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just back from doc's- upset because I can't get anywhere

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Comments

  • Did your previous doctor diagnose why you had a vitamin B12 deficiency?
  • iamana1ias
    iamana1ias Posts: 3,777 Forumite
    I am well aware of what a healthy diet is and believe that I am eating a healthy diet.
    However, I am at a loss as to what to do next. I have tried dieting and it isn't working. At the moment I am looking at where I can buy ephedrine (a pill that reduces appetite) in a desperate attempt to lose the weight. I have not eaten anything today for fear of gaining yet more weight and i know this is unhealthy but I can'yt see any other way forward.

    Please re-read what you wrote.

    Ephy is an serious drug. It is illegal in the UK to sell it in tablet form. It has similar effects to speed. It is dangerous and is probably the worst thing you can do (closely ahead of stopping eating altogether). Especially as you potentially have a serious underlying health issue.
    I was born too late, into a world that doesn't care
    Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
  • i feel your pain bolton ;)

    i'm the heaviest i've ever been and have done everything under the sun!

    weightwatchers, slimming world, cambridge diet, appetite suppression, 1200-cals/day diet, slim fast .... and yes i've lost weight on all of them, but mainly to the detrement of my health.

    WW - i was too young, still doing karate/tennis/swimming so i had tonnes of "activity points" built up to eat and ended up putting on weight!

    appetite suppressors - lost 3 stone but gave me such bad migraines that i couldn't stand any form of light for about a month!

    slim fast - lost a stone, but was taken off it by my GP when i went to see her complaining of muscle cramps, apparently i'd started burning muscle not fat, and was getting the cramps from a build up of lactic acid.

    cambridge diet/lipotrim - lost nearly 5 stone! :D but it fcuked up my appendix! :mad: and nearly put me in hospital (and naturally more than the 5 stone has gone back on)

    ....... i've been told for years that i dont have a thyroid problem, that my blood work always comes back fine. But how can there be nothing wrong with me when i've been seeing dieticians since i was 7! I've now been told that it would be a waste of time to do a thyroid test because after nearly two decades of diets (some more extreme than others) my metabolism is shot to siht!

    So instead i'm ignoring the docs (it's not like they've got it right once in 20 years?) and doing the Biggest Loser diet & exercise regime. Basically keep Calories In under 2000 and Calories Burnt over 500 (3x a week).

    And as my dad's told me for years "if diets worked, there would only be one! It would be called The Diet, everyone would do it, and everyone would be thin" :D
    Debt@LBM1=£4050 1st DFD 27/08/09 :D Debt @LBM2 =£14,469.97 2nd DFD 14/03/2018 :T
    Make £10/day Y1£3.5k Y2£3k Yr3£4k Yr4£1.5k
    DFW NERD 1068 :cool:
    Avios 78,000 :D
  • Kazipoo
    Kazipoo Posts: 806 Forumite
    Thought I would tell you my story(s)

    Back in 1995 I started having heavy periods. The doctors tried to change my pill to cope with this and help me, but every one they tried worked the wrong way around, I was bleeding when I shouldn't be. In the end I was advised to use other forms of contraception. Meanwhile the doctor did some blood tests. All my levels came back fine, but one of my thyroid levels was "sluggish". I was told that I was borderline underactive, but that unfortunately they will only prescribe when it has consistently been under for a while. Fast forward ten years, my thyroid is still being checked every 6 - 12 months, but after a very hard three year slug, in 2005 I managed to lose just over 3 stone and started to feel marginally better. This was short lived though, and almost immediately the weight began to reappear. The nurse at the doctors surgery did a cholesterol (sp) test and when it came back as excellent, she accused the machine of not working and retested me with another machine.... she looked astounded... seems she thought that all larger ladies overeat!!

    Also my third daughter begins to gain weight, she is very podgy and looks swollen. I take her to the doctor along with a photograph of her one year previous, the doctor is concerned she has an underactive thyroid and asks that tests are done immediately. She is referred to a local childrens unit, where we are asked to take in meal plans so that they can effectively help manage her weight!! :mad: I was livid, because I knew her weight had nothing to do with her diet, she has three sisters that are all "normal".

    Anyway, they take the blood and tell us to expect a phonecall within the week. The very next day we received a phonecall from the head honcho who asks us to attend clininc that very same day. We do. Her thyroid is so underactive that had I not taken her to the doctors when I did, her major organs may have began to fail within 6 months. She was over 500, which if any of you know about thyroids you will know that is extreme!! Anyway, so she is now doing very well on thyroxine.

    Meanwhile, we are told to bring the other girls down to be tested, which we did, and my second daughter also has an underactive thyroid, although no-where near the same extent. I also have my regular check up, and lo and behold, my levels have gone to pot too.

