Since Dr. Heller is retiring, I had my first visit with Dr Patel, who will now be following me from now on. We had a brief conversation and he told me that he read through my file and past history.
He felt my neck and nodes and he said everything felt fine.
When I asked about a total body scan, he didn't think I would need one again since the other two have come back clean. When I asked about the continued presence of my antibodies, he said that the most important thing was that the levels remain the same and don't increase at all. While he hopes that they go away, he has seen them hang around for many years. However, as long as the levels do not fluctuate, there isn't anything to be alarmed about right now.
I told him I will have an ultrasound at the end of Dec 2013 (I need to call NYU Radiology to make an appointment) and will see Dr Bergman in Jan 9, 2014 at 9AM.
Next appt with Dr Patel is on 6/2/14 at 9am
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I had bloodwork done on 11/12/2013 at the request of Dr. Bergman to check on my Thyroid levels. I got a call from his office a couple days later that my "thyroid levels were fine." I asked if my Synthroid levels should stay the same and she said yes. Therefore, my levels continue to stay at 137 five days per week and 150 two days per week. Dr. Bergman wants me to get blood tests again in 4 months which would bring me to mid March 2014.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Visit With Dr. Bergman - 7/10/13
Since Dr. Fenichel has left the practice and Dr. Marguiles is on maternity leave, I made an appointment with Dr. Bergman for my usual 6 month endocrinology appointment.
We spent a few minutes in the examination room where he introduced himself and then gave me a thorough exam which was understandable since he never met me before. He listened to my lungs and heart, felt my neck, tested my reflexes and leg and hand strength, etc. I was glad to see this. Since he never examined me before and probably has very little knowledge of my case or history, I was happy to see that he wanted to check me out for himself and not rely and past charts or other doctors' notes.
Afterwards, we went into his office to talk. I brought my ultrasound report from 6/27 as well as my bloodwork results from my visit with Dr. Heller just in case Dr Bergman needed them, but he was able to access all of my records on his computer. He asked me about the medication and dosage I was taking, the history of my condition, family history of thyroid issues, the last time I had a whole body scan, the last time I had my ultrasound, etc. He was very thorough, which was very good to see, and he wanted to get as well rounded a history of my case as possible.
He did not see any problems at all based on my results and his examination, and he said that he was very happy with the management of my treatment so far. Based on my last TSH reading of 0.05, he does believe that after 5 years that I might be oversurpressed and that he would like to see my TSH level between 0.1-0.5, but closer to 0.5 if possible, but it will take some monitoring of my Synthroid dosage.
He said that he would like me to get labs done within the next month to 6 weeks (around mid August 2013), which would be approximately 2 months after I switched my Synthroid dosage regimen to 137 for 5 days and 150 for two days. Also, since I am still oversurpressed and my dosage keeps changing, he would like me to get another neck ultrasound before I come back to their office in January 2014. Therefore, I should look to schedule my next neck ultrasound during the end of December 2013 or the beginning of January 2014.
Key upcoming dates:
Get bloodwork done at NYU - mid August 2013, Dr. Bergman gave me a hard copy of the script
Schedule a neck ultrasound at NYU - end of December 2013 or beginning of January 2014
My next endocrinology appointment is with Dr. Marguiles on 1/10/14 at 9AM
We spent a few minutes in the examination room where he introduced himself and then gave me a thorough exam which was understandable since he never met me before. He listened to my lungs and heart, felt my neck, tested my reflexes and leg and hand strength, etc. I was glad to see this. Since he never examined me before and probably has very little knowledge of my case or history, I was happy to see that he wanted to check me out for himself and not rely and past charts or other doctors' notes.
Afterwards, we went into his office to talk. I brought my ultrasound report from 6/27 as well as my bloodwork results from my visit with Dr. Heller just in case Dr Bergman needed them, but he was able to access all of my records on his computer. He asked me about the medication and dosage I was taking, the history of my condition, family history of thyroid issues, the last time I had a whole body scan, the last time I had my ultrasound, etc. He was very thorough, which was very good to see, and he wanted to get as well rounded a history of my case as possible.
He did not see any problems at all based on my results and his examination, and he said that he was very happy with the management of my treatment so far. Based on my last TSH reading of 0.05, he does believe that after 5 years that I might be oversurpressed and that he would like to see my TSH level between 0.1-0.5, but closer to 0.5 if possible, but it will take some monitoring of my Synthroid dosage.
