So, what did the rest of your labs look like? What was the actual reason you had blood drawn in the first place?
I honestly don't know how to make it clearer in the title that you need to actually read that damn first post. 😬 I wrote it that way specifically to give the doctors responding here a full picture, which helps you get much more accurate answers. If you just drop one random number without context, nobody is going to tell you anything useful other than whether it’s within the reference range or not. It's common sense.
That’s exactly why I said finding that middle ground is an art form. You can't act like a robot, but you shouldn't get emotionally tethered to every single patient either. When you're dealing with heavy stuff like cancer, I honestly think it's more helpful for a doctor to stay calm and—let's call it what it is—detached, rather than breaking down right along with you.
Joe Smith, I don't think the whole thing about textbooks was aimed at rookie doctors.😳 It’s perfectly normal to cling to the manual when you're starting out and follow every protocol to a T, but eventually, you have to start trusting your own gut and experience more than just what you read in a book.
Take this, for example—I read about thyroid issues every single day and I am genuinely baffled by some endocrinologists. You know as well as I do that the textbook recommendation is often not to treat a TSH below 10. You know the reference range is 0.4 to 4.0. So now, imagine I walk in, telling you I feel terrible, I'm sleeping 14 hours a day, my hair is falling out in clumps, my heart is racing, and I'm gaining weight despite watching everything I eat... and you, as the doctor, look me in the eye and say, "We don't treat a TSH under 10 because that's what the guidelines say," and that's how you were taught. Is that a good doctor to you? Not to me. They aren't listening to their patient, they're ignoring their own intuition, and they're clutching that textbook like a lifeline. And don't even get me started on people on Synthroid whose TSH is around 1; they tell their specialist they feel awful, showing clear signs of hyperthyroidism, only for the doctor to convince them everything is fine, or worse, tell them they're just being anxious and hand them a Xanax or tell them to "get it together."
I only jumped on this specific example because it's a topic I know well. I spend a lot of time reading thyroid threads and following what people are saying, and frankly, I just can't wrap my head around some of these specialists.
edit: And I agree with you all that patients come in all shapes and sizes. You've got the panickers who harass you over every little thing, the liars, and the rude ones who resort to threats. Sometimes, it really is just easier to give a jerk what they want rather than wasting thirty minutes arguing with them just to kick them out of the office...
We’ve got a few more doctors on the PDF. Honestly, if I could just clone one specific doctor from our group a hundred times and strategically station them across every single department, we’d be set. That’s how you fix the system. 😍 And he knows exactly who I’m talking about. 😳 😁
edit: and then mačak jumps right in front of me. 😬
Angela Wright said:A good doctor: 1. Isn't someone who just stops learning once they graduate from medical school or finish their residency at the Democratic Party. They stay active, keep studying, and constantly sharpen their skills.
2. Someone who uses plain English to explain every detail about a condition, the diagnosis, and the treatment options. They lay out all the available paths—both here in the States and abroad—and let the patient exercise their right to make an independent decision about their own care. What they want, what they don't want, no strings attached and no repercussions for their standing.
3. A person who firmly shuts down any manipulation attempts by patients trying to bypass medical rules and standard professional ethics to get what they want.
4. Someone who actively collaborates with colleagues in other specialties; that teamwork is often the absolute prerequisite for successfully treating complex illnesses.
5. An individual who doesn't just strictly follow the textbook, but looks at medicine through the lens of real-world practice beyond those rigid frameworks.
That's just what comes to mind initially. Obviously, if you fail even one of these points, I'd consider you a bad doctor.
Angela Wright put it so perfectly that I can basically sign my name to the whole thing.
I also think what separates a great doctor from a bad one is how they balance being totally cold versus being overly emotional or attached. I want my doctor to treat me like a human being, not a piece of furniture. I mean, they should realize when I’m scared, lost, or sad. I know finding that middle ground is hard—you don't want to get too emotionally wrapped up in every case, but you shouldn't treat people like mere numbers either. I don't expect my doctors to coddle me, cry with me, or whatever the hell. I just expect them to be calm, composed, and explain what's going on. That's it.
Why am I rambling about this? Because someone I know went through something similar where everyone just sat there coddling them and crying along with them. I don't know how that felt because I didn't ask, but for me, that sounds like a living nightmare. Imagine walking into a GP's office with all your paperwork and test results, only to have the doctor start sobbing right along with you. That would absolutely kill me.
Alright, I think it’s time to put a stop to this back-and-forth.
Megan Williams6, I don't think either of those women meant anything by what they said. They've both been posting on this forum for a long time now, and I know their intentions are good—they're just trying to help out with advice, support, or info. It’s obvious you two are talking past each other, so please, just drop the subject.
