacities for a wide range of specialties. My next question would be whether the information you got out of the book is valid, that all thyroid problems are Hashimotos or Graves. As I said, I have worked in capacities that require me to know something about most disease processes, and that's a new one on me.That said, it does sound as if more investigation should have been done in your case, in my decidedly non-professional opinion.

Dear Sunfall:

Thank you for your reply. I have never heard of an endocrinologist but will look into it. I respect your comments though as I know that many in the medical field who are not doctors are very knowledgeable.

As to whether or not the information in the book I read is reliable or not. All I can tell you is the author is a Mary Rosenthal, who I believe is a doctor herself and suffers from thyroid disorders. Her book is based on her experience and that of thousands who have written her about their experiences. It has a recent copywrite. As I said, my main concern here is information that I was NOT given by my doctors and this is what I am looking into.

Thanks again.

[sunfall]

Glad I could be of some help. Good luck.

The name Mary Rosenthal is vaguely familiar, though whether from "Good Morning America" or JAMA, I could not begin to tell; I've taken in a bit of both.

Let me know what the endocrinologist says. They specialize in all sorts of endocrine (thyroid, adrenal, etc) disorders, and if your GP can't control your thyroid disorder, a specialist is a better bet.

AND THEN, I'd look into switching docotors. IMHO, both of yours should have been more proactive long ago. Also, there are (as we probably all know) support groups online for almost everything. My mother belongs to one for undiagnosed dizziness disorders. Find one for thyroid sufferers; they may help you much better than a legal board can. Get your health and life together, then worry about the legal aspects. If you still need to.

sunfall:

Thanks. I will be looking into that for sure. I now have copies of all the records for when I see a specialist. That's a start.