SURVEY: Hypothyroid patients view of their doctors
Recently, a survey was implemented by Stop the Thyroid Madness LLC in which 1,870 thyroid patients participated. These patients came from several thyroid patient groups on Facebook and Yahoo. Most of the thyroid patients probably came from the United States, but participants also live in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and many European and non-European countries.
The survey with five questions was created to get an idea of patient experiences with their medical professionals or doctors. Note that questions 2 – 5 had write-in answers/comments. You can click on “Other” or “Comments” below those questions to see all of those. The results are astounding.
Medical professionals should ESPECIALLY read the comments to #3.
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Question 1: How satisfied have you been with the way the majority of medical professionals you have seen over the years have treated your thyroid problem? (Choose one response only)
- Answered: 1,862
- Skipped: 8
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1) VERY SATISFIED — Most medical professionals have helped my thyroid issues.
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46 (2.47%)
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2) MODERATELY SATISFIED — Some have done well; others have not done as well
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281 (15.09%)
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3) NEUTRAL — I have no opinion one way or the other
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55 (2.95%)
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4) NOT SATISFIED — the vast majority of my experiences with doctors have been
negative when it comes to helping me
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1,480 (79.48%)
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| Total Respondents: 1,862 |
Question 2: If you chose #1 above, why do you feel very satisfied about your thyroid treatment by the majority of medical professionals you have seen over the years? (Choose any that apply)
- Answered: 133
- Skipped: 1,737
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1) I feel much better than I did before
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32 (24.06%)
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2) I have no more symptoms that I understand are related to hypothyroidism.
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6 (4.51%)
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3) The majority of those doctors were good listeners
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33 (24.81%)
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4) The majority of those doctors seem to know what they are doing.
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29 (21.80%)
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5) The majority of those doctors respect my opinions and see me as a partner in my healthcare.
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47 (35.34%)
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6) Their fees were affordable
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9 (6.77%)
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7) Other (please specify)
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67 (50.38%)
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| Total Respondents: 133 |
Question 3: If you chose either 2, 3, or 4 in the first question above: which of the following actions by medical professionals would have raised your opinion of the thyroid care you had gotten? (Choose any that apply)
- Answered: 1,769
- Skipped: 101
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1) Paying more attention to my symptoms rather than putting focus solely on lab results.
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1,487 (84.06%)
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2) Understanding how to read lab results
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855 (48.33%)
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3) Being offered Natural Desiccated Thyroid or T3 rather than T4-only
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1,138 (64.33%)
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4) Going more by the Free T3 and Free T4 plus symptoms, not the TSH
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1,156 (65.35%)
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5) Understanding the reality of cortisol problems, plus saliva testing and treatment
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1,096 (61.96%)
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6) Understanding the problem of low iron, reading iron labs, treatment
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858 (48.50%)
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7) Being more open-minded about non-traditional therapies
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1,162 (65.69%)
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8) Understanding that my depression could be related to my hypothyroid state.
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843 (47.65%)
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9) Other (please specify)
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395 (22.33%)
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| Total Respondents: 1,769 |
Question 4: When thinking about the types of health care providers you have used over the years, please choose one type that you feel did the WORST job in your treatment.
- Answered: 1,780
- Skipped: 90
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1) Endocrinologists
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930 (52.25%)
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2) MD’s (Medical Doctor)
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729 (40.96%)
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3) DO’s (Doctor of Osteopathy
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25 (1.40%)
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4) NP’s (Nurse Practitioners)
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37 (2.08%)
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5) PA’s (Physicians Assistants)
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42 (2.36%)
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6) Naturopaths
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17 (0.96%)
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| Total | 1,780 |
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Comments (122)
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Question 5: When thinking about the types of health care providers you have used over the years, please choose one type that you feel did the BEST job in your treatment.
- Answered: 1,386
- Skipped: 484
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1) Endocrinologists
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137 (9.88%)
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2) MD’s (Medical Doctor)
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419 (30.23%)
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3) DO’s (Doctor of Osteopathy
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181 (13.06%)
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4) NP’s (Nurse Practitioners)
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133 (9.60%)
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5) PA’s (Physicians Assistants)
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64 (4.62%)
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6) Naturopaths
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452 (32.61%)
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| Total | 1,386 |
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Comments (565)
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