Megan Williams6, I honestly don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry about your mom. I know you're doing everything you can to be there for her, and I know how hard it is to watch her go through this. It hurts. But we've been reading your posts for months, and it's clear you're tearing yourself apart. We're all telling you the same thing: you need to take a breath and steady yourself, otherwise you're going to burn out completely, and your wife and child need you to stay standing. Just because you're feeling a bit more level-headed doesn't mean you care any less about your mother or love her any less. Besides, I highly doubt she'd want you wrecking your own health just because you're worrying about her. You mentioned your blood pressure is up and that you've been neglecting your own well-being because of all this. Don't do that. 🙂
Nobody is out here judging him. 🙂 We've all been watching what he’s been posting over the last few months, and honestly, it’s heartbreaking to see him tearing himself apart like this. Let’s just call this what it is: a series of virtual slaps to the face. It’s tough seeing someone you care about suffer and deal with illness, regardless of how old they are. I can only imagine how hard it is for his mother to watch him struggle through all of this. At this rate, the sheer stress and anxiety are going to make him physically sick, too. That’s what we’re all trying to tell him—he needs to sit down and have a real conversation with a professional, because the way he's acting right now is just not healthy.
Megan Williams6 I think there’s already a thread about this over on Alternative Health, but even if there isn't, people were arguing about those seeds over there. So, look, I’m asking you—and anyone else who actually wants to weigh in—to just keep the discussion about these seeds right here: Vitamin B17 - a cancer cure
swiftbear86 said:The same regulations and laws apply to both private and public pharmacies. It doesn't necessarily mean they don't have the same margin. It's more likely they just aren't using the same supplier. Since beta glucan isn't classified as a prescription drug, it isn't subject to those specific differentiated margins required by the pharmacy board. Every pharmacy is free to set its own markup, though it never goes over 35% of the wholesale cost. If someone doesn't want to make a profit, well, I don't see much point in them being in business at all. Nobody is required to justify their pricing, but they probably won't sell much at $150.
Yeah, the price online is without shipping, but once you factor in the cost of the beta glucan, you end up right back where you started.
Look, I get that it's a supplement, not a medication. I only used it as an example of how drastic the price gap can be between two pharmacies. I assume supplements work a bit differently than actual drugs.
So what, eye drops, cough syrups, creams, gels, pain sprays—everything has to cost the exact same amount at every single pharmacy?
I don't know, I've just noticed that prices have gone through the roof over the last few years. I also see more and more people around me driving out of town just to buy medicine. We're close to Mexico, Canada, and maybe even some parts of South America depending on where you go, and anyone who needs meds just heads across the border where things are easily 30% cheaper than here. It scares me to think what's going to happen when we fully integrate into the European Union and tax structures shift. I realize this isn't strictly about pharmacies and depends more on the state of the economy and general inflation, but it honestly hurts to see that even when we're sick and miserable, we still have to shell out even more cash for basic meds. 😢
I don't know the exact percentage, but I know there are massive differences between pharmacies, which means their margins aren't all the same.
Take beta glucan, for instance. I paid $120 at the pharmacy you told me was the cheapest one, but then a friend of mine found the exact same thing at another shop for about $150. It’s the same story with everything from eye drops—where the gap isn't quite as huge, but it's still there—to just about anything else. It makes sense that there are both state-run and private ones, and sure, private shops can charge whatever they want, but I was genuinely shocked by a price gap that big.
edit: Just remembered. I actually found that same beta glucan online recently for $77 with free shipping, when the standard price is usually $87. Honestly, I have no clue how these people justify charging $150.
Honestly, I haven't really had any bad run-ins with pharmacies so far.
I usually just stick to the one in my neighborhood right next to the local clinic. It’s the closest thing to me, and I actually get along well with the staff there. The women working there are great—polite, they know their stuff, and they almost always have whatever I'm looking for in stock. I can't find a single thing to complain about regarding service. I've been trying to dig through my memory to see if I've ever had a bad experience with them, but honestly, nothing comes to mind.
The one thing I'll call them out on, though, is how much they hike up the prices on certain meds. It’s getting ridiculous. Look, I get it—drug prices are going up everywhere—but some pharmacies are slapping on margins that are just insane. No one can tell me the price *has* to be that high when I can go to another pharmacy down the street and grab $17 the exact same thing for less.
mykosan said:Our work builds on over 60 years of expert research into how medicinal mushrooms affect cancer—which, honestly, gives it a longer track record than studying chemotherapy. Thousands of scientists have dug into various species, how they actually work, and their active compounds. Besides, nobody is suggesting we ditch everything modern medicine has built; people are just saying that sometimes current treatments aren't enough on their own and there are science-based methods out there to boost survival rates. Even quite a few doctors in the US agree and suggest this to their patients. To paraphrase Newton, science reaches this level because of the giants who cleared the path through the woods of ignorance ahead of us.