He said that he would like me to get labs done within the next month to 6 weeks (around mid August 2013), which would be approximately 2 months after I switched my Synthroid dosage regimen to 137 for 5 days and 150 for two days. Also, since I am still oversurpressed and my dosage keeps changing, he would like me to get another neck ultrasound before I come back to their office in January 2014. Therefore, I should look to schedule my next neck ultrasound during the end of December 2013 or the beginning of January 2014.
Key upcoming dates:
Get bloodwork done at NYU - mid August 2013, Dr. Bergman gave me a hard copy of the script
Schedule a neck ultrasound at NYU - end of December 2013 or beginning of January 2014
My next endocrinology appointment is with Dr. Marguiles on 1/10/14 at 9AM
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Dr Heller Visit and Dr. Fenichel Phone Conversation
5/30/13 - I went to visit Dr. Heller and he did his usual digging around and told me that everything felt fine and looked good. He was supposed to be retiring at the end of May 2013 but he will be staying on until the end of the year 2013. I will be seeing him one more time before he retires, with my next scheduled appointment with him being on 12/5/13 at 5:30PM. With Dr. Heller retiring, I asked him who in his practice he recommended that I go see and he said Dr. Patel, which is the one I would have chosen based on the information on their website. I took blood tests in Dr. Heller's office and he told me to call for the results on Monday or Tuesday and speak with his PA, Liz.
6/2/13 - I read the blood test results online and saw that my TSH level was at around 0.05, which seemed a bit low to me since Dr. Fenichel usually wants me to be at around 0.1. I spoke with Liz in Dr. Heller's office and she agreed that they would want me to be at around 0.1, however the 0.05 level was close enough and I should stay on my current dosage of 137 for 4 days and 150 for 3 days, however I could be lowered to 137 all days but I would have to be monitored to make sure that I don't get hypothyroid. Liz in Dr. Heller's office said that doctors usually like patients to be oversupressed for up to 10 years after thyroid cancer surgery.
6/13/13- I spoke with Dr. Fenichel today on her final day before leaving the practice. She concurred that my 0.05 TSH level was a bit low and ideally she would lower my dosage to 137, but she did not know how I would react due to my weight fluctuations overs the years and the constant tinkering with my dosage.
Dr. Fenichel gave several options but said that I could switch my dosage to 137 for 5 days and 150 for 2 days per week, and that I should get follow up blood tests in 2-3 months to see how my body is adjusting to the change in dosage and to make sure that I am not becoming slightly hypothyroid. I do not need to go for blood tests before I see Dr. Bergman, but I need to schedule follow up blood tests 2-3 months after I see him. I told her that I if I knew that she was still at the practice through mid June, I would have switched my ultrasound and office appt up a few weeks so I could see her. Her staff told me that she already left the practice which is why I never made any attempts to switch my appt. Dr. Fenichel acknowledged that the transition was not organized or handled well - big shocker.
My next thyroid ultrasound is scheduled for 6/27/13 and my appointment with Dr. Bergman is scheduled for July 10th at 4:15PM.
6/2/13 - I read the blood test results online and saw that my TSH level was at around 0.05, which seemed a bit low to me since Dr. Fenichel usually wants me to be at around 0.1. I spoke with Liz in Dr. Heller's office and she agreed that they would want me to be at around 0.1, however the 0.05 level was close enough and I should stay on my current dosage of 137 for 4 days and 150 for 3 days, however I could be lowered to 137 all days but I would have to be monitored to make sure that I don't get hypothyroid. Liz in Dr. Heller's office said that doctors usually like patients to be oversupressed for up to 10 years after thyroid cancer surgery.
6/13/13- I spoke with Dr. Fenichel today on her final day before leaving the practice. She concurred that my 0.05 TSH level was a bit low and ideally she would lower my dosage to 137, but she did not know how I would react due to my weight fluctuations overs the years and the constant tinkering with my dosage.
Dr. Fenichel gave several options but said that I could switch my dosage to 137 for 5 days and 150 for 2 days per week, and that I should get follow up blood tests in 2-3 months to see how my body is adjusting to the change in dosage and to make sure that I am not becoming slightly hypothyroid. I do not need to go for blood tests before I see Dr. Bergman, but I need to schedule follow up blood tests 2-3 months after I see him. I told her that I if I knew that she was still at the practice through mid June, I would have switched my ultrasound and office appt up a few weeks so I could see her. Her staff told me that she already left the practice which is why I never made any attempts to switch my appt. Dr. Fenichel acknowledged that the transition was not organized or handled well - big shocker.
My next thyroid ultrasound is scheduled for 6/27/13 and my appointment with Dr. Bergman is scheduled for July 10th at 4:15PM.
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