Doctors Cannot Rely on Lab Data Alone When Treating Hypothyroidism.
This week Brett Newcomb and Dr. Maupin present a continuation of a case study on Hypothyroidism. This individual is a composite of a couple of clients who contacted Dr. Maupin over the internet. They were not patients, but were interested to see if she could help them. We have blended their data so that it would be unrecognizable as a single individual. But the symptoms and lab data determinations are real and the case is one that Dr. Maupin was able to successfully treat. Our discussion will show you how this was done.
The discussion this week will focus on the reality that doctors cannot just rely on lab data alone. Often lab data uses “normal values” that are only “normed” on men, even if the patient is a woman. Also the normals are not consistent across labs and they do not always mean anything useful when it comes to treating the symptoms of the complaint presented by the patient. Patients can score in the “normal value” range but still have symptoms. Often a busy doctor will just look at the lab value and say that everything is OK. This is not the case for many patients, in these cases the physician needs to discuss with the patient their symptoms and their history to determine if something needs to be done, even though the lab value says they are fine.
Dr. Maupin explains this and explains how she goes about getting the information from the patient to enable her to focus on the lab data but also on the symptoms and the history of the patient so that together they can construct a treatment plan that will result in happy and healthy outcomes for the patient.
As you will see the symptoms of hormone deficiencies often overlap or are similar. This is one reason that one cannot make decisions by lab data alone. Listen and see how Dr. Maupin processes the information and makes the correct determination for treatment strategies and dosages.
Jan H. is a 45 year old irregularly cycling white female. After reading my website at BioBalancehealth.com she called my office and had her blood drawn for her first office visit ( 17 blood tests) with me, which included a thyroid panel, free testosterone level, Estradiol and Estrone, Igf-1 (growth hormone) and many other blood tests for health, and hormonal balance.
As you will see, we had to use the lab information and the patient history along with a face to face consultation with the patient to determine what was wrong and how to treat it. Happily, within three to six months the patient was “cured” and was very happy that her symptoms were gone and she was healthy again.
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author, with Brett Newcomb, MA., LPC., Family Counselor, Presenter and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com.