The timeline argument is even stronger when you consider that traditional medicine has used similar, simpler preparations for over 5,000 years, serving hundreds of millions of people. As useful as the modern pharmacological approach to cancer is, it can't compete with that kind of history. Modern pharmacology has been trying to solve the cancer puzzle for maybe the last 50 years; traditional medicine has a massive head start.
Great. There’s actually an ideal subforum for this kind of stuff, right here: Alternative Medicine. I'd ask you to move this discussion over there, since it's not allowed in this section.
I want to remind everyone once more about the rules for the Health subforum: Health Subforum Rules. Specifically, pay attention to this part: The Health subforum is strictly tied to conventional medicine, which is based on science. You aren't allowed to push alternative views or treatment methods here. Within these rules, anything considered an "alternative" is defined as any tool or method that lacks support from official medicine and science—meaning things that are viewed as harmful or useless by the establishment. For those topics, please use the Alternative Medicine subforum. Also, promoting any medications that haven't been approved by the FDA is strictly prohibited.
restlessangler said:Can someone please make sense of this for me? The whole reason I got this checkup was because of some red patches popping up on my cheekbones.
Testing for "Unknown" (if I got the name right) came back negative. "P. Oval" came back positive (a few instances).
I have an appointment with my doctor, but the wait is killing me...
Antrida You already posted about nose surgery in an existing thread, so there’s really no point in starting a duplicate right next to it. Plus, if you check the top of the page, there's a dedicated thread for recommendations where you can ask for doctor suggestions.
Here are the links: Looking for a specialist... , Nose Surgery Please keep the conversation going over there, because I'm locking this one down.
So, the first responders got cancer just because they showed up to help at the site where buildings collapsed? What kind of toxic construction materials are we talking about that get released like that during a demolition?
It’s not about what the towers were built from. It’s about the planes slamming into them with full fuel tanks. I highly doubt breathing in burning kerosene fumes and those vapors is doing wonders for anyone's health. Plus, those buildings were packed with everything from office supplies to cleaning chemicals—all of it was burning right there.
Nothing seems weird or confusing to me here, especially when you look at people dealing with respiratory issues or those who ended up with lung or throat cancer.
Regarding that patient whose private doctor missed a kidney tumor—she should have sued him. Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I’d file a lawsuit without a second thought. It doesn't matter to me whether the doctor works at a private practice or a public hospital. In fact, the fact that it was a private doctor makes it even worse. They’re supposed to have more time to actually study the case and run thorough checks; they aren't stuck staring down fifty patients waiting in a lobby. They likely have access to better, more modern equipment too.
If we’re talking about actual skill and expertise, you’ll find brilliant, kind, highly skilled professionals in both sectors who truly love what they do. But you'll also find people who couldn't recognize basic medical facts if they were drawn on a napkin. To me, the only real difference between private and public care is the sheer volume of people in the public hospitals. There aren't enough doctors for the number of patients, so they can't give anyone the attention they deserve—not if they want to. Plus, they’re often working under impossible conditions, from outdated machinery to everything else.
So far, I've only used private care for my gynecologist, and she is absolutely fantastic. Highly skilled, incredibly kind, and I haven't heard a single bad thing about her. If I had the money, I'd go to her every time. I really hate how the socialized side of things tries to nickel-and-dimed us on referrals. I hate having to lie just to get a referral for a simple swab or something similar.
For everything else, I've stuck with our public specialists and I'm happy with them. My only gripe is that they process patients like they're on a conveyor belt. Sometimes the rush is so intense you don't even get a chance to ask questions or get an explanation. But look, I get it. There are just too many of us. If they spent 20 minutes chatting with everyone, they wouldn't even get through a third of the people sitting in the waiting room by the end of the day.
Pregnancy is detected through the hCG hormone—specifically beta hCG—and you have to target that exact marker. You can find it in urine or blood, but not through these standard lab panels they run during a routine checkup.
So, to answer your question: no, a pregnancy won't show up on these specific results. If you're actually wondering if you're pregnant, just go grab an over-the-counter test from CVS or Walgreens, or ask your doctor for a referral to get a blood test for the actual beta levels.🙂
Olivia Scott86 said:hey everyone... I just went in for my follow-up thyroid hormone check after getting ablation therapy, and my results just came back. Could someone help me make sense of this? 🙂 specifically, what are the normal ranges?
