waiting 3mos for consult??

[*JoGo*]

i am hypothyroid, my dr has been treating me for 3years and has never gotten the dosage right. i am very frustrated, i'm 28 and all i think about is sleep. i nap about 2hrs every day and sleep from 10.30 to 7am. on the weekends, i easily sleep 14hrs/ night and sometimes still nap. my life is greatly effected. if we want to do something in the evenings, i HAVE to nap first or i will have a meltdown like a 2yr old. i have 2 kids. i work. and i am just sooo tired.

last appt, she said my thyroid is enlarged, had an u/s, found nodules. referred me to an Endocrinologist. my appt is 3 months away! and that appt is a consult, so the biopsy is even further away!

now, i know it may not be cancer, but what if it was? do they really make people wait this long to find out if they have cancer? won't it progress more? is this the typical wait to see a specialist?

i'm glad to finally see and endo, i just feel like it is still so far away and i don't know if i can hold out another 3 months.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I just tried making an appointment with a new endo and was told there was a 5-6 week wait. Three months seems very long. Is there another endocrinologist in your area you can go to? Or can your doctor's office help you get in faster?

 

[Christine]

A good endocrinologist is hard to get into. Many of ours in this area aren't even taking new patients. You might have a shortage of endos in your area.

I had thyroid cancer and, in most cases, it is very slow growing. If you are worried, you GP can actually run some of the preliminary tests.

I didn't see an endo until after my thyroid cancer diagnosis. I had initial tests run by my GP and then was sent directly to a surgeon.

For what it's worth, most people with thyroid cancer have perfectly good operating thyroid glands!

 

[nmmom95]

I had the right lobe of my thyroid removed. The nodule was benign, but the doctor told me exactly what Christine said, that it is very slow-growing if it is cancer. It took me 4 months to get an endo appt., then I had to wait to see ENT to get it removed. My biopsy was inconclusive. My rheumatologist found the nodule in July, 2009 and I didn't end up getting it removed until April, 2010. It also took a while to adjust my Synthroid, so I know how awful it is to be exhausted all the time. Hang in there and good luck to you!

 

[hereyago]

don't have any personal experience, but just wanted to say hope everything is taken care of quickly.

 

[shortbun]

Can you ask them to put you on a list for cancellations? That's what I did with the pediatric neurologist when my son needed to see one. their wait was 5 months. They called me in 18 days and got us it.

 

[dis-happy]

It was a 3 month wait for my ds to see a top-notch ped. endo at Duke, but worth the wait IMO.

You can ask your dr. to call for an appt.---sometimes they'll step it up if it's another office calling for you. Or call and ask about cancellations. I'd follow up once a week or so if you do this.

Hope you get in and start to feel better soon!!!

 

[anniemae]

When I was referred to a Rheumatologist, the wait was almost 4 months. I think there is a shortage of certain types of specialists.

Do what I did, just call every few days asking if there has been a cancellation.

I hope you get in soon, it stinks to have to wait to be seen, especially when you are suffering.

 

[*JoGo*]

thank you all!
i called my dr's office and a nurse talked to my dr. she doesn't want me to wait more than 6 weeks to get in, so the nurse called the endo and i'm going on Thursday! as in 3 DAYS. she did say there aren't many endo's in our area. when the endo's office called earlier, i asked to be put on a cancellation list. the endo's office called me shortly after talking to the nurse and said there was a cancellation on thurs.

very relieved!

 

[cocodog]

Great news. I hope you get some relief from your exhaustion

 

[golfgal]

When I was referred to a Rheumatologist, the wait was almost 4 months. I think there is a shortage of certain types of specialists.

Do what I did, just call every few days asking if there has been a cancellation.

I hope you get in soon, it stinks to have to wait to be seen, especially when you are suffering.

I just scheduled a rheumatology appointment for DS15 out to May. They had a doctor in their practice die and they are trying to realign everyone's schedule to accommodate his patients too. They are going through the appointments and prioritizing them so they said to expect that to get moved up.

thank you all!
i called my dr's office and a nurse talked to my dr. she doesn't want me to wait more than 6 weeks to get in, so the nurse called the endo and i'm going on Thursday! as in 3 DAYS. she did say there aren't many endo's in our area. when the endo's office called earlier, i asked to be put on a cancellation list. the endo's office called me shortly after talking to the nurse and said there was a cancellation on thurs.

very relieved!

I was going to suggest you do this as well as that is the experience I have had. I would also request other testing as they thyroid alone may not be the lone cause of your need for excessive sleep. Good luck.

 

[tvguy]

3 or 4 weeks is the norm here.

I know my family in Canada often waits up to 9 months. The number of specialists has declined sharply since they went to National Healthcare.

 

[minnie56]

Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?! Where do they live? Must be pretty remote! I have seen a lot of Specialists in my time and never never ever waited more than perhaps 3-4 weeks-tops. I tore my meniscis in Florida last July...came home...saw the Dr and was referred to an Orthopedic surgeon. By late August I had had Athroscopic surgery.

Trust me ...I know of no one that would be waiting that long or ever has!

3 or 4 weeks is the norm here.

I know my family in Canada often waits up to 9 months. The number of specialists has declined sharply since they went to National Healthcare.

 

[graciejane]

I am so very glad that you are getting in sooner!! I work for a specialist. Our typical wait for a consult is 6-8 weeks. There are times when it is almost a 3 month wait. That being said, if the referring Dr. says there are red flags and the patient needs to be seen sooner, we will use the wait list and scramble the schedules if it is warrented.

 

[cassiez76]

i have no thyroid either. feel your pain! i'm a nap champion lol

good luck with your appt

 

[disfan07]

I waited 4 months to get in to to see a PRIMARY CARE doctor here. 4 MONTHS for a physical. Luckily, she is very loved by the entire medical group and has ins with every specialty so she can get you in for a consult within the next 2-3 weeks to see the same person you would have waited about 3-4 months to see if you had called yourself. That's one reason why she is so wonderful and a reason why she has a 5 month wait for an initial appt right now.


Getting my first brain MRI last year would have been a 3 month wait but my neurosurgeon called them and scheduled it. He has been named a top neurosurgeon in teh country many many times...you don't tell him no...lol. He has so much pull with the hospital.

Where I am a patient, USUALLY, if the referring doctor thinks it is urgent, the specialists office will try to squeeze the person in (I know that my doctor will call the specialist herself if it is urgent). But for normal consults, it can be a very long wait.

Luckily, I have enough pull at all the offices and with all my doctors that I can get in for same day appointments even with my specialists.

 

[Leajess99]

Wow, sounds like the ped neurologist's office making my daughter wait 3 months with a concussion. Thankfully all of her problems corrected themselves with time and we cancelled the appointment but still 3months is a bit long for a specialist.

 

[beachlover9395]

3 or 4 weeks is the norm here.

I know my family in Canada often waits up to 9 months. The number of specialists has declined sharply since they went to National Healthcare.

Yep, and my wait in good ole NC was 18 months as a new patient for a doctor here that was a dermatologist that specialized in several specific dermatological issues. Luckily, I could wait to see her as it wasn't life-threatening, but just very annoying. I could have made my appt. with someone else, but she is world-renowned and I'm glad to now be her patient. I absolutely wouldn't have waited if it had been very urgent.