    So ten years after the first diagnosis I am finally prescribed. Since then my levels have not been constant and I am awaiting a referral to the hospital to find out the reason for this, I have piled the weight on (tremendously) and have swelling and water retention like you wouldn't believe. Around 3pm every day I have to fight to keep my eyes open. I fall to sleep easily on a night and wake up feeling like I need another 12 hours. I am always cold, I have aches and pains everywhere, my periods are extreme and little things upset me to the point of tears.... but now I know that it is mainly down to my thyroid, so I just plod through it, knowing that once my bloods have been done and they raise my prescription (which inevitably they will), I will begin to feel like me again.

    Just to add to all of this, my husband too has been diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. At first our old doctor said he was depressed, but as his symptoms were very similar to mine, I suggested that perhaps they should test his thyroid. The doctor gave me a funny look and then told me that it is very rare for more than one in a family to have the condition, at which point I told him that as well as me, two of my daughters also suffer... then he told me that it is even rarer for men to suffer with this... well my hubby does!! Whats the odds??

    Also, my sister and my mother in law and her sister suffer with the same condition.

    My advice to you is go back to your doctors and have them recheck all of the tests, just because you weren't low enough to prescribe doesn't mean your thyroid is not underactive.

    If on the other hand it is your B12 levels, I would see another doctor and push for the injection.

    Good luck.
    Starting weight 17st 4lb - weight now 15st 2lbs

    30lb lost of 30lb by June 2012 :j:j:j (80lb overall goal)

  • consultant31
    consultant31 Posts: 4,814 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I have not eaten anything today for fear of gaining yet more weight and i know this is unhealthy but I can'yt see any other way forward.

    This will make your problem worse by altering your metabolism and making it even harder to lose weight. Your body requires nourishment at regular intervals in order to keep your extremities warm and your internal organs working properly.

    I'm sorry to say it, but I think your Doctor is a pillock!!!!!!!:mad::mad:

    There are literally dozens of Doctor's surgeries all over the country who have agreed that Slimming World meet the criteria set out by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

    The poster further back who suggested that SW promote 'food combining' is wrong. Slimming World’s Food Optimising eating plans encourage members to eat plenty of highly satiating foods while controlling the intake of energy dense foods. The plans encourage people to freely eat plenty of fresh food like pasta, potatoes, lean meat and fish, eggs and plenty of fruit and vegetables and very low fat yoghurt. Members are also encouraged to eat limited amounts of dairy, high fibre breads and cereals, dried fruit and nuts and to cut down on high fat, sugary foods and alcohol.

    1000 calories a day is not healthy and will certainly have an effect on your metabolism. If it were me, I would refuse point blank to see that particular GP again. Ask to be referred to someone else, you don't have to take bad treatment for granted, you can always report that GP to the GMC - his attitude stinks :mad:

    Have posted this same response on the SW forum for you and other members on their who may be worrying on your behalf.
    I let my mind wander and it never came back!
  • boltonangel
    boltonangel Posts: 1,018 Forumite
    Thank you.

    Some of the stories posted on here sound similar to how I am feeling day after day.

    My dh came home and found me crying so gave me a good talking to and said that I had to snap out of it.

    I have followed the suggestion of a poster and rang the docs for a copy of my last blood test results and they will be ready tomorrow.

    thanks again.
    Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way myself.

    wins - peroni bottle opener, peroni bowl, peroni coastersx2 and a vodkat cocktail kit,
    would love to win something 'proper'!!
  • PS I'm actually getting cross with you now because you let this idiot man ruin your day :):) in my view you should be furious!!
  • consultant31
    consultant31 Posts: 4,814 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 12 January 2010 at 6:16PM
    flea72 wrote: »

    Is there another Dr at your surgery? dont let them get you upset - go back in there and reinforce the problems you are having. maybe even take him up on a 1000 calorie a day diet plan, he should be able to refer you to a dietician at the hospital, because with your BMI, you would be classed as obese - although 1000 calories a day, is a bit extreme, even by most peoples standards

    Not true. Your BMI comes up at 26.4 which puts you in the overweight category not obese for goodness sake :rolleyes:

    Oops, sorry, just seen Belfastgirl's post with same info.
    I let my mind wander and it never came back!
  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    When I explained this to the GP he said that healthy eating is not the be all and end all because I could just be eating loads of fruit and veg but eating too much of it. He also said that excercise will not make me lose weight because marathon runners aren't waifs.
    Your doctor is a pillock. I used to go hill walking on Sundays and would be out from sunrise till sundown. My GP told me that didn't count as exercise because everybody walks. I was complaining of being up a hill and struggling to breathe and having to turn back. He said I needed to do some 'proper' exercise. I had asthma. :mad:

    Definitely ask to see another GP. And be kind to yourself. Whatever is going on at the moment will get sorted when you speak to a decent GP. x
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • Hi,

    I haven't had time to read all the replies made my way through the first page.

    I would suggest asking to see if there is a family planning nurse at your surgery. She will be able to help you with the pill.

    I have cerazette and it is amazing for me, I don't have a monthly at all any more. But she did say that if this one doesn't suit me there are many other pills she can try me on for avoiding DVTs.

    In terms of seeing your doctor, definitely go and see another one, either in the practice, or if the next one is dreadful go to another surgery. Eventually you will find a good one for you.

    hth
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