You wake up feeling fatigued, like you haven't slept at all. You try to pull on your pants, but they don't button anymore. You're depressed and unhappy, so you decide to see a doctor, who diagnoses you with hypothyroidism. After a few months on synthetic hormones, you're back to your old self again. But when you try to renew your prescription, your doctor is impossible to reach. The next available appointment is six months away, and you're not sure you can handle half a year of feeling tired and bloated.
Symptoms
Hypothyroidism is fairly self-explanatory. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, slows the production of hormones, or stops working altogether. There are a few causes for this, including an autoimmune disorder, thyroid surgery, and radiation therapy of the head and neck, but they all have the same end-product. The symptoms from hypothyroidism can be painful and uncomfortable, especially if left untreated.
If you have hypothyroidism, you might experience:
- Fatigue
- Weight gain
- Depression
- Dry skin
- Muscle pain
- High cholesterol
- Memory problems
- Heavy or irregular menstruation
When you're unable to refill your synthroid prescription, your symptoms can be debilitating, causing you to miss work or other important activities.
Care Options
Anyone under the care of an endocrinologist knows that appointments are tough to get. When you have a thyroid problem, it's not unusual to only see the specialist twice a year for check ups and lab work. When you need medication fast, an appointment six months in the future isn't going to do you any good. You could call your primary care provider and ask them to renew your prescription, but many of them are unwilling to prescribe synthroid without calling an endocrinologist first, leaving you right where you started.
Instead of playing telephone with busy and reluctant doctors, make an appointment with your online physician. While you only see your endocrinologist every six months, you can go to your CirrusMED physician for anything, allowing you to develop a rapport you wouldn't otherwise have.
Through video calls and chats, your online doctor can monitor your hypothyroidism the same way an in-person doctor can. He or she can order blood work and discuss the results with you online, and most importantly, send refills to your pharmacy when you need it most.
Don't let your doctor hold your medication hostage. Sign up and make an appointment with your online concierge doctor to treat your hypothyroidism online